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This decade, we’ve seen a revolution in worker benefits. As part of the new wave of employee-friendly perks, one sunny contender has emerged as a crowd-pleasing favorite.
It’s likely at least one of your employees has asked for this perk. Lately, it seems like everyone is offering it. You may have heard that it’s been shown to increase productivity by 66%. Of course, we’re talking about summer Fridays.
In this article, we’ll shed a little light on some of the more serious questions you’ll need to consider if you’re planning on offering this fun benefit. We’ll also share our tips for implementing a summer Friday work schedule that works for you, and even provide a sample summer Friday policy that you can adapt to your own unique needs.
In a sentence, the “summer Friday” is a perk offered by employers that allows employees to leave work early on Fridays during the summer months.
The exact parameters of a summer Friday differ between each employer that implements the practice. While we can (and will) provide you with a list of factors to consider if you’d like to try out the summer Friday perk in your own workplace, the shape this perk takes is totally up to you.
Here are some of the parameters you can consider if you’re thinking about what a summer Friday benefit might look like within your organization:
Consider details like eligibility, time frames, communication requirements, and approval processes. For this policy to work, you’ll need buy-in from leadership and input from managers and supervisors.
You might not be able to offer the same summer Friday benefits across the board, and that’s okay. If employees may still be required to stay at work for their full working day on certain Fridays, you can (and should) include these details in your summer Friday policy.
As with any new benefit or perk, a summer Friday policy comes with its own compliance concerns. Review your ideas with an experienced HR compliance expert, who can answer questions and spot issues regarding wage and hour, PTO usage, consistency, exemptions, discrimination, and other considerations.
While informal practices may be the norm in some organizations, a written summer Friday policy is always your best bet. A written policy helps neutralize the issues between employer and employee that often stem from misunderstandings and confusion.
A one-size-fits-all summer Fridays work schedule might not work for every role, team, or department. Consider whether you’ll allow managers or supervisors to tweak the policy for their own team, and what oversight you’ll provide as they do so.
RELATED: Weekend & Holiday Scheduling: How to Ensure Employee Satisfaction >>
Are you considering implementing a summer Fridays work schedule? Axcet HR Solutions is here to help answer your questions on employee benefits and perks, organization culture, employee policy, HR compliance, and more.
At Axcet HR, you’ll find a dedicated team of HR compliance and employee relations experts ready to evaluate your workplace policies, procedures, culture, and pay processes. We’ll make improvement recommendations tailored to your unique industry, people, geographic locations, and more.
While we love summer Fridays, our benefits expertise is year-round. Schedule a consultation with a member of our team today to find out how we can help.
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