How to keep your team engaged in the office over summer

Summer is a wonderful time to recharge, but for many businesses, it can also mean juggling half-empty offices, staggered annual leave, and a mix of remote and in-person working days. We understand this dynamic all too well. It’s perfectly normal and healthy for people to take well-earned breaks and work from home.

A recent survey by Owl Labs found that 59% of hybrid workers change their schedules during the summer, and 42% say collaboration drops because people aren’t always available. That’s why it’s even more important to make the most of the time your team does spend together.

Here’s how you can use those precious in-office days, even if they’re few and far between, to keep your team engaged, connected, and productive throughout the summer months.

Embrace the rhythm of summer: annual leave and hybrid work

August and the summer months naturally bring a slowdown as many people take well-deserved holidays, travel to visit family or friends, or simply spend more time enjoying the season. For businesses, this often means quieter offices, staggered schedules, and a higher number of colleagues working remotely. It's not unusual for your typically bustling workspaces to feel a bit more subdued as team members juggle their work commitments alongside personal time and rest.

This evolving blend of in-office and remote working is now firmly part of the “new normal” for many companies, reflecting a healthier balance that acknowledges the importance of work-life harmony. Recognising and accepting this seasonal rhythm is vital, rather than resisting it, as it helps reduce burnout and supports overall wellbeing.

The opportunity lies in embracing this ebb and flow by being intentional about how you approach those in-office days. Even if your team is only together physically a few times a week during the summer, with thoughtful planning, these moments can be maximised to strengthen team relationships, encourage collaboration, and keep the business moving forward. Rather than seeing quieter offices as a challenge, they can be a chance to reconnect with your team’s core purpose and culture in a more relaxed, focused environment.

Make in-office days about more than just work

When your team is together, it’s a golden opportunity to implement learning, development, and culture, not just to tick off tasks. Here’s how:

• Learning & development: Use in-person days for workshops or training sessions. This creates shared experiences that remote work can’t replicate and keeps skills sharp in a fun, social environment.
  
• Culture: Host catch-ups, team breakfasts, or informal coffee breaks. These can build camaraderie and remind everyone why being together matters, even if it’s not often.
  
• Collaboration: Schedule collaborative sessions that benefit from face-to-face energy, strategic planning, creative brainstorming, or problem-solving meetings. Put people into teams to tackle a challenge or work together to improve a process or idea.
  
• Celebrate wins: Use office time to celebrate team achievements or milestones with small gatherings or shout-outs, improving morale. Bringing in cake or ordering pizza is always well received and can brighten everyone’s day.

Quality over quantity helps to keep your team engaged

Even if your team only comes into the office once or twice during summer, those days can have an outsized impact. Encourage everyone to:

• Plan ahead: Coordinate schedules so key people overlap on the same days, maximising opportunities for connection.
  
• Set intentions: Before coming in, agree on a few shared goals, whether it’s learning something new, catching up on projects, or just coming together to reconnect.
  
• Use Arena’s spaces: Take advantage of Arena Offices’ meeting rooms, breakout spaces or even go and spend time at another one of our office locations to mix things up.
  

By focusing on engagement, learning, and culture rather than just “getting work done,” it helps to keep your team engaged, which naturally leads to sustained productivity, even during slower months.

We’re proud to offer flexible, inspiring serviced office workspaces that support this new way of working, aiming to help businesses maintain momentum all year round, regardless of the season.Learn more about how Arena Offices can make coming to work a pleasure.