WEBVTT - Summer Fridays aren't just for summer

0:00:03.440 --> 0:00:06.720
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

0:00:09.119 --> 0:00:14.960
<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

0:00:15.920 --> 0:00:20.400
<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is that summer Fridays aren't just for summer.

0:00:21.960 --> 0:00:25.360
<v Speaker 1>Deciding that you and your team members will mindfully work

0:00:25.440 --> 0:00:30.319
<v Speaker 1>a shorter day on Fridays can make everyone happier and

0:00:30.520 --> 0:00:36.120
<v Speaker 1>more efficient too. Back before working from home became more common,

0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:41.200
<v Speaker 1>lots of organizations gave employees a perk known as summer Fridays.

0:00:42.360 --> 0:00:45.840
<v Speaker 1>From Memorial Day to Labor Day in the US, offices

0:00:45.840 --> 0:00:50.440
<v Speaker 1>would close around one pm on Fridays. The idea was

0:00:50.479 --> 0:00:52.640
<v Speaker 1>that lots of people like to take off for summer

0:00:52.680 --> 0:00:56.240
<v Speaker 1>weekend trips, so many people were going to be drifting

0:00:56.280 --> 0:01:01.480
<v Speaker 1>out early anyway. Better to acknowledge it, an account for it,

0:01:02.360 --> 0:01:04.480
<v Speaker 1>and keep people happy since they don't have to use

0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:08.240
<v Speaker 1>vacation days so often. Then have a lot of mysteriously

0:01:08.360 --> 0:01:13.479
<v Speaker 1>canceled three pm Friday meetings. I think it's a smart idea,

0:01:13.560 --> 0:01:16.400
<v Speaker 1>but there's no reason that summer Fridays should just happen

0:01:16.480 --> 0:01:20.280
<v Speaker 1>in the summer. Most people who work a Monday to

0:01:20.319 --> 0:01:23.800
<v Speaker 1>Friday schedule are starting to drift toward the weekend by

0:01:23.800 --> 0:01:29.720
<v Speaker 1>Friday afternoon, it's just hard to start anything new. People

0:01:29.760 --> 0:01:32.360
<v Speaker 1>are generally trying to wrap up blues ends and get

0:01:32.360 --> 0:01:36.880
<v Speaker 1>out on time. They're tired with a lot of knowledge work.

0:01:37.000 --> 0:01:39.080
<v Speaker 1>It can become a bit of a game each week

0:01:39.640 --> 0:01:42.240
<v Speaker 1>trying to see when it is acceptable to sign off

0:01:42.920 --> 0:01:47.320
<v Speaker 1>or leave the office. That game is a waste of time.

0:01:48.520 --> 0:01:52.720
<v Speaker 1>If people aren't getting much done on Friday afternoon, why

0:01:52.760 --> 0:01:56.960
<v Speaker 1>not give them the time back. By setting an explicit

0:01:57.000 --> 0:02:00.120
<v Speaker 1>early end to the work day on Friday, you can

0:02:00.160 --> 0:02:04.480
<v Speaker 1>actually keep people working up until that time. You can

0:02:04.480 --> 0:02:06.920
<v Speaker 1>also make them happier that they are officially getting some

0:02:07.000 --> 0:02:10.520
<v Speaker 1>personal time back, time that they are able to plan for.

0:02:11.960 --> 0:02:15.680
<v Speaker 1>Rather than half working all day till four thirty, they'll

0:02:15.720 --> 0:02:19.840
<v Speaker 1>work at full tilt until one pm, knowing that's all

0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:24.000
<v Speaker 1>the time there is for many organizations. You won't really

0:02:24.120 --> 0:02:27.760
<v Speaker 1>lose anything in terms of productivity, but you will gain

0:02:27.800 --> 0:02:32.959
<v Speaker 1>a lot in terms of employee satisfaction, so that tends

0:02:32.960 --> 0:02:36.080
<v Speaker 1>to be a good trade off. Now, of course, not

0:02:36.240 --> 0:02:40.200
<v Speaker 1>all work can be flexible, but plenty of businesses don't

0:02:40.280 --> 0:02:45.840
<v Speaker 1>actually need to be open. You can, in fact clothes.

0:02:46.960 --> 0:02:50.040
<v Speaker 1>Sometimes it's best just to do so, rather than have

0:02:50.200 --> 0:02:54.200
<v Speaker 1>harried employees trying to sneak breaks where they can. I

0:02:54.240 --> 0:02:56.680
<v Speaker 1>recently got to notice that our local pharmacy would be

0:02:56.680 --> 0:03:01.040
<v Speaker 1>closing for lunch every day. Perhaps folks will be annoyed

0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:04.720
<v Speaker 1>at first, but if you keep posting the hours and

0:03:04.760 --> 0:03:10.480
<v Speaker 1>reminding people, they will eventually get used to it. If

0:03:10.520 --> 0:03:13.639
<v Speaker 1>you work for yourself or work flexibly, you might challenge

0:03:13.680 --> 0:03:16.160
<v Speaker 1>yourself to take a half day one day a week

0:03:16.240 --> 0:03:20.640
<v Speaker 1>or so, plan on finishing all your work by early afternoon,

0:03:21.880 --> 0:03:25.880
<v Speaker 1>then mindfully use the open time for something that would

0:03:25.919 --> 0:03:30.400
<v Speaker 1>rejuvenate you, while on paper you might be working fewer hours.

0:03:31.360 --> 0:03:35.560
<v Speaker 1>Often the slight compression nudges people to be more efficient.

0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:40.640
<v Speaker 1>Does that meeting really need to happen? You don't dither

0:03:40.800 --> 0:03:44.400
<v Speaker 1>about a response to something unimportant, You just get it

0:03:44.440 --> 0:03:48.840
<v Speaker 1>done now. This compression doesn't work, and definitely, of course

0:03:49.800 --> 0:03:51.800
<v Speaker 1>you are going to get more done in thirty seven

0:03:51.800 --> 0:03:54.440
<v Speaker 1>hours of work then you will in a four hour

0:03:54.600 --> 0:03:59.040
<v Speaker 1>work week. But having some free time available during business

0:03:59.080 --> 0:04:03.280
<v Speaker 1>hours is enough of a reward for most people that

0:04:03.400 --> 0:04:08.560
<v Speaker 1>they will start hunting down efficiencies. And hey, if you

0:04:08.600 --> 0:04:11.960
<v Speaker 1>are in an office, getting a jump on Friday afternoon

0:04:12.000 --> 0:04:15.480
<v Speaker 1>traffic can be a big win. You might be able

0:04:15.520 --> 0:04:18.679
<v Speaker 1>to start planning some longer weekend adventures when Friday time

0:04:18.760 --> 0:04:22.560
<v Speaker 1>opens up. That's true in the summer, but it can

0:04:22.600 --> 0:04:25.479
<v Speaker 1>happen anytime of the year and it just might be

0:04:25.520 --> 0:04:31.560
<v Speaker 1>good for everyone if it does. In the meantime, this

0:04:31.600 --> 0:04:35.839
<v Speaker 1>is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the

0:04:35.920 --> 0:04:45.720
<v Speaker 1>most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear

0:04:45.720 --> 0:04:48.520
<v Speaker 1>from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

0:04:48.600 --> 0:04:52.360
<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook,

0:04:52.440 --> 0:04:57.279
<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b E the

0:04:57.360 --> 0:05:01.600
<v Speaker 1>number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also

0:05:01.600 --> 0:05:05.640
<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia

0:05:05.760 --> 0:05:08.360
<v Speaker 1>dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all

0:05:08.400 --> 0:05:11.200
<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying

0:05:11.240 --> 0:05:19.880
<v Speaker 1>in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio.

0:05:20.480 --> 0:05:23.400
<v Speaker 1>For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i

0:05:23.480 --> 0:05:26.920
<v Speaker 1>heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:27.839
<v Speaker 1>your favorite shows.