1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,119 --> 00:00:14,960 Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:20,400 Speaker 1: Today's tip is that summer Fridays aren't just for summer. 4 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:25,360 Speaker 1: Deciding that you and your team members will mindfully work 5 00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:30,319 Speaker 1: a shorter day on Fridays can make everyone happier and 6 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 1: more efficient too. Back before working from home became more common, 7 00:00:36,840 --> 00:00:41,200 Speaker 1: lots of organizations gave employees a perk known as summer Fridays. 8 00:00:42,360 --> 00:00:45,840 Speaker 1: From Memorial Day to Labor Day in the US, offices 9 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:50,440 Speaker 1: would close around one pm on Fridays. The idea was 10 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:52,640 Speaker 1: that lots of people like to take off for summer 11 00:00:52,680 --> 00:00:56,240 Speaker 1: weekend trips, so many people were going to be drifting 12 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:01,480 Speaker 1: out early anyway. Better to acknowledge it, an account for it, 13 00:01:02,360 --> 00:01:04,480 Speaker 1: and keep people happy since they don't have to use 14 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:08,240 Speaker 1: vacation days so often. Then have a lot of mysteriously 15 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:13,479 Speaker 1: canceled three pm Friday meetings. I think it's a smart idea, 16 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:16,400 Speaker 1: but there's no reason that summer Fridays should just happen 17 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:20,280 Speaker 1: in the summer. Most people who work a Monday to 18 00:01:20,319 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 1: Friday schedule are starting to drift toward the weekend by 19 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 1: Friday afternoon, it's just hard to start anything new. People 20 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:32,360 Speaker 1: are generally trying to wrap up blues ends and get 21 00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:36,880 Speaker 1: out on time. They're tired with a lot of knowledge work. 22 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 1: It can become a bit of a game each week 23 00:01:39,640 --> 00:01:42,240 Speaker 1: trying to see when it is acceptable to sign off 24 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:47,320 Speaker 1: or leave the office. That game is a waste of time. 25 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:52,720 Speaker 1: If people aren't getting much done on Friday afternoon, why 26 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: not give them the time back. By setting an explicit 27 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,120 Speaker 1: early end to the work day on Friday, you can 28 00:02:00,160 --> 00:02:04,480 Speaker 1: actually keep people working up until that time. You can 29 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:06,920 Speaker 1: also make them happier that they are officially getting some 30 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:10,520 Speaker 1: personal time back, time that they are able to plan for. 31 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:15,680 Speaker 1: Rather than half working all day till four thirty, they'll 32 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: work at full tilt until one pm, knowing that's all 33 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 1: the time there is for many organizations. You won't really 34 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: lose anything in terms of productivity, but you will gain 35 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:32,959 Speaker 1: a lot in terms of employee satisfaction, so that tends 36 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,080 Speaker 1: to be a good trade off. Now, of course, not 37 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: all work can be flexible, but plenty of businesses don't 38 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: actually need to be open. You can, in fact clothes. 39 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:50,040 Speaker 1: Sometimes it's best just to do so, rather than have 40 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 1: harried employees trying to sneak breaks where they can. I 41 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:56,680 Speaker 1: recently got to notice that our local pharmacy would be 42 00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:01,040 Speaker 1: closing for lunch every day. Perhaps folks will be annoyed 43 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: at first, but if you keep posting the hours and 44 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:10,480 Speaker 1: reminding people, they will eventually get used to it. If 45 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:13,639 Speaker 1: you work for yourself or work flexibly, you might challenge 46 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:16,160 Speaker 1: yourself to take a half day one day a week 47 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:20,640 Speaker 1: or so, plan on finishing all your work by early afternoon, 48 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:25,880 Speaker 1: then mindfully use the open time for something that would 49 00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:30,400 Speaker 1: rejuvenate you, while on paper you might be working fewer hours. 50 00:03:31,360 --> 00:03:35,560 Speaker 1: Often the slight compression nudges people to be more efficient. 51 00:03:36,640 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 1: Does that meeting really need to happen? You don't dither 52 00:03:40,800 --> 00:03:44,400 Speaker 1: about a response to something unimportant, You just get it 53 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 1: done now. This compression doesn't work, and definitely, of course 54 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:51,800 Speaker 1: you are going to get more done in thirty seven 55 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:54,440 Speaker 1: hours of work then you will in a four hour 56 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 1: work week. But having some free time available during business 57 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:03,280 Speaker 1: hours is enough of a reward for most people that 58 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: they will start hunting down efficiencies. And hey, if you 59 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,960 Speaker 1: are in an office, getting a jump on Friday afternoon 60 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:15,480 Speaker 1: traffic can be a big win. You might be able 61 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:18,679 Speaker 1: to start planning some longer weekend adventures when Friday time 62 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:22,560 Speaker 1: opens up. That's true in the summer, but it can 63 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:25,479 Speaker 1: happen anytime of the year and it just might be 64 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:31,560 Speaker 1: good for everyone if it does. In the meantime, this 65 00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:35,839 Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the 66 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:45,720 Speaker 1: most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear 67 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:48,520 Speaker 1: from you. You can send me your tips, your questions, 68 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:52,360 Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, 69 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:57,279 Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b E the 70 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:01,600 Speaker 1: number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also 71 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:05,640 Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia 72 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:08,360 Speaker 1: dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all 73 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:11,200 Speaker 1: the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying 74 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:19,880 Speaker 1: in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio. 75 00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:23,400 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i 76 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:26,920 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 77 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:27,839 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.