Research shows how productivity takes a dip during the summer months, and not just because team members are on holiday. David Bowes offers some strategies for maximising your team output during the holiday season.Â
Summer is a time to unwind – beach breaks, family trips, and well-deserved time away from the daily grind. Every employee deserves to take a proper holiday, without the burden of checking in from the poolside or worrying about an overflowing inbox.
However, while individuals recharge, organisations often find themselves running on half-power. The so-called summer slump – that seasonal dip in productivity and engagement – can linger long after teams return in September.
Research from Captivate has shown that during the summer months, productivity drops by up to 20%, project turnaround times slow by 13%, attendance dips by 19% and employees are 45% more likely to be distracted.
With so many out of the office, those left behind are stretched thin, juggling extra tasks while trying to keep projects on track. The result? Increased stress, reduced motivation, and slower delivery.
Be prepared
But here’s the good news: this doesn’t have to be inevitable. Team leaders and HR managers can act now to ensure everyone – not just those going away – have a stress-free summer.
Leaders can prepare, rather than react, to the summer slump by looking at the different personalities in their teams. Here are some pointers.
1. Know who does what and why it matters
Too many leaders look at holiday calendars and count heads. But the real challenge isn’t how many people are away, but who is away. Are you losing your go-to planner? Your team motivator?
Using tools like Insights Discovery, which maps people’s behavioural preferences using four colour energies (fiery red, sunshine yellow, earth green and cool blue), managers can predict how the team dynamic might shift when someone is out and prepare accordingly.
A tip here is to create a communications matrix. As a team, map out everyone’s strengths, their communication preferences, and the value they bring. This shared understanding helps with role cover, creates empathy, and ensures nothing important slips through the cracks.
2. Plug decision-making gaps before they happen
Many projects stall over summer because the person who usually makes the big decisions is away. Don’t let progress hinge on one individual or depend on contacting someone continuously throughout their break.
Instead, build a decision delegation map. Identify potential bottlenecks and assign clear decision-making authority. This should define who is empowered to make which decisions, timeframes for action and the peer support available for those who are less confident.
This approach builds empowerment and trust, ensuring that people can take ownership — and that decisions don’t sit in limbo while someone is on a beach in Ibiza.
3. Balance the workload
When someone’s off, it’s tempting to offload their work onto whoever is most available – or most reliable. But doing this without structure can cause resentment and burnout.
Another option is to use a workload impact review to identify critical responsibilities and match cover to compatible personalities. With this, you can map out who’s doing what, ensuring fair distribution of tasks. It also offers an opportunity to clarify what’s urgent versus what can wait, using a ‘now, next, later’ model.
Planning ahead reduces stress, improves team cohesion, and means no one is blindsided by an unexpected to-do list.
4. Don’t just count heads – consider team dynamics
Teams are ecosystems. If someone with strong analytical and detail skills is away, who steps in with that mindset?
Communicate with your team on the behaviours and skills that will be missing during someone’s leave. Who is stepping in and what is expected of them? This means everyone is empowered to adapt and contribute.
Furthermore, this transparency builds psychological safety and resilience and helps avoid a leadership vacuum or a motivation dip.
5. It’s not just about productivity
Summer should be enjoyable for everyone, even those holding the fort. If morale takes a hit, performance will too. To stop this happening, encourage and acknowledge effort by offering small perks such as early finishes and long lunch breaks, or sending personalised thank you messages from leadership.
Consider using transparent project tracking tools to recognise contributions and encourage collaboration. Simple actions go a long way in showing that leaders see and value the extra effort – especially during demanding times.
6. Build agility through cross-training
Don’t wait until someone is on holiday to realise they’re the only person who can do a task. Summer is a great time to strengthen team agility and reduce single points of failure.
One way to do this is through a knowledge-sharing plan, where team members document their core processes and can access resources via a shared drive. Cross-train individuals so projects are not disrupted by absence.
Agile teams are not only more resilient during holidays – they’re also better equipped to handle any future change or disruption.
Time to disconnect
Perhaps the most important takeaway from this is that your team deserves a break. Everyone needs time to fully disconnect, unwind, and return refreshed.
That only happens when the rest of the team is equipped and empowered to carry on in their absence, without constant calls, pings or requests for updates.
When leaders plan proactively, employees on leave can genuinely relax, while those staying behind feel supported, not stretched.
So don’t wait until productivity dips to act. Get ahead of the summer slowdown and make this the year your team truly thrives, both at work and on holiday. Download Insight’s Leader’s Guide to Combating the Summer Slowdown here.
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