To whom it may concern

It has come to my attention that your colleagues need to be granted extra-ordinary paid leave forthwith.

The less-than-usual climate makes working for a living distinctly difficult; night time temperatures mean that sitting in the garden in the beautiful warm, velvety evenings cause late bed times. Need I remind you about the difficulty of sleeping.  I’ve no doubt that when unable to sleep, you too lie in a muck sweat, considering the chores that weren’t done that evening which must now be attempted before leaving for work in the morning. It’s not at all conducive to mind nurturing, replenishing sleep patterns - and a summer cycle of sleep loss begins. 

The commute has become increasingly difficult. The sun is causing roads to blister, overhead train lines to buckle and a fear and horror of strap hanging on public transport. Stepping out of the front door into the day’s sunlight is fraught with difficulties, there’s so much more to remember for our beleaguered commuter: should I have used sunscreen? If I use sunscreen, will I just look shiny and sticky all day? Has my lipstick got any SPF in it at all? Does my mascara contain anti-melt magic? Where are my sunglasses? Can I remember not to push them onto my head? Especially when I need to use my readers... Is my hair already flat? Is a floppy hat too much? Perhaps I shouldn’t be wearing a sleeveless dress....my upper arms could knock chips off a plate if I reach out. These are genuine extra stresses for your colleagues.

Office temperatures are a problem. Air conditioning is actually a negative; there’s always a colleague who wants it set at ‘Arctic’ and another who prefers an open window. Even when it’s blowing hot air and Saharan sand onto her desk whilst spoiling every ‘to do’ pile across every other desk. The understanding, tolerance (note my use of a trending management word) and indeed, smiling celebration of and between the different office personalities will be at risk. 

A slightly warm packed lunch because of the overloaded, dodgy fridge won’t help either. Nor does a desperate trip to Marks for a decent sandwich in a time limited period. All the stress of a commute and leaving the building as detailed above, but compressed into a ridiculously short time line. Unless you’re buying as a prelude to granting time off, don’t bother suggesting a pub by the river either. It will be packed full of people who don’t have to go back to work, the staff will have suffered from the heat too and be rushing around trying to satiate their bosses desire to ‘rake it in’. And those that manage a rare pub lunch break will be too hot, possibly sun burned and totally unable to stay awake after 3pm.

A good summer does not provide you with a motivated and productive workforce. Cut your losses, and see the big picture. You won’t have to work either. It’ll be fine and you’ll be so popular that production, sales and graphs will immediately spike at the onset of autumn. 

I mean it most Sincerely.