It isn’t quite officially summer yet, but here at Lemonly, summer began right after Memorial Day.
One of the perks of being a lemonhead is on every Friday from Memorial Day to Labor Day, your week is over when you’ve logged 38 hours — that’s two hours early for those of you counting! You can read more about why our CEO added a summer hours benefit to our repertoire from this past blog post.
To get a feel of what the lemonheads really think about summer hours themselves, we did a short Q&A. Maybe you can show this to your boss and they’ll grant you the same perk!
Have you worked somewhere that has offered a similar summer hours benefit?
Morgan: No.
Amberly: Yep!
Brett: No.
Amy C: Nope.
What is your favorite thing about summer hours?
Molly: I imagine it as the adult version of summer breaks as a kid. Taking away summer breaks can make for a rough transition into the working world. It helps keep the excitement of summer alive!
Amberly: Picking my daughter up early and enjoying a few more hours of outdoor time with her.
Amy C: I can get a jump on weekend travel, or spend more time outside on a weekday.
Chris: I love that it allows us to get a head start on the weekend and enjoy the nice weather.
Do you feel like your productivity goes up or down on Fridays during summer hours? Why?
Molly: Definitely goes up. I know there is less time to get stuff done, so I try to maximize productivity.
Tess: Definitely. I like to know that all of my work is done and knowing that I only have a few hours in the afternoon helps my focus.
Brett: The total amount of work done stays the same, so I would say productivity goes up since there is less time to do it. The last two hours on a Friday are generally the least productive anyway.
Amy C: Same. If I have a deadline, I’ll stay ’til it’s done anyway, puts an incentive to move quicker on a day that is notoriously less productive.
Amy T: I think most clients are unresponsive on Friday afternoons during the summer months so it forces us to start working earlier, which ends up being a better use of our time.
What will you be doing with your extra time? Do you have anything fun planned?
Morgan: Totally depends on what I have going on that weekend, but I’ll usually use that time to either make sure everything is packed up and run last-minute errands if we’re taking off for the weekend. If we’re staying here for the weekend, I’ll be using that time to be outside for sure.
Amberly: Taking my daughter to the park, swimming pool, zoo, whatever we can do outside to enjoy the sunshine together!
Michael T: I hope to take my dog, Rosie, on a couple longer walks, and use the extra time to practice piano.
Chris: I typically spend Friday afternoons in the garden taking care of some weeding and watering. We always have one of the best looking gardens in our plots It also allows me to do “chores” on Friday so I can spend the weekends doing fun things.
How does summer hours impact the Lemonly culture?
Molly: Summer hours help enforce Lemonly’s culture of trust and accountability. I think leaving work early on Fridays also helps keep everyone’s excitement levels high and just makes for an overall fun atmosphere.
Tess: I think it shows that John and Amy care really about us. The summer hours are a great example of work hard, play hard — which is something Lemonly is great at — we’ll put our heads down and work for 6 hours, and then we can play. It also adds a level of trust in the employees, which is a big part of our culture.
Brett: It’s positive, and one of many things that make our culture unique.
Michael T: It’s just another way the leadership shows that they trust us. With that trust, it helps me take more ownership of my work, and in turn, I do a better job.