Should August be the official 'off season' for work?

I reached out to five of my go-to HR contacts for insights on whether August should be an official ‘off season’ for work - four instantly replied with out-of-office messages – it said it all. Undeterred, I pivoted to PR contacts, only to hear: “We’d love to help… in three weeks, once the whole team is back from holiday.” Is it time to make August an official ‘slack-off’?

Cue the existential spiral: If everyone’s unavailable, how is anything supposed to get done? And if I’m struggling, how is anyone else managing?

It’s clear the traditional work model collapses the moment the summer begins, and schools tip out for the duration. So why are we still pretending otherwise? Maybe it’s time to stop fighting the inevitable - and just formalise the summer sloth like period.

Working pace over summer is naturally slower in many businesses

While most of the world were on a sun lounger a few did offer me some thoughts including Hannah Johnson, HR Technical Consultant, AdviserPlus. She said, “Naturally, some organisations can expect a slower pace in August due to reduced headcount through annual leave and children being off school plus clients or stakeholders also taking time off.”

Let’s be real - there are stretches when productivity hits a wall because of this. When half your team is out of the office, clients ghost, and even your most reliable contacts reply with "Back in September!" emails, pushing against the tide feels pointless and with that comes a slowed outcome that is arguably no-one’s fault. Johnson adds, “With people away, it's to be expected that not everyone will be contributing to KPIs at their usual pace. Not to say this should be encouraged, but there has to be a realisation that just like day to day life, productivity ebbs and flows throughout the year, you can't run at 100% all the time and neither can a sustainable business.”

Of course, there are bills and wages to be paid so it’s understandable that employers must crack the whip as much as possible, even if their minds are also on the nearest pina colada and the closest airport. Johnson advises bosses to apply a fair dollop of reasonableness during this period and reflect on how they’d like to be treated at this time of year too. As another person told me off record, ‘It’s a bit like the time between Christmas and New Year – does anyone actually do anything then?’