Thousands of UK workers given 'summer Friday' hours and can finish work early

Daily Mirror

5 days ago

An analysis of broadband data has found that there is an 8 per cent decline in traffic at 3-5pm on Fridays during the summer compared with winter - and the reason is more than valid
A surge of UK employees are being granted 'summer Friday ' hours, allowing them to knock off work early. The trend, which sees workers subtly extending their weekends during the summer months, has been highlighted by recent research.
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Telecoms giant Virgin Media 's analysis of broadband data reveals an 8 per cent drop in traffic between 3-5pm on Fridays during the summer compared to winter.
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One in five (20 per cent) of the 1,000 individuals surveyed by the broadband firm admitted that while their company didn't have a formal 'summer Friday' policy, it had become an unspoken rule to wrap up work early before the weekend. In other news, an exciting heatwave forecast with maps revealing the exact date a 39C heat plume will scorch the UK.
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ASOS
The online fashion retailer permits its staff to clock out at 3pm on Fridays from June through August, reports Birmingham Live.
Gary Cookson, director of Epic HR, pointed out that this trend isn't new and existed even before remote working became commonplace. "I remember in my first job we would go for a pub lunch at 1pm on Friday, stay until 2pm and then spend the last couple of hours of the afternoon doing barely any work and leaving by 4pm," he recalled.
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Kellanova
Kellanova, the parent company of Kellogg's and Pringles, is implementing its "Summer Hours" scheme for the 22nd consecutive year, running from 2 May to 26 September.
Office-based employees are permitted to finish from 12pm on Fridays, while field sales team members can clock off at the same time on any day of the week.
Speaking about the trend, Clare Kelliher, professor of work and organisation at Cranfield University, clarified that being offline didn't automatically mean employees weren't grafting: "Depending upon the nature of the job, some activities may be better done when offline and individuals may choose to do these at times when they expect online activity to be quieter; for example, Friday afternoons."
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Penguin Random House
Publishing giant Penguin Random House permits workers to clock off at 1pm on Fridays throughout the summer period. This follows research revealing that three in five (61 per cent) believed they had 'earned the right' to knock off early following a hectic week, whilst 59 per cent admitted they felt no guilt whatsoever about doing so.
Additionally, 63 per cent claimed they were more efficient earlier in the week knowing they could wrap up early on Friday. Yet not all employees are switching off completely – instead, some are swapping the office for the railway station (15 per cent), the local park (14 per cent) or even the local (10 per cent) before the weekend kicks off.
Hachette
The publishing house permits workers to finish at 1pm on Fridays. Molly Johnson-Jones, CEO and co-founder of flexible working jobs platform Flexa, revealed she occasionally logs off early or operates from a beer garden during summer, with her team grafting wherever and whenever they fancy within the firm's core hours of 11am to 3pm.
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The company also runs early finishes of 2pm every Friday. "If staff are covertly finishing earlier and working from different locations, it's either because their company offers fake flexibility or none at all," she said.
PwC
PwC allows employees to squeeze their working hours and knock off early on Fridays between mid-July and the end of August.
A recent survey revealed that nearly half (48 per cent) of those polled were not given permission to finish early on Friday, a third (32 per cent) admitted they did so regularly, with or without approval. Meanwhile, as many as a quarter (24 per cent) confessed they had switched their status to 'active' online to sneakily clock off early on a Friday.
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Goodman Masson
Goodman Masson permits staff to wrap up at 3.30pm on Fridays throughout the entire year. Cookson recognised that secretly logging off early on Fridays might be viewed as a negative trend by some firms.
However, he added: "If enough work has been done by Friday early afternoon then does it do much harm? "Maybe it is a sign that a four-day week is achievable for many organisations, without much impact on productivity."
Flexa
Flexa, a flexible working jobs site, allows staff to work wherever and whenever they fancy. Johnson-Jones, CEO and co-founder of Flexa, commented: "There's a real issue if companies are misleading talent, or don't trust or empower employees to take advantage of flexible working offerings in reality.
"There's no issue with working from a beer garden and finishing at 3pm if staff are able to do so effectively and openly in line with company policies."