Summer slackers are plaguing bosses everywhere but better flexibility may be the solution

Good morning!

Summer is almost here, and as the sunshine beckons, employers should get ready for a less motivated workforce.

Around 36% of U.S. workers say they are less productive during the summer, according to a survey of more than 890 U.S. working adults from HR software provider Dayforce. (Editor’s note: Dayforce is a CHRO Daily sponsor.) Young workers ages 18 to 34 are particularly likely to slack off during the summer months, as 50% of this cohort reports less productivity during that time.

Increased social distractions, such as travel or family commitments, spending more time outdoors during work hours, and slacking off while the boss is on vacation are the most common reasons why workers get less work done during the summer.

Amy Cappellanti-Wolf, Dayforce’s chief people officer, says she believes that rather than being about playing hooky, this summer slacking phenomenon boils down to poor management. Employees may feel stuck because their colleagues or supervisors are on vacation, or because they’re distracted waiting for their own upcoming vacation.

“At the end of the day, wherever you work, it's all based on the company culture,” she says. “If the company culture has a strong level of accountability, measurements, and hopefully inspiration and inspection, then you should be able to do your job anywhere and have the flexibility to go do it.”

Some employers are trying to work with this slacking trend rather than against it, instituting flexible work policies in the summer including shorter Friday hours, more work-from-home options, and asynchronous schedules or four-day workweeks.

But while employees like these flexibility options, and 84% of respondents say that these policies help reduce burnout, many still aren’t taking advantage of them, according to the report. Around 79% of U.S. employees say they can’t partake in these perks, with the top reasons being that they are too busy to take time off, their manager would frown upon them taking time off, and they don’t have anyone to cover their work while they’re away.

It may seem contradictory that employees feel too busy to take advantage of shorter work days but still slack off during the summer. But Cappellanti-Wolf thinks this discrepancy comes down to a misalignment on the benefits workers actually want, poor communication from management about what perks are actually offered, and a failure on behalf of leadership to set an example and take advantage of flexible work themselves.

Cappellanti-Wolf, who joined Dayforce in April, said she recently participated in her first “Wellness Day” at the company, in which employees get an extra day off. She was surprised to find that people were actually offline.

“I've worked in cultures where you're on all the time, and unnecessarily sometimes,” she says. “If people don't see execs taking time off, instead getting 30 emails in a day that was supposed to be wellness day, they're not going to believe that’s something they can do.”

Paige McGlauflin
paige.mcglauflin@fortune.com
@paidion

Today's edition was curated by Emma Burleigh.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com