A small group of workers leave the office at lunchtime every Friday from June to August. They take advantage of “Summer Friday”, a New York tradition that exists, according to the site of the BBC, since the 1960s. They spin weekends in the Hamptons, a very chic seaside region east of Long Island. But it was only later, in 1988, notes the British site that “the first mention of ‘Summer Friday’ appears in the New York Times”. The daily then noted that this benefit was well perceived by management, because it was limited in time, unlike increases or benefits such as better health coverage. This is a way for companies to grant a favor to their employees who arrange them since activity often slows down in the summer and to ensure their loyalty at little cost.
However, this tradition does not apply everywhere, nor for everyone. Strongly associated with New York, it has spread to other cities, but remains limited to certain sectors such as finance, technology and the media. According to the BBC, “about 10% of US companies offered this benefit in 2015. In 2017, 42% of US Fortune 1000 companies surveyed by research firm CEB (now Gartner) benefit from ‘Summer Friday’”, but only white collar, knowledge workers are concerned. In short, a privilege for the privileged.
Some sectors, such as health, hotels, e-commerce or even fashion, do not experience a slowdown in the summer, quite the contrary. No question then of stopping work on Friday at noon. In addition, some workers such as freelancers or freelancers not only do not benefit from “Summer Friday”, but they can also suffer from it, because their bosses, who leave for the early weekend, entrust them with less de facto missions.
However, this tradition is once again in tune with the times since the pandemic has pushed the business world to deeply rethink the question of work rhythms (and places). Taking Friday afternoon for oneself perhaps bodes well for the four-day work week, one finds oneself dreaming of the BBC.