Personnel Today reports that a Kellogg's UK initiative aimed at increasing employees' motivation and productivity during winter will allow workers to arrive one hour later, or depart one hour earlier, to maximize their exposure to sunlight. The arrangement is in response to a survey of the UK workforce (a sample of 1,000 individuals), which found that 40% of workers saw less than 30 minutes of sunlight per day during winter, and 10% saw none at all. Survey participants reported that the lack of sunlight affected their mood and motivation, and half of the participants contended that their productivity decreased by more than 30% during winter months.

Kellogg's is no stranger to seasonal flexible scheduling arrangements. In past summers it has allowed workers to leave at 1 p.m. on Fridays if they had completed a full week's hours. Seventy percent of employees took advantage of the offer in 2007, and 80% of those workers reported improved job satisfaction.

Photo credit: Christian Gidlof