The office is under siege
So the school holidays are now officially upon us!
The solitude of the home office has been shattered.
Some regular early morning/ evening work will be the norm for the next 6 weeks to make up for any 'lost time'.
For us, to put our 3 kids (4,6,8) in activity camps/ clubs for the whole summer would be extortionate, so this is one of those moments of gratitude where we appreciate my partner's job in the Education sector and its holiday perks…
Being a business owner and part of the work from home crowd, I too have ‘some’ flexibility to down tools on occasional days, and enjoy the holidays with the kids, which is great.
But, for those of you without home working options, still facing a daily commute, with children to look after…it’s a tough juggling act during the holidays.
Trying to spread your annual leave to accommodate all the year's childcare requirements, trips, doctors appointments, family emergencies etc, can be challenging!
Annual school holidays are around 13 weeks. That’s 65 working days.
Between 2 parents, with 50 days holiday allowance between them, + 8 statutory holidays that are fixed, that leaves 7 school holiday days without cover (and this is working on the basis that parents aren’t using their holidays simultaneously, which in itself isn’t ideal).
Grandparents (for those with the support) are absolute godsends during the school breaks, and holiday camps/ summer clubs do help fill the gaps too (for a price).
But what if you have neither the family support, nor the resources for alternative care? What if you and your partner, heaven forbid, want to actually be on holiday at the same time!?
With hybrid working undoubtedly on the rise, and here to stay, perhaps the ‘standard’ 25 days annual holiday allowance will be next to face upward pressure?
Increasing average UK holidays up from 25 days could have significant benefits for employee well-being and productivity (or it could be a costly experiment for some businesses).
Obviously it’s not feasible for all industries, businesses or departments, and could potentially cause some standardisation issues and ruffled feathers…
But one thing is for sure, most of the best employees out there don’t need micromanaging. They can (if required) work less hours/ days, but at a higher level of efficiency.
They’re self-starters, driven, results orientated and disciplined.
If you want to attract them to your business, freedom and trust to be truely autonomous, with a work smarter not harder approach, resonates with many. Especially if it means a job with you benefits their family too!
If your value proposition to potential new employees is starting to sound a bit homogenous to the people you’re looking to entice, don't be surprised if you’ve got to dig deep in your pockets to get their attention.