Rejoice in the rain: Summer work is better when it’s wetter

If you have happened across this article while trying to beat the blues of another wash-out summer you are probably cursing your bad luck. There you are, sitting in your bedroom, glancing at the ceaseless rain and howling winds that have blighted that most painful of misnomers: the Great British Summer™. Why oh why must the weather ruin three months of unbroken sun, sea, and gardening that you have surely earned at the end of another gruelling year of study?

But the weather is not here to rob you of your summer break. It is, in fact, here to ensure you enjoy the maximum possible dosage of R&R. Of the seventy-seven percent of students in paid work, around forty-five percent have part-time jobs during the holidays. As one such student, I can confidently say that the summer holiday is the least relaxing of all, as I am at the beck and call of my employer from July to September. A hot summer thus entails overheated screaming children, grumpy parents, and the occasional fainting pensioner. And I only work in a carpet warehouse.

I’m joking. But still, the simple fact is that for a majority of students the summer break will be a busy one at work, with everywhere from coffee shops to museums to farm parks filled with eager customers. Whether you’re pouring lattes, taking tickets, or wrestling unruly bison into submission, thirty-degree heat isn’t the most conducive thing to good work, or indeed a restful mind.

A wet summer may seem a nightmare: a drab, dull snoozefest, with nothing except Love Island and occasional university reunions

When heatwaves strike, so does stress. The three months you need, nay deserve, to recoup all the mental and physical energy you need for another year at university, are instead spent chasing up lost children, calling 999, and apologising profusely to your boss for serving a Babycino to a pensioner, while their five-year-old grandchild received a Manhattan. All hypotheticals, of course…

This returns me to my original point. A wet summer may seem a nightmare: a drab, dull snoozefest, with nothing except Love Island and occasional university reunions to look forward to. But it is in fact the perfect prescription for a summer of mental regeneration. As somebody who works in the leisure industry during holidays, nothing cheers me more than waking up to a steady downpour.

I will still earn my wage, but sedately, sometimes even cheerfully. The few customers I do encounter are hardy, self-reliant sorts who will not badger me relentlessly or expect me to parent their children for them. There’s a sense of camaraderie amongst employees and customers alike-we’re pulling together, making the most of the weather to have a good time regardless. When it comes to my summer job, give me a Biblical flood over a Saharan drought any day.

The miserable weather so far this summer is a blessing

At a time when students are increasingly stressed-the last thing anyone needs during their summer break is more pressure, more exertion, and more sleepless nights. The miserable weather so far this summer is a blessing-it makes sure that all us working students can look back on our summer break without shuddering, as well as return to university well-refreshed and poised to really nail that 2:2. The next time you see rain outside your window, don’t despair. Rejoice instead, because it might just save your summer.