As the summer months begin to kick into gear, many of our office staff find themselves looking outside wistfully. With the sun beating down and the nice weather apparent for all, it makes sense to consider working outdoors. Given many businesses are moving towards things like mobile workstations and wireless internet connections, working outside in the summer is possible.
It is important, though, that you take into account the potential distractions that could exist by doing this. For one, being outside of the office does open up the chance of off-putting social interaction. Say a friend or family member walks past a member of your team involved in a busy project – can they really afford the 5-minute chat they are about to enter?
Trying to find the right balance between distractions in the workplace and enjoying time outdoors is very important. The cost of doing business in the modern world means trying to find the right balance between staff satisfaction and giving staff autonomy.
The best thing to do is to try out a small day of working outdoors. See how your staff get on. Are they able to work with greater comfort? Do they find they can be more productive when surrounded by the inspiring outdoors? Or are they more likely to fall into social conventions and lose focus?
The only way that you can find out about your team’s ability to work outdoors in the summer is to try.
Practical issues can also get in the way, though
Another issue to take into account, though, comes down to visibility. If you have ever tried to use a smartphone or tablet outdoors, you will know how hard it is to view the screen. So can you really avoid mistakes and errors when your staff seem to be spending all day struggling to see the screen properly?
This is something to keep in mind, though it could be solved by investing in an anti-glare screen protector, as you can find here. These kinds of tools can be cost-effective solutions to find a happy medium. Now, your staff could work outdoors without feeling as if they have to squint and try to see.
By opening up your mind to the idea of working outdoors, though, you can look forward to your staff simply getting more done in less time. Staff morale can drop when they are stuck inside sticky, warm offices when the sun is beating down. By using the outdoor areas of your office – even the seating outside – you could give your staff a better place to work from.
The challenge comes down to ensuring they can avoid social distractions and practical challenges due to screen glare. If you trust your staff to work through the former, though, the latter is easily resolved with a small investment in anti-glare screen protection.
So, with the summer about to really kick into full swing, consider how beneficial it might be to let your staff work outdoors. In time, it could be the smartest decision you make this summer – what is the harm in trying it out for a week?
