Looking for an easy way to improve morale? Why not consider giving the people who report to you Friday’s off this summer. According to a recent survey, it’s an idea that is catching fire. In 2015, just 20% of companies gave their employees Fridays off and last year, that percentage increased to a whopping 42%!
Different companies implement the program in different ways. If you have deep enough pockets and can afford to just give your employees a bonus in the form of paid time off, that’s obviously a great way to do it and will be tremendously appreciated.
Even if you can’t afford to do that though, allowing your employees the option of working four ten-hour days and taking Fridays off is a worthy substitute that will still bring smiles.
The simple truth is that Americans are overworked. Millions of Americans work 50-60 hours a week and every year, that number increases by a bit more. The endless hours take their toll, with a greater and greater percentage of US adults suffering from the negative effects of stress, which, if left unchecked, can, in some cases, even kill.
If you already have an award and recognition program and you can’t afford to give everyone who reports to you Fridays off, you could make it one of the awards you hand out.
Each month, the overall top performer, using whatever metrics make the most sense for you and your company, gets the big prize and gets to take Friday’s off that month, then next month, the baton passes to someone else.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter exactly how you implement it. Just know that it’s a wildly popular idea that is rapidly gaining traction and employees categorically love it. If it appears in any form at your company, it’s sure to be a big hit!
The current uncertainty in the market, courtesy of the pandemic, even has some companies considering the idea of going to a four day work week across the board.
That’s a bit more of a radical step that will require some careful strategic planning on your part, but it’s certainly something to consider and there haven’t been many cases where business owners have tried it and found the results to be unsatisfactory.
Whatever you decide, this summer is destined to be one of the most unusual and challenging in living memory, with tens of millions still working from home and the pandemic still ongoing. Even with lock down restrictions easing, there’s no guarantee that the consuming public will venture out in sufficient numbers to help the economy rebound quickly, so you’ll probably have to think on your feet and be even more nimble than usual to navigate the uncertain waters that this summer represents.
Be safe, do what you can to help keep your employees safe, and before you know it, we’ll put this storm behind us and get back to something much closer to normal. That truly is something to look forward to.