Not long ago, the idea of “summer Fridays” at work (leaving work a few hours before 5 p.m. to make the most of the weekend) was a fairly common idea.
Employees might reasonably expect their company to allow them to leave around noon to meet up with friends, go to the beach, or generally get a good start to the weekend.
But what was already a fading American work tradition has come crashing down with the rise of hybrid and remote work. About 55% of American workers had summer Fridays in 2019, according to a study report According to Gartner, a technology research and consulting firm, that figure will be just 11% of employees by 2023.
“The increasing prevalence of hybrid work and the flexibility of work-from-home arrangements have led some companies to eliminate or reduce summer Fridays,” Mae Mendoza, a senior manager at Robert Walters, a staffing firm, tells my colleague Emma Burleigh. “They argue, ‘We’re already giving our employees a lot of flexibility.’”
The drive to boost employee productivity in pursuit of higher earnings may also be playing a role. Consulting firm PwC has gradually reduced its summer Fridays in recent years. After introducing the benefit in 2021, they limited it to eight Fridays in 2023, and now employees only get six Friday half-days.
But the benefit is hugely popular with employees, and HR leaders should seriously think about the advantages of offering it. Amid a widespread epidemic of burnout and a crisis of disconnection, slightly longer weekends might be just what the doctor ordered.
“Summer Fridays improve employee retention and attractiveness, boost morale and engagement, and reduce burnout,” Mendoza says. “Aside from that, it’s a benefit to the company’s positive image to have a work-life balance.”
You can read more about the disappearance of summer Fridays here.
Gilman blue
azure.gilman@fortune.com
Emma Burleigh
emma.burleigh@fortune.com
Today’s edition was curated by Emma Burleigh.
Around the table
A roundup of the most important headlines in the HR area.
Attempts to form Amazon’s first union in England failed, with organizers losing by just 28 votes. Some workers say the company has actively discouraged unionization. New York Times
Two Democratic members of Congress have asked the Secretary of Labor for information on child labor violations in government-subsidized youth work programs. The Guardian
Unionized Boeing employees in Washington state rallied yesterday to vote on a strike mandate that would put the power of their workforce on display in upcoming contract negotiations. JOBsNews
Water cooler
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Gallows. After Dell decided not to offer promotions to its remote employees, workers expressed their feelings and criticized the company’s employee engagement survey. —Chloe Berger
Luxury scrutiny. Italian authorities have opened an investigation into luxury fashion brands Christian Dior and Giorgio Armani over allegations of “inadequate” staff pay and unsafe working conditions. —Alberto Brambilla, Bloomberg
In the fight. In the wake of conservative criticism, Deere & Co. said at X that it would abandon its DEI initiatives to focus solely on professional development programs and resource groups. —Simone Foxman, Michael Hirtzer, Bloomberg
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