Summer Fridays are on the decline—companies may be replacing them with WFH days


The share of workers who say they get Summer Fridays has dropped dramatically in recent years.

Just 11% of North American workers say they have access to Summer Fridays, according to a November 2023 survey from Gartner of more than 1,100 people. In 2019, however, 55% of organizations offered the benefit, and until that point its popularity had been growing for years.

It’s possible companies are doing away with Summer Fridays, the policy that allows workers to take a few hours or the entire day off during summer months, now that work-from-home Fridays are becoming more common in hybrid workplaces, says Caitlin Duffy, senior director in the Gartner HR practice.

But organizations should be cautious of seeing the different types of flexibility as having the same benefits, she says, especially during what she calls a “well-being crisis” when employee burnout and disengagement are high.

“Organizations may see them as interchangeable, but there’s something different about being completely off and disconnected than there is working remotely,” Duffy tells CNBC Make It.

Some companies have made headlines for scaling back on workplace flexibility that emerged during the pandemic. For example, Goldman Sachs came under fire last year when it mandated staff return to the office five days a week, effectively prohibiting the practice of staffers working remotely on Fridays and getting an early start on the weekend. JP Morgan Chase, Boeing and UPS have also increased RTO requirements for some parts of their workforce, though businesses mandating full-time office attendance make up a small share of the Fortune 500 companies.

Duffy says organizations should consider how reducing workplace flexibility will impact their employees before imitating what their competitors are doing.

“Leaders are looking to their peers to get a sense of what others are doing, especially if they’re competing for the same talent,” Duffy says. “But we have heard HR leaders still say they’re concerned about the impact of return-to-office on their ability to attract and retain talent.”

A benefit to help ‘make time for life’

Workers say shorter weeks improve their jobs, lives

Summer Fridays may be exclusive, but they’re in high demand: 41% of workers would most want a four-day workweek or full Summer Fridays off, according to a June 2023 Monster survey of 523 people.

Among workers who receive summer benefits (like reduced hours or flexible schedules) 27% said they’d consider leaving their company if reduced workweeks were taken away.

And a majority of workers who get summer benefits say the perks don’t negatively impact their productivity, while 66% say these benefits help boost their productivity.

Meanwhile, support for a year-round four-day workweek has grown across businesses and lawmakers in recent years. Dozens of companies around the world have adopted permanent shortened workweeks after highly publicized trial runs that improved worker productivity, happiness and business outcomes. In Congress, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., recently introduced legislation that would reduce the standard workweek to 32 hours without a pay cut.

On the employer side, Duffy isn’t concerned a decline in Summer Friday offerings could diminish momentum around a four-day workweek. Roughly 10% of U.S. workers say they have a year-round four-day workweek, and that share has trended upwards over time, according to Gartner data.

Overall, a majority, 87%, of U.S. workers say they’d be interested in a four-day workweek, and 82% believe widespread adoption in the U.S. would be successful, according according to a 2023 survey of 1,047 people from Morning Consult.

Want to land your dream job? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Ace Your Job Interview to learn what hiring managers really look for, body language techniques, what to say and not to say, and the best way to talk about pay. Use discount code NEWGRAD to get 50% off from 5/1/24 to 6/30/24.

Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It’s newsletter to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life.

How much it really costs to buy a $1 home in Italy



Source link