UK would favour summer business shutdown

Almost 60 per cent of the UK would welcome an annual summer ‘shutdown’ among businesses, research finds.

The study, conducted by ava reveals that many Britons feel that by shutting up shop during traditionally quiet periods, businesses would remain more productive and cost efficient overall.

The 55-64 age demographic is most behind the introduction of annual industrial shutdowns, making up 66 per cent of the ‘yes’ vote.

In the UK, England (59 per cent) is the most in favour of such a move, whereas 68 per cent of Northern Ireland are against a change.

Women more in favour of change

In the battle of the sexes, it appears that women are more likely to support this new productivity method, with 63 per cent backing the system. Men are less inclined to throw their weight behind a proposed change, with 44 per cent voting against.

Lucie Greenwood, sales manager at ava, feels taking the time to delve into how your business performs when trading is slow, you’re more likely to be successful during busy periods.

‘Regardless of a company’s size or profit margins, a decrease in performance and income can be a very stressful time,’ she says.

‘However, it’s these periods in which you have the most time on your hands to take a step back and really look at how you work as a business. When you’re flat out and the money is pouring in, it’s very easy to assume everything is fine, when in fact there may be many aspects of your operations that can be improved.’

Further reading on productivity

Ben Lobel

Ben Lobel

Ben Lobel was the editor of SmallBusiness.co.uk from 2010 to 2018. He specialises in writing for start-up and scale-up companies in the areas of finance, marketing and HR.

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