HR loves a weather update: in the bleary heat of August, myriad protocols are dusted off to update us with advice on minimum temperatures, clothing, holidays, temp cover (bit of a thorny issue that one), interns and if you’re lucky, free lollipops.
Those not on holiday may feel a certain torpor, coupled with a realisation that, despite the air of relaxation, they’re going to have to work harder than usual, given absences. They also may be spending an inordinate amount of time behind their computer planning their own holiday or in a state of financial panic as their index finger hovers over the “pay now” button.
Now, thanks to online print provider instantprint we can put numbers against how some of us may be feeling. I don’t know why instantprint collects such figures, or how, but this is what they are telling us today – and I’m afraid it calls for a bullet point list, which I lazily include despite the obvious risk that no one will read any further:
- Over 25% of employees struggle to stay motivated in the hotter seasons
- More than a third of Brits face a heavier workload over the summer
- 38% of Brits admit to taking more breaks during the hotter periods
- 42% revealed that they take more holidays during the summer months – only 42%?
- 70% revealed that their companies do not offer any summer-specific benefits or flexible work options.
- 46% expressed a clear preference for a different arrangement, such as earlier start times, earlier finishes, or flexible working hours.
Talking of being a bit slack, “lazy girl” jobs are on the march, according to Guy Thornton, founder of Practice Aptitude Tests. This could mean that the way many of us work in August is being extended to cover the rest of the year. He claims a 300% rise in Google searches for “lazy girl” work already this month. He defines the phrase, which was coined on TikTok of course, as one that “highlights a growing desire for positions offering substantial pay with minimal stress and effort”.
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The term itself is of course a nonsense. For one thing, what happened to “lazy boy” jobs? Is it unacceptable to be a “lazy boy”? Or maybe it’s taken as read that boys are lazy.
Thornton adds: “Increasingly, individuals value job satisfaction, mental health, and personal fulfilment over more traditional metrics of success, like high salaries and titles.”
Technology improvements have made remote work more accessible and efficient and expanded the range of jobs that can be performed with minimal physical presence, “aligning well with the lazy girl job ethos”, Thornton tells us.
Flexible working, hybrid working all play into the hands of the “lazy girl”, he says, as they allow more time for a social life and fun away from work. He adds: “Lazy girl jobs also often involve autonomous work with minimal oversight, allowing employees to work at their own pace.”
It struck those of us still in the Personnel Today office that the term “lazy girl” implied that men were all competitive workaholics set on fighting their way up the greasy pole. Also, what happens to the gender pay gap when the “lazy girl” movement is factored in?
Anyway, it’s August, let’s not think too deeply about any of this.
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