Folks take pleasure in an unusually heat day in New York Metropolis as temperatures attain the low 80s on June 4, 2025 in New York Metropolis.
Spencer Platt | Getty Pictures
Summer Fridays could also be thought-about the most desirable perk of the season, however fewer employers are on board with the shortened workweek.
Firms have steadily phased out summer season Fridays — a coverage that enables staff to take Friday afternoon off over the summer season months — as work-from-home Fridays grew to become extra widespread, consultants say.
“Pre-pandemic, summer season Fridays had been factor, however hybrid total has taken over,” stated Invoice Driscoll, know-how office tendencies knowledgeable at staffing and consulting agency Robert Half.
As extra commuters settle into versatile working preparations, fewer staff are making Friday journeys in any respect in comparison with mid-week site visitors patterns, in keeping with the 2024 Global Traffic Scorecard launched in January by INRIX Inc., a traffic-data evaluation agency.
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Amongst workers, nevertheless, summer season Fridays are probably the most valued summer season profit, adopted by summer season hours and flextime, in keeping with a brand new survey by job web site Monster, which polled greater than 400 U.S. staff in June.
“Summer season Fridays are extremely valued amongst staff as a result of, for a lot of, they symbolize greater than just some additional hours off,” stated Scott Blumsack, Monster’s chief technique and advertising and marketing officer. This perk “can go a great distance in exhibiting workers they’re valued, which might help stop burnout, increase morale, and enhance retention throughout a season when disengagement can run excessive.”
Nonetheless, 84% of staff are usually not provided any summer-specific advantages, despite the fact that 55% additionally stated these advantages enhance productiveness, Monster discovered.
As a substitute, hybrid — and to a lesser extent totally distant — job postings have elevated within the final 12 months as employers compete for proficient job seekers who prioritize flexibility, in keeping with analysis by Robert Half.
“Hybrid is a extremely fascinating scenario proper now and one that each one ranges of workers are on the lookout for,” stated Robert Half’s Driscoll.
Greater than 5 years after the pandemic, 72% of organizations even have return-to-office mandates, in keeping with a separate hybrid work examine by Cisco.
However, even with the mandates, workers are much less more likely to work within the workplace on Fridays, and more likely to commute Monday to Thursday, Cisco discovered.
Staff worth flexibility
As employee burnout and disengagement grows amid the wave of in-office mandates, work-life steadiness and versatile hours have turn out to be more and more vital, other studies show.
Company wellness firm Exos, which works with massive organizations akin to JetBlue and Adobe, says burnout has gone down significantly amongst workers at corporations which have made Fridays extra versatile. Exos additionally examined out “You Do You Fridays” — and located significant benefits.
The extra adaptable the schedule, the extra positively workers view their firm’s insurance policies, the Cisco report additionally discovered.
With hybrid preparations now widespread, staff put a excessive worth on that flexibility — and 63% of all staff would even settle for a pay lower for the choice to work remotely extra usually, in keeping with Cisco’s international survey of greater than 21,500 employers and workers working full-time.
