Mid-Week Holiday Hurts Worker Productivity

Firing up the grill? Don’t expect to be fired up at work.

With this year's Fourth of July holiday falling on a Wednesday, many workers are taking vacations in addition to the mid-week day off. Though summer vacations are commonplace, the quantity of workers taking off at the same time could spell trouble for some companies.

But John Challenger, CEO of global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, told KUHF that not all companies will be hurt.

“For a busy company, there’s just the risk that they can’t produce the same amount worker-hours they need to provide a high quality service or product," he said. "For companies that are in a slowdown, it’s probably not a bad idea to get their vacations loaded up at the same time.”

Challenger also says the vacation-induced slow-down only amplifies difficulties workers and companies already face in the warm summer weather. He says people just move slower in the heat and many wind up staying home to deal with heat-related issues, such as power outages and broken air conditioning units.