To most companies the idea of their employees doing something else on during the work hours might seem threatening. For many young and creative professionals daylighting has become a way of life, and if done correctly and transparently it can benefit the employee while still not harming the company. 

Daylighting must be transparent to your team. It is important that it isn't a competitive product or service. According to the recent research 16% of people said that they are always on the look out for new job opportunities that can complement their full time job. Naturally the obligation to exceed expectations in your full-time job always has to come first. It is necessary to keep in mind that daylighting should not be done at the expense of other responsibilities. Instead, it should be used to fill the time during which you daydream or zone out.  

How does it work?

For example, Google has introduced the 70/20/10 rule, allowing employees to spend 20% of their time in the form of “Innovation time off” so that they can work on their own ideas that relate to Google and then 10% of time they can do things that are completely unrelated to Google. Daylighting can fit in perfectly into this 10%. This approach results in Google gaining more loyal employees and at  the same time, capturing innovative thinking due to random stimulation.

Following Google's lead companies can actually improve the productivity of their workforce by providing them with that 10% and encouraging them to pursue their passion projects including daylighting. 

What are the benefits?

Changing the focus from finding the work/free-time balance to work/work balance can be beneficial for both employees and employees. First of all having additional incentive can actually increase the productivity of your employees by inspiring them to use the time that they are given more efficiently.

Setting a side a bi-monthly meeting to mentor employees on entrepreneurial side projects can actually help in their long-term education and at the same time lead to some creative and lucrative projects for the company.

Conclusions

Allowing your employees to dedicate a portion of their time to dalyighting can increase productivity and bring new revenue to your company. It is important to set clear and strict rules and to keep this type of work transparent in order to avoid possible problems in the future.