What are "The Dog Days of Summer"?

Ever wonder where this term came from? Nope, not from Major League Baseball, although they use it. It actually falls from July 3 to August 11; the 20 days before and after the "dog" star Sirius rises and falls in conjunction with the sun. The Romans used to think Sirius threw off some extra heat which is why that was the hottest time of the year.

In the business to business (B2B) world, it's a time when things typically slow down (depending on your industry of course) with vacation time, factory shut downs, and generally slower decision making.

At Office Interiors one of our Core Values is "Our People". We have dedicated, smart and hard working professionals who try each and every day to do great work for our customers. And I'm proud of them. As a direct result, they deserve a restful, fun and great break from it all when they take vacation, whatever time of year that is.

I encourage all of our team to do everything they can to 'detach' from work when they are on vacation. Have a professional 'out of office message' with backup contacts for urgent matters, be as well organized as possible prior to leaving, and plan for a great vacation, even if it's a 'stay'cation! It's chill time!

We have found that this approach helps to ensure Our People come back refreshed and energized to get back at it! It's actually a very productive discipline. It's also part of a holistic approach to job satisfaction.

In today's business world we all have lots of stress and 'screen time', if fact too much. Wouldn't it be better if we all enjoyed the Dog Days of August a little bit more?

I think it would.

Jim