Summer Is Coming: What To Do If The Slowdown Isn't Showing Up At Work

Forbes

2 days ago

For many professionals, this summer already feels different. Historically, the anticipation of summer offered an opportunity to recover after sprinting for six months. However, with economic uncertainty rising, particularly in industries facing trade tensions and regulatory shifts, summer may no longer feel like a reset. Organizations are managing leaner teams, higher expectations and heavier workloads.
But even as work intensifies, the pressure doesn't stop there. For busy professionals, women especially, demands at home often rise in parallel. Coordinating childcare and eldercare, managing summer schedules or simply keeping up with shifting routines can feel like a second job layered on top of the first.
The accumulation of these demands takes a toll, and year over year the impact is visible. According to Gallup's 2025 State of the Workplace report, global workforce engagement decreased, with only 21% of employees feeling engaged at work and just 33% describing themselves as thriving. Well-being has declined most sharply among women in management, who reported a seven-percentage-point drop over the past year. While this data does not isolate summer specifically, it reflects a broader strain that only intensifies during busier times.
From shifting work dynamics to rising caregiving demands, this season brings new challenges. Navigating them well starts with knowing what's really at play and what to do about it.
Summer break doesn't mean less work - it means a different kind of work. For working parents, the end of the school year marks the beginning of a caregiving sprint. Camps, childcare, family travel and daily logistics require time, attention and emotional labor that rarely shows up on a calendar. And unlike school, summer doesn't come with built-in structure or stability.
According to Bright Horizons' 2025 Modern Family Index, 87% of working parents report challenges when their children are home during summer including interrupted workdays and the stress of managing unpredictable schedules. 68% say summer feels like a break for everyone but them. It's the kind of strain that may be invisible in daily schedules but compounds quietly - raising the risk of burnout while making recovery feel inaccessible
And while the parental pressure is clear, women often carry the larger share. A 2023 Pew Research report found that in dual-income households, women continue to shoulder the majority of caregiving and household responsibilities even while working full time. That imbalance doesn't pause for summer. It intensifies.
Even for professionals without direct caregiving responsibilities, summer doesn't always bring relief. When colleagues are out, the burden shits to those still online - and this certainly compounds on leaner teams. PTO becomes a puzzle of coordinating coverage, navigating deadlines and managing expectations from clients or leadership. For some, taking time off doesn't mean less work; it just means temporarily shifting the work somewhere else.
And even when time off is granted, it doesn't always translate into recovery. Another Pew Research study highlighted that 46% of U.S. workers say they don't use all their paid time off. Many cite fear of falling behind at work (49%) or feeling badly about co-workers taking on additional work (43%) as reasons for not taking more time off.
Particularly now, industries like retail, manufacturing, tech and even legal are managing more pressure due to evolving regulations and litigation. These sectors are navigating complex compliance landscapes, which increases workloads and make stepping away more challenging.
The result is a subtle kind of burnout - the kind that comes not from intensity but from continuity. Time off is either unavailable or incomplete. Even when the calendar says, 'out of office,' the mental tabs stay open. The inbox piles up. Pings still come through. And the stress of anticipating what's waiting can turn so-called rest into another source of pressure.
The season may promise flexibility, but that flexibility is often filled with invisible work. The question then becomes: how can recovery still happen, even when the ideal version isn't possible?
If the slowdown hasn't come yet, it might not. Recovery can still be designed. For professionals navigating a demanding summer, small shifts in planning and mindset can offer a sense of agency - even if rest looks different this season.
Here are a few strategies to make sure that by the time Labor Day hits, the question, 'How was your summer?' doesn't make you laugh - or cry.
Structure can soften stress. Choose one activity each week that restores your energy - something low-effort, but high impact. A walk with a friend. A 30 minute walk. A crossword puzzle on Sunday. Schedule it like a meeting.
It may not fix the week, but the ritual can help reclaim a sense of control and support well-being.
Start with what's left. How many PTO days are unused? Then make a plan you can actually stick to. That might mean blocking one Friday a month now through August, or building a long weekend around a holiday. There are even sites that help you hack your vacation days.
You don't need a five-day trip to make it count. Micro-vacations can be more accessible. A night at a hotel in your own city. A 90-minute train to a beach town.
You don't need months of planning or thousands of dollars to feel away. Harness the quick trips that you can plan the week of and only need one bag.
If you can't pause the season, at least protect one piece of it. Maybe hat means setting a 'no meetings before 10:00a.m.' rule once a week. Maybe it's pausing notifications after 7:00 p.m. Boundaries aren't selfish - they are strategic.
And when you do disconnect, have a plan for it. Unplugging entirely isn't always realistic. For some people, it adds for stress. Instead of aiming for perfect silence, set parameters that actually support recovery.
Maybe that means scanning your inbox once a day without replying. You know yourself best. The goal is to identify the cadence that supports your mental well-being and commit to it with intention.
Summer may not slow down - but that doesn't mean it has to run you over.
For professionals navigating this stretch without a built-in break, the goal isn't balance - it's capacity. Protect the moments that replenish your energy by choosing strategies that make burnout less inevitable and thriving more within reach.
It's not about making the season perfect. It's about making it livable.