Folks get pleasure from 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 of 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 permits employees to take Friday afternoon off over the summer season months — as work-from-home Fridays turned extra frequent, specialists say.
“Pre-pandemic, summer season Fridays had been factor, however hybrid general has taken over,” mentioned Invoice Driscoll, expertise office traits professional at staffing and consulting agency Robert Half.
As extra commuters settle into versatile working preparations, fewer employees are making Friday journeys in any respect in comparison with mid-week site visitors patterns, in accordance with the 2024 Global Traffic Scorecard launched in January by INRIX Inc., a traffic-data evaluation agency.
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Amongst workers, nonetheless, summer season Fridays are probably the most valued summer season profit, adopted by summer season hours and flextime, in accordance with a brand new survey by job web site Monster, which polled greater than 400 U.S. employees in June.
“Summer season Fridays are extremely valued amongst employees as a result of, for a lot of, they characterize greater than only a few further hours off,” mentioned Scott Blumsack, Monster’s chief technique and advertising officer. This perk “can go a good distance in displaying workers they’re valued, which might help stop burnout, enhance morale, and enhance retention throughout a season when disengagement can run excessive.”
Nonetheless, 84% of employees should not provided any summer-specific advantages, regardless that 55% additionally mentioned these advantages enhance productiveness, Monster discovered.
As a substitute, hybrid — and to a lesser extent absolutely distant — job postings have elevated within the final yr as employers compete for proficient job seekers who prioritize flexibility, in accordance with analysis by Robert Half.
“Hybrid is a extremely fascinating scenario proper now and one that every one ranges of workers are in search of,” mentioned Robert Half’s Driscoll.
Greater than 5 years after the pandemic, 72% of organizations even have return-to-office mandates, in accordance 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 stability and versatile hours have turn into more and more essential, other studies show.
Company wellness firm Exos, which works with giant organizations similar 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 frequent, employees put a excessive worth on that flexibility — and 63% of all employees would even settle for a pay minimize for the choice to work remotely extra typically, in accordance with Cisco’s world survey of greater than 21,500 employers and workers working full-time.