Who doesn’t love a snow day? The world literally slows down for a bit and kids (and teachers) rejoice.

Do you rejoice as well or are you more stressed on a snow day?  For many, a snow day means a day working from home.  For others, it’s a stressful, agonizing day because their workplace either has no snow day policy, a policy that isn’t clearly defined or they work for someone who doesn’t believe in snow days.

I’ve worked in these situations and as a result, I always dreaded a snow day.  Every morning these thoughts go through your head…Is the office closed or opening late? What will I do with my son while I work? Can I drive my car on the bad roads? What if I wreck? It can become a very stressful and debilitating day for an employee. The workplace needs a clearly defined policy and no matter what, it needs to stick to that policy.

I’ve seen companies with really good snow day policies, for instance, one place had a policy that if the local school was closed then the office was closed.  This is great because not only is it very straightforward, but the employees who are also parents can rest assured they won’t have to deal with child care issues.  Other companies open later to allow traffic to flow and snow to melt, this is also good.  Regardless, have a policy that is clearly defined and be reasonable with your people.  Some people are terrified to drive on snow and ice so be understanding if they ask to work from home.  Some employees can’t wait to be the first ones out on the snow…good for them but don’t compare those employees against those who don’t like to drive, everyone is different.

I believe that if you instill a great culture in the work place every day, you won’t have to worry about snow days…not only are your employees probably happy and content but they will be more apt to actually do work from home and/or brave the elements to get in to the office.  This is what you want most of all, employees who want to work even on a snow day because the workplace culture is so good and trust me, this is what employees want as well.

Here’s a great article: The Adult Snow Day is Dying, and That’s Sad.