WEBVTT - Second Cup: Summer Fridays aren't just for summer

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is that summer Fridays aren't just for summer.

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<v Speaker 1>Deciding that you and your team members will mindfully work

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<v Speaker 1>a shorter day on Fridays can make everyone happier and

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<v Speaker 1>more efficient too. Back before working from home became more common,

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<v Speaker 1>lots of organizations gave employees a perk known as summer Fridays.

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<v Speaker 1>From Memorial Day to Labor Day in the US, offices

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<v Speaker 1>would close around one pm on Fridays. The idea was

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<v Speaker 1>that lots of people like to take off for summer

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<v Speaker 1>weekend trips, so many people were going to be drifting

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<v Speaker 1>out early anyway. Better to acknowledge it, an account for it,

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<v Speaker 1>and keep people happy since they don't have to use

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<v Speaker 1>vacation days so often. Then have a lot of mysteriously

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<v Speaker 1>canceled three pm Friday meetings. I think it's a smart idea,

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<v Speaker 1>but there's no reason that summer Fridays should just happen

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<v Speaker 1>in the summer. Most people who work a Monday to

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<v Speaker 1>Friday schedule are starting to drift towards the weekend by Friday, afternoon,

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<v Speaker 1>it's just hard to start anything new. People are generally

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<v Speaker 1>trying to wrap up blues ends and get out on time.

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<v Speaker 1>They're tired with a lot of knowledge work. It can

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<v Speaker 1>become a bit of a game each week trying to

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<v Speaker 1>see when it is acceptable to sign off or leave

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<v Speaker 1>the office. That game is a waste of time. If

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<v Speaker 1>people aren't getting much done on Friday afternoon, why not

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<v Speaker 1>give them the time back. By setting an explicit early

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<v Speaker 1>end to the work day on Friday, you and actually

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<v Speaker 1>keep people working up until that time. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>make them happier that they are officially getting some personal

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<v Speaker 1>time back, time that they are able to plan for.

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<v Speaker 1>Rather than half working all day till four thirty, they'll

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<v Speaker 1>work at full tilt until one pm, knowing that's all

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<v Speaker 1>the time there is for many organizations. You won't really

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<v Speaker 1>lose anything in terms of productivity, but you will gain

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<v Speaker 1>a lot in terms of employee satisfaction, so that tends

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<v Speaker 1>to be a good trade off. Now, of course, not

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<v Speaker 1>all work can be flexible, but plenty of businesses don't

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<v Speaker 1>actually need to be open. You can, in fact clothes.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes it's best just to do so, rather than have

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<v Speaker 1>harried employees trying to sneak breaks where they can. I

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<v Speaker 1>recently got to notice that our local pharmacy would be

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<v Speaker 1>closing for lunch every day. Perhaps some folks will be

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<v Speaker 1>annoyed at first, but if you keep posting the hours

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<v Speaker 1>and reminding people, they will eventually get used to it.

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<v Speaker 1>If you work for yourself or work flexibly, you might

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<v Speaker 1>challenge yourself to take a half day one day a

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<v Speaker 1>week or so, plan on finishing all your work by

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<v Speaker 1>early afternoon, then mindfully use the open time for something

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<v Speaker 1>that would rejuvenate you, while on paper you might be

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<v Speaker 1>working fewer hours. Often the slight compression nudges people to

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<v Speaker 1>be more efficient. Does that meeting really need to happen?

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<v Speaker 1>You don't dither about a response to something unimportant, You

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<v Speaker 1>just get it done now. This compression doesn't work, And definitely,

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<v Speaker 1>of course, you are going to get more done in

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<v Speaker 1>thirty seven hours of work then you will in a

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<v Speaker 1>four hour work week. But having some free time available

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<v Speaker 1>during business hours is enough of a reward for most

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<v Speaker 1>people that they will start hunting down efficiencies. And hey,

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<v Speaker 1>if you are in an office, getting a jump on

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<v Speaker 1>Friday afternoon traffic can be a big win. You might

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<v Speaker 1>be able to start planning some longer weekend adventures when

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<v Speaker 1>Friday time opens up. That's true in the summer, but

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<v Speaker 1>it can happen anytime of the year and it just

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<v Speaker 1>might be good for everyone if it does. In the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

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<v Speaker 1>hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b E the

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<v Speaker 1>number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast Podcast at iHeartMedia

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<v Speaker 1>dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all

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<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying

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<v Speaker 1>in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio.

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