Fridays may look quiet on utilization dashboards, but they’re doing more heavy lifting than most leaders realize.
Part 1: How the End of the Workweek Is Reshaping Corporate America
Introduction
Fridays, increasingly marginalized as a work day, actually are more valuable for productivity than you might think.
Analysis by CBRE found that, from 2008 to present day, two things have remained constant; 1) the vast majority of companies never reach or exceed 100% utilization of their space and, 2) Friday’s are the lowest utilized day of the week.
So what’s changed in recent years? If Friday historically registered as the least utilized day in the office, and that trend has endured, why is it getting so much attention now? Perhaps it’s because Fridays are the blemish in an otherwise rebounding utilization dashboard for many companies; They’re lowering the average that many companies are proud to see on the rise.
Fridays are seen by many knowledge workers as a symbol of the transformation that occurred throughout the early years of the pandemic. It’s the one day of the week when casual attire is acceptable, if not welcome. The one day when most don’t schedule meetings – barring a time-sensitive project – in the late afternoons. And the one day when you are not surprised that your email is met with an OOO response.
Here are 3 key ways the Friday culture is affecting knowledge workers and the companies that employ them.
Friday Impact #1 : Productivity vs. Purpose
Key Idea: Fridays are a lot more useful as work days than most people might assume, even in the era of hybrid work. Numerous studies have scrutinized Friday productivity. A recent LinkedIn study concluded that “Fridays in the U.S. are undeniably the least productive day of the workweek, with data showing a 20–35% drop in task completion, fewer productive hours, and increased errors compared to Monday through Thursday.” However, Friday has more subtle value that many studies miss.
Consider the qualitative aspects of work, the things that aren’t measured via sales quotas, words typed, emails sent, etc.
- Individual tasks such as professional development; Friday is often one of the easiest times of the week to schedule a conversation with a mentor or grab the ear of a leader whose calendar is otherwise too full during the core days of the week.
- Mental decompression and reflection on the week ahead; organizing tasks and your calendar, writing out a new set of to-dos before the Monday rush. It’s often challenging for us to see solutions unless we take a step back from the hustle and bustle of our workflow and examine the bigger picture.
- Reading, submitting an expense report, cleaning up your digital file cabinet – all things that are arguably not important enough to do during the peak of the week.
Turns out, Friday actually is when we make ourselves the person that can do their job better Monday through Thursday. Without Friday, the constant “on” pressures of office work would start to cause the same dips in productivity to occur throughout the entire week.
Rather than writing off Friday as a lost day of productivity, we should ask employers and employees to redefine what “productive” means on Fridays.
Friday Impact #2: The New Work-Life Balance Frontier
Key Idea: Fridays have become an increasingly larger buffer zone between work and life. Consider your personal appointment schedule for you or your family; Would you rather schedule a dentist appointment at 8 a.m. on a Friday or a Tuesday? For the vast majority of professionals, Friday is the natural time to fit life into the work schedule, away from the email traffic, meetings and interruptions of Monday thru Thursday.
Retail giants everywhere have noticed. Kroger’s shopper visits on Fridays rival Saturday and Sunday percentages, which are an average of 2-3% higher than their daily visits Monday through Thursday. Thus, Kroger offers deals such as “Free Friday Download” for coupons as a means to draw in traffic on the new buffer day. At Costco, the big-box warehouse chain, Friday visits now come within 1.24% of rivaling Sunday visits.
And finally, consider the timing of employees’ paid time off. Many employees plan their PTO to balance maximum personal enjoyment and minimal work impact. Would you rather miss a full work day of meetings, emails, and to-dos and have to make it up later, or miss a lighter day with less catchup required? Less, of course. With more companies offering unlimited PTO as a strategic employee benefit, employees will have more freedom to consider Fridays a day to slow down or take off.
Section 3: The Death of Social Fridays
Key Idea: Casual Fridays in the office are a thing of the past, causing companies to pull events earlier in the week in the hopes of better engaging employees. The original aim of Casual Fridays was to boost employee morale, reduce stress and create space for creativity while still getting work done. It often involved other social engagements like team lunches, office happy hours, birthday celebrations, etc.
Throughout the 2000s, casual Fridays began losing distinction as business-casual attire gradually took hold as an everyday norm for many companies. Then, hybrid work schedules initiated during the pandemic established Friday as an optimal day to work from home. Still, the excitement of gathering with teammates at the end of a long work week endured for many office workers.
So where does the socialization go? The middle of the work week. Many companies are opting for events and programming on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays – their highest attendance days.
Conclusion
In summary, Fridays in corporate America have evolved into the days employees are most likely to work from home, catch up on solo personal and work-related tasks, and take PTO.
Fridays are not a pure loss of productivity, but a strategic shift in how we work, rest, and connect.
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