The UK has been hit by a mini-heatwave and HR is continuing its relentless battle against low productivity. Are these two developments related?
It is not surprising that the British weather can be unpredictable. People will recall a sunny day by saying, “It was just like that last year.” They are referring to a vague memory in their frontal cortex. Someone, usually the office pessimist, will always say “No. I remember it was really windy and freezing.” It’s hard to believe that there are ways to verify these facts, but we like our fuzzy blather over the hard ones.
HR enjoys joining in on silly weather discussions, especially in the spring when we are all giddy after months of rain and gloom.
We are often reminded that there is no official temperature at which we all should stop working, jump into a sauna or lake. Researchers have contacted Personnel Today to warn that, with the “mini-heatwave”, (with apologies for those who have not experienced it in their part of the UK), one third of us have taken a sickie or worked in a pub’s garden, or even had a drink before 3pm.
According to the online survey, 2,000 adults admitted that they called in sick to enjoy the nice weather today, while 14% worked remotely from a rooftop bar, pub garden or outdoor café. 8% confessed having a drink of alcohol before 3pm.
Personnel Today tried to confirm the results of the survey with its own research. However, there were not enough people in the office for us to do so.
The nation was divided over whether or not this is acceptable. 49% of respondents said that working in a beer garden would be no different than working from a café, while 36% thought it was unprofessional. 15 per cent admitted to doing it, but refused to tell their manager.
James Fletcher is the head of Human Resources at USDT Casino. He said, “We have entered a season when productivity and pub culture are going head-to-head. Why not let someone do their job from a beer-garden? Trust is the key, not location.
A poll found that 36% of respondents believe employers should implement summer hours or half days when temperatures reach 25C. One in five also admitted to faking wi-fi problems during heatwaves past.
Facing the task with ‘Fauxductivity,’ is now the new way to mask it
What a great new buzzword! Marta Rihova is an HR expert with Kickresume. She believes that “fauxductivity”, rather than the weather, is the bigger sin.
She says this term (also known as “task masking“) describes people who put on a show to make it appear that they are busier than they really are. It usually involves typing loudly or walking quickly around the office. This can also be used to describe people who fill their days with superficial work like answering emails to appear busy.
Marta says that this phenomenon is often linked to mandates for returning to the office. People may feel that they are judged on their appearance in the office or online, rather than the results they produce. This could cause them to “task-mask” to make a positive impression at work.
Marta will catch you if you are engaging in fauxductivity at Kickresume.
The best thing to do would be to enjoy the sunshine – nobody can accuse of you being fake in a beer garden.
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