Summer Fridays Are Over—Blame It On Remote Work

Summer Fridays were once a common perk in corporate America, but are fading from the workplace thanks in large part to the rise of remote and hybrid work models.

What To Know: The phrase, "Summer Fridays" traditionally refers to the benefit allowing employees to leave early or take Fridays off during the summer months and get a head start on the weekend. 

However, as organizations have embraced flexible work arrangements, the need for a dedicated "summer Friday" has diminished, and the perk has become increasingly rare.

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Before the pandemic, Summer Fridays were widely offered as a morale booster and a way to attract talent in a competitive job market. In 2019, over half of U.S. companies provided some form of summer benefit, according to Gartner HR. 

Following the shift to remote and hybrid work, only about a third of workers reported having access to this perk by 2024. The reason is clear: with employees able to work from home, the rigidity of the traditional workweek has loosened. 

“Summer Fridays were once seen as a perk that allowed employees some flexibility during the summer months,” Jonathan Weindel, head of data analytics at Envoy, told EBN. 

“This has just lost a lot of relevance today. And there’s a lot more intentionality around what employees are doing when they’re actually in the workplace, primarily Tuesdays through Thursdays.”

However, as companies prioritize productivity and profitability the Summer Friday tradition is being replaced by broader, year-round flexibility.

The evolution of work culture means that, while Summer Fridays may be disappearing as a formal policy, the underlying desire for flexibility and work-life balance remains strong. 

In the end, the spirit of Summer Fridays may live on, even as the tradition itself fades into the background.

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