when i first moved to new york city over 12 years ago, i was introduced to the concept of summer fridays ~ usually from memorial day to labor day companies give their employees half days on fridays. it was a new concept to me, a wonderful new concept to me. why didn’t other places in the country adopt summer fridays? or at least it was never implemented in dallas or indiana.
how does a summer friday work?
every company varies, but most common is that every friday, employees are allowed to leave the office around 2 pm. {note: there are times when one must stay the full day if there are deadlines or projects that need to be finished} this has long been a tradition of summer in new york, along with house shares in the hamptons or the hudson valley. employees have mini vacations each weekend and return to the office filled with a renewed energy.
as both an employee and a business owner and manager, i have strongly supported the concept and other concepts like summer fridays. imagine my dismay when i started reading about summer fridays being cut this year ~ there are multiple reasons for the cutbacks. a few i have read are: during this recession companies have been producing at the same capacity but with less employees therefore there is too much work to be done to let employees work a half day on a friday ~ another reason i heard was that a company could not let there employees take a half day when the country is experiencing the highest unemployment rate ~ basically they are afraid of being judged.
here a few articles i found online debating summer fridays
~ The Wall Street Journal “Do Summer Fridays Still Exist?”
~ PR Breakfast Club “The Official PRBC Guide to Summer Fridays”
~ The New York Times “If a Tree Falls at Work Friday…”
and finally… my opinion on the subject ~ don’t take summer fridays away. a manager/owner/employee relationship is a give and take just like any relationship. our employees need to trust us and believe that we have their best interests at heart. we have all been through some tough, depressing times the past two years and it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel and even harder for our employees to see the light when we have taken away salaries, vacation, hours or whatever it may be. let’s give back a little. a few hours on a summer friday can instill the passion and dedication that has been lacking during the winter and spring months. this is good for your employees and most of all i think you will find yourself refreshed and ready for new challenges. use the time to be creative and brainstorm. get out of the day to day nonsense that we all experience monday through friday, day after day. i know i could use a little pick me up.
~ natalie
tags: entreprenuerial sound bites, natalie markoff, summer fridays, the markoff group