The Great Friday Fade

Only 15% of 9-5 employees are still working at 5 pm on Fridays in the summer.

Happy Friday! And a warm welcome to my new readers.

It only makes sense that this letter came out today to validate your decision to stop working before 5 pm today. I’m not your boss, and I’m not saying you should be done early; I’m just saying everyone else is doing it.

Last week, I had a hunch that not many 9-5 employees are still doing real work at 5 pm on Fridays in the summer, so I asked 57 people what time they’re actually done. The great Friday fade is very much a thing in the warmer months, but what varies is which employees are dropping off when. Let’s get into it.

57 people who work 9-5 jobs told me the truth about when they’re actually done working on Fridays in the summer.

From first-time employees to CEOs and CMOs, honesty was flowing.¹

Out of all employees, 82% work remotely or from home on Fridays in the summer, and 18% are in the office.

Only 15% of 9-5 employees are still working at 5pm on Fridays in the summer.

65% of employees are wrapped up by 3 pm, and 85% are done by 4 pm. The 4% still working past 5 pm are senior leaders or C-suite only.

But 60% of senior leaders and C-suiters who work remotely on Fridays in the summer are done with work by 1 pm.

Do with that what you will…

Managers without direct reports are the most likely to be wrapped up with work by 3 pm on Fridays in the summer.

And by 4 pm, none of them are working anymore. Meanwhile, associate-level employees are most likely to still be working at 5 pm on Fridays in the summer, while 0% of their direct-report-free management colleagues are.

What was shocking to me was the complaint gap between associate-level employees and managers, directors, and senior leaders. 38% of comments from manager-level or above were complaints about working on Fridays in the summer, while no frustrations were expressed by associate-level employees.

In reference to working Fridays in the summer, four managers/directors said it “should be illegal”. Coming off of my research on Gen Zers at work with

Ochuko Akpovbovbo

earlier this year, I’ve gotta say the whole “younger generations don’t want to work” sentiment doesn’t seem to apply here.²

If you’re an employer…

Understand that productivity is nowhere near its peak on Friday afternoons in the summer. If you don’t have a “summer Fridays” policy already in place, make yourself the hero from Memorial Day to Labor Day. From 12 pm - 3 pm, set a rule (via a quote from a manager in this survey) to “try to bother people as little as possible and hope they do the same.” Then, after 3 pm, encourage the team to call it quits.³

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Thanks for reading! If you thought this was interesting or you want to prove to your boss that everyone else is logging off early, share this letter with them. And if you want to pick my next pulse check topic, vote on my Instagram story here.

Enjoy your afternoon, whether you’re working or not! See you next week.

1. In the spirit of keeping these surveys short and sweet, I didn’t capture ages or locations within the U.S., but we do have a split on what level they’re at within their company.

2. Assuming associate-level employees are more likely to fall into Gen Z than manager+.

3. Of course there are exceptions to this rule, but setting it as the standard will be greatly appreciated by your employees.