Summer Fridays Vanish As Remote Work Surges 53%

Summer Fridays, a longstanding corporate tradition where employees leave the office early on Fridays during the summer months, are becoming increasingly rare. This benefit, which allowed workers to enjoy extra time for relaxation and personal activities, has been a staple in many workplaces. Nicole Houston, a media relations specialist, shared her experience of leaving work at 1 p.m. on Fridays to spend quality time with her dog and clear her head. However, this perk is quickly fading away. In 2019, about 55% of North American workers surveyed said they took summer Fridays, but by 2023, only 11% of employees reported that their workplaces offered this benefit.

The decline of summer Fridays can be attributed to several factors, including an emphasis on worker productivity and corporate push for higher profits. However, the rise of flexible work schedules during and after the pandemic has been the final nail in the coffin for this tradition. With most employees already working from home at the end of the week, companies are less inclined to encourage a "leave the office early" mentality. Mae Mendoza, a senior manager at a recruitment company, noted that the increasing prevalence of hybrid work and the flexibility of work-from-home arrangements have led some companies to eliminate or scale back on summer Fridays. The reasoning is that companies are already giving employees a lot of flexibility, so there is less need for additional perks like summer Fridays.

Remote work, once enjoyed by only a small percentage of employees, became widespread during the pandemic. In 2019, only around 8% of workers were exclusively remote, but that number rose to 70% in 2020. Although many people have returned to the office, the lifestyle changes have had staying power. Around 27% of workers were exclusively remote in May 2024, and 53% of workers had a hybrid schedule. Among hybrid workers, Friday is by far the most popular day to work from home, with only around 33% of workers in the office on Fridays in 2023, compared to 63% on Tuesday and Wednesday. This shift has made the urge to allow workers time off on Fridays less pressing for bosses, who often suspect that remote employees are not giving their all. This mentality has likely factored into companies' decisions against allowing even a little bit of extra time off.

The suspicion from the C-suite about remote workers' productivity has fed into a renewed obsession with productivity, another reason why some employers are doing away with the summer perk. Even companies that have taken a hard line on return-to-office policies, such as Goldman Sachs, have eliminated summer Fridays. Laurie Chamberlin, head of recruitment solutions for a human resources provider, noted that employers are still feeling that with hybrid work, people have more flexibility, so why do they need to offer summer Fridays? Employees, on the other hand, feel that they are on 24/7 and would like to officially be able to cut out early. Companies are looking more at outputs and work products and hitting deadlines.

Consulting firm PwC’s UK unit experimented with flexible summer Fridays back in 2021, and although three quarters of its employees said the benefit improved their well-being, the company has gradually reeled back the offering. What started as a half-day off for 12 Fridays in summer was cut down to eight in 2023, and UK staffers could only take six summer Fridays in 2024. The reason? Expectations that a stricter workweek will increase productivity. Chamberlin added that PwC wasn’t alone in looking to find pockets of productivity where it could. It’s in line with the market getting more difficult for employers to make profits, and they’re trying to get a little bit back.

Not every company has killed summer Fridays. IBM, KPMG, Pfizer, and Estée Lauder all still offered a relaxed end-of-week schedule for their employees last year. KPMG thinks about the benefit as an opportunity for staffers to spend valuable time with friends and family. However, experts said they’re not holding their breath for summer Fridays to make a comeback. The companies most likely to offer the perk are already offering hybrid options to employees. Despite the perk’s plummeting popularity, they added the practice could still offer some big upsides for corporations, especially considering the current burnout crisis among workers. Workers whose companies still offered the perk said the benefit helped them manage burnout, supported their emotional well-being, and got them refreshed for the work week. Easing their stress could also improve their drive—about 66% of workers with summer benefits including reduced hours said it increased their work productivity. Josiah Chambers, an account executive for a PR agency that has summer Fridays, shared that he closed his laptop at 3 p.m. and spent that extra free time exploring new restaurants in Brooklyn, something he had a harder time doing on his regular schedule. He noted that he was much more prepared to come in on Monday and didn’t feel like he was coming into the next week flustered. It definitely contributed to him feeling less burnt out. When they were going through the week, it’s something to look forward to.