How can you promote yourself at the office while your coworkers are at the beach? Everyone gets a bit more laidback when the weather is warmer and summer has arrived. Don't fall into this trap. Use the summer as a time to shine and develop new projects while your co-workers take summer Fridays and long lunches.
Expand your network. Work on updating your LinkedIn contacts and re-connecting with people you might have been out of touch with. Make a point to target and attend a networking event at least once a week.
Take on more projects. If your co-worker is getting married or a supervisor is going on a two-week vacation, offer to take on their projects. They'll be happy that you are willingly pitching in and you'll be able to learn more skills.
Don't work from the beach. Why is it undesirable to feed into the lazy days of summer? When November rolls around and you're looking to ask for a raise, you won't be able to showcase your efforts as effectively if the months of May through August were relatively silent. Chances are you won't be the only employee asking for a bump in salary. If your work is able to outshine the competition's by highlighting your summer projects, it's a major win.
Lead by example: If you're a supervisor or a manager and you're skipping off to the beach on Friday mornings, chances are your team is mirroring your behavior. If you're worried about summertime productivity, you need to show that you value face time at the office by being there yourself. Of course, that doesn't mean you can't leave early sometimes – but keep it limited.
Time for a treat: If you want to re-energize your team after a long week, instate ice cream happy hours, green juice breaks or pizza Friday. Encourage your team to stay and mingle and let them know that they are doing a great job. If your budget allows, plan for an outdoors outing so they can enjoy the warm weather during work hours.