​The days are getting longer, the sun is shining, and summer is on the horizon. While your employees are planning their holidays, make sure that you plan for summer before it hits your office. Hot temperatures and sunny days can be a massive distraction for employees. Follow these tips to make sure your employees maintain a strong work ethic despite summer conditions.

The summer season is full of employees jetting off on holiday, so it’s important that you have a strategy in place to cover your company during days off. Ensure all employees pass a handover document before they go on vacation. This will ensure that work is still being completed and everything is running smoothly. If you need to, hire freelancers so that all work is complete. Schedule posts to go out on your company social media pages during any national holidays, which keeps the interaction going even when your office is closed.

Don’t forget to encourage employees to have a holiday. When employees feel exhausted, their work will suffer, so it is imperative for them to take time to re-energise and clear their minds. They will return to work feeling refreshed and motivated again, which is always a positive for your company as employee engagement will increase.

Bring the summer feeling into the office through different work events. Organise after-work barbeques on a Friday afternoon or lunch picnics in the sun. Taking some time out to let your employees enjoy the good weather will stop them from being demotivated. They won’t mind being in the office on a good day if you give them a chance to enjoy the sun. They will appreciate your generosity which will increase their overall productivity. Offering a bonus at the end of summer if your team hits certain targets is another effective way to ensure motivation. The bonus could be a team trip away or vouchers for an airline.

The weather can get extremely hot during summer. As enjoyable as warm weather is, it can also cause heat stress which is considered a safety hazard. Put a policy in place based on a risk assessment which should include putting heat stress measurements in place and creating a plan to keep the workplace a cool temperature. Put a training session in place for all employees on what to do if they or others show heat stress symptoms and ensure there is easy access to water and air conditioning. Keeping employees hydrated is important for their health and their working ability. 

If relevant to your industry, give out protective clothing and equipment, including cotton body suits and water-cooled suits. This is particularly relevant to those companies that do manual labour. Keep track of the weather forecasts to ensure your employees are prepared and kept hydrated if a warm spell is on the horizon.
With temperatures starting to rise and workers getting into the holiday mood. Now is the time to start implementing a policy to prepare for the summer season. This will help to ensure your employees stay healthy and your company runs smoothly during the season of holidays. 

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​As an employer, you have the responsibility to look after your employees and ensure they are safe and secure in the workplace. Along with ensuring the health and safety of your employees, it’s important to look after any visitors in your office, such as suppliers and clients. The health hazards are higher in some industries than others, but it’s important that you are aware of the regulations that apply to your own industry.
 
Create a Policy
Businesses come in all shapes and sizes, however if you employ five or more people, you must keep a record of all assessment results and a health and safety policy. As an employer you must ensure safe working practices are set up, that all materials are stored and safely used, provide first aid facilities and ensure that all potential dangers are sorted as soon as possible. Start by assessing potential dangers in your office, ensuring that all lighting and safety equipment is working.

After a thorough assessment of the office, create a policy and hold a meeting with all staff. In the meeting, talk through the policy with your staff in specific detail and make sure to answer any questions they may have. Emphasise the importance of being aware of all health and safety procedures for all employees, each workplace will have its own risks depending on the type of work. Organise training for all your employees, including first aid and what to do in the case of a fire. Don’t only rely on management and supervisors for identifying workplace risks, but communicate directly with your workers as they are the ones who experience day to day life in the workplace.  

Act Quickly with Workplace Violence
Workplace violence comes in two forms, physical or verbal. Physical includes pushing, punching, kicking or in extreme cases attacks, whereas verbal abuse is swearing, shouting and rude gestures.  
If there are certain employees who seem like they are a potential risk to other employees, act on this immediately and carry out a background check. Ensure that employees can speak to you quickly if a problem arises, make sure there are always a couple of workers in the office at one time and keep employees trained up with the health, safety and security procedures. If violence does occur, make sure the victim is not left alone after the incident occurs and provide the victim and any witnesses with counselling. Train staff in what to do following an act of violence and encourage them to support the victim and witnesses.
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Have Monthly Discussions
Aim to create an environment that has open communication within the workforce, reinforce your zero-tolerance policy for violence, allowing employees to express their opinions and feelings. This can be achieved by organising a monthly meeting to discuss the health and safety policy in your company. Hearing what employees have to say will help you notice any hazards or inappropriate behaviour that you weren’t aware of. Your staff will appreciate your efforts to maintain a safe and positive office, which will increase their overall working productivity.  

Install Security Measures
Hiring security guards or installing security cameras will give your offices an extra sense of safety. Install cameras around the office and any remote areas surrounding the workplace, especially if you have workers who often walk home alone.

Establishing a safe working environment is a win-win situation for you and your employees. You will make your team happy coming to work everyday, which keeps them motivated, but it also protects you from any serious consequences that might happen when an employer doesn’t take responsibility for the safety of their staff.

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​All employees will get sick from time to time and need some time off to get better, problems such as having the flu, migraines or back pain can all require an employee needing a day off. But what happens when you have an employee who has an ongoing health condition? They will have to take more sick leave than the average employee, which is likely to result in less productivity in their work. While you can’t find a solution to an employee’s suffering, you can find ways to support them. Here are some ways how to create a positive working environment for when they can make it in.

Establish a policy
It all starts with your company policy, once you have established a compassionate employee illness policy, you can communicate your company culture in a clear and positive way. In the document it’s a good idea to outline your expectations, this could include asking sick employees to contact their line manager at the start of each day of the absence, keeping them update and always supplying a doctor’s note when required to. For those illnesses that can be planned around, it could be a good idea to implement a working from home policy during particular days or flexitime.
 
Have a strategy so that you are prepared for situations when an employee needs to take a large amount of absence due to an illness. It should be made to suit the specific needs of your company, this could include having prepping staff for looking after the ill employee’s workload from time to time and implementing realistic deadlines.  
 
Be understanding
Allow time off for doctor appointments, this is an important day to day task that people should be given time for. When a recruit starts make it clear to them that you have no problem with them taking time out of their day to attend an appointment regarding their health. If it’s possible in your line of work, allow the employee to work from home. It may be a more comfortable environment for them and they will appreciate you letting them work from home, resulting in a higher level of productivity from them. Some conditions, such as back problems will require specialist equipment in the office, make sure to always tailor your office to your employee’s needs.
 
Listen
Employees will be more motivated if you take their suggestions on board, if they ask for flexitime or want to work from home more often, then allow this. They will appreciate being listened to which will increase their working motivation. Keeping the lines of communication open with your employees is essential, make sure to monitor ill employees to make sure they are not taking on more than they can handle and be prepared to make any additional modifications in the workplace if needed. However, there will be employees who don’t want to speak about their issues, in this case it’s important to not pressure them into saying anything and to let them know that you are available to talk to at any time.      
 
There are some illnesses that may not be so easy to spot, such as mental illness. It can be tempting to avoid this topic with an employee but it’s important to approach and talk to a worker who you feel may be experiencing this. Resolving the issue at an early stage will prevent the issue from getting worse over time. Arrange a meeting as soon as possible and approach the topic in a positive and compassionate way.
 
If a staff member has to take a period of time off due to an illness, try and keep them in the loop. It will be easy for them become isolated, so regular e-mail updates about the workplace will keep them content and make their return to work easier. Before an employee returns to work, arrange a meeting outside the office so they can express any concerns they may have. Make sure to welcome them back and check that they are well enough to return before getting stuck back into their work.
 
It’s easy to get caught up with the ill employee but don’t forget about your other staff members. When team members become aware that a work colleague is experiencing mental ill health they may find it distressing. You should be willing to support your team in the same way you do with the employee. This could be having regular catch-ups with each employee to see how they are doing and express they you are available at any time to talk about any concerns or worries they have.
 
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