The Great Bombay Summer has come early this year and has had the whole city panting. And not just that, but the brutality of it is has been felling down even the strongest.
There’s been no respite even in the mornings and evenings. So, for the average office goer, who does at least an hour-long commute to and fro home, this may spell decreasing productivity. Lately I have noticed this in the training room. People are more restless and seem exhausted in the morning too. If they have to commute back from one of those overcrowded railway stations like Kurla and Dadar and the connecting transport is unreliable, the restlessness is even more. They are ready to compromise on the breaks if you could just leave them a bit early so that they can dodge the rush-hour madness.
So what can be done to counter this downer? May be employers can offer efficient transport, at least connections to railway stations, if not all the way home. May be people can work longer hours and take an extra day off instead of coming for half-days on Saturdays. May be offices can give air conditioners as Diwali gifts.
Interestingly, summer lowers productivity in other parts of the world too, though for different reasons sometimes. I learnt this when I was on a scholarship many years back in England. I was interning in a large corporation. Around mid-morning, I happen to look around and notice that there was almost no one in his or her seat. A girl was asking her boss if he had any work for her or could she step out for a couple of hours and he generously said she could take the afternoon off. I asked a colleague to explain what was happening. He told me that it was, after all, summer. After a cold winter the spring had brought a promise of better times. And then suddenly it was summer and the sun was shining. And everyone who wasn’t in his seat that morning, I discovered, was actually outside, in one of the two pubs just down the road, standing and drinking beer and sunning himself. I went back after lunch and found the office as empty. It stayed that way on every sunny day of the few weeks that I worked there.
via email:
ReplyDeleteHi,
Lovely post.
One options could be that training start early to beat the peak traffic & the heat.
elearning / exercises / take home - assignments to be done prior to workshop so some reading happens individually
Radha Iyer PhD
Associate Professor General Management Area
K. J. Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research
Hi Niru - Interesting contrast for the loss of productivity. One coming from a difficulty of commute and poor infrastructure and the other, a sense of enjoying the little we get.
ReplyDeleteI too have noticed a penchant for the "westerners" in general having time off in the summer - both vacationing and time off during the working week.
I wonder though if it has a larger impact on productivity - whether the western workforce is overall more prodctive - despite these breaks - and what would be the contributing factors.
As to what can be done - I guess more energisers during the day; more stretch breaks; better food/ diet during the day and not rush into the start of the programme.
Enjoy the summer!
Rajesh
DeleteI agree with the better food or should I say the correct food. I have noticed myself that when we eat a light lunch the post lunch sessions are easier to handle- for both, the trainer and the participants. A large, heavy spread almost always spells disaster.
Another aspect is the air conditioning. Either the room freezes or is a furnace. This is because of lack of control on the AC. So when the room is freezing the tendency is to put off the AC. Since the rooms have no ventilation it becomes unbearably suffocating . Most people do not realise that this is the reason for their sluggishness.
response via email:
ReplyDeleteDear Nirupama,
It's very much true, First time we in Pune are also victims of all time high temperature crossing 40 degree Celsius. What we do at plant is encourage people to go home on time, and do not insist on long working hours. This helps them recover the physical and mental losses and come back fresh next day. you really feel the heat more in the evening when you travel back by bus, as whole day you work in air condition office.
Regards,
Avinash Ganbote
ha ha , though some of your points are valuable, i disagree with you on two counts.
ReplyDelete1. I was reading an article on change. ( it says the 9 to 5 itself is a clear case of not willing to change inspite of hardships you mentioned.
who stopped companies to have working hours differently as it has changed in school where the timings are different in different climates as seen in delhi and other places where the school starts at 6.00 A.M and ends at 1.00 P.M
If we allow our staff to roam as you mentioned in U.K it can only lead to anarchy because after all they dont concentrate on the work on the working hours itself
it is better to give a siesta provided they are able to finish their day's committments