How to deal with workers' summer slumps
UC business professor says seasons can affect employees' productivity
A summer slump featuring a loss in the quantity and quality of work is common, and instead of fretting about it, organizations should just roll with it, a University of Cincinnati business professor told Orlando, Florida-based WKMG's Breakfast With Bridgett.
Scott Dust, an associate management professor at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
Scott Dust, PhD, the Fealy Family Chair in Entrepreneurship and an associate professor in the Department of Management at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business, said summertime changes people's psyches. It's seen as a time to rest and reenergize, he said.
Instead of fighting it, organizations can ride the wave of seasonality and align work with the right time, Dust said. Summer can be a good time for training, development and growth.
“Recognize we’re not robots,” Dust said. “You can’t program human beings to have the exact same productivity every day and throughout every season. When you’re equipped with that mindset, start to make some changes strategically that allow you to maximize on the aggregate how everybody’s doing throughout the year. Perhaps in summer focus on development and growth initiatives. Maybe start investing in your culture initiatives perhaps by doing offsites or team development, more training that can get people a little bit more enthusiastic.”
Featured image at top: Man working on his laptop on the beach. Photo/Kemal Esensoy via Unsplash
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
Op-Ed: Adopt a ‘both/and’ approach to create policies that sustain over time
July 14, 2022
Lindner College of Business Dean and Professor of Management Marianne Lewis, PhD, writes for MarketWatch: “We find ourselves, yet again, in a polarized political fight with the battlegrounds in Congress, in the boardrooms, on the streets, on social media and, for some of us, at our kitchen tables.”
Cincinnati Edition: What does work look like after COVID?
November 4, 2022
After the COVID-19 pandemic upended traditional work structures, employers now are contemplating how they’ll manage their employees whether they’re working in-person or remote.
Inc.: There’s an employee engagement problem, but there’s a fix
September 6, 2023
Scott Dust, PhD, associate professor of management and Fealy Family Chair in Entrepreneurship, provided Inc. with advice for employers on navigating connection and engagement issues among remote employees.