Fifty-five percent of organizations in North America will offer their
employees “Summer Fridays” this year, according to a survey by Gartner,
Inc. This is a 9% increase from the number of North American
organizations that offered Summer Fridays in 2018, and a 43% increase
from the number of organizations globally that had similar benefits back
in 2012.
“Summer Fridays” — days that organizations offer employees the option to
leave early or take the entire day off — are an example of the perks
organizations are offering to gain competitive advantage in attracting
and retaining top talent. In today’s tight labor market, which still
features record low unemployment levels, workers have the upper hand.
Data from Gartner’s 1Q19 Global Talent Monitor revealed that in the U.S.
employee confidence in the business environment increased by 2.6% for an
indexed score of 57.6 — nearly three points higher than the global
average score of 54.7. Additional data shows only
12% of U.S. workers are engaged, reporting both a high willingness
to go above and beyond at work and a high likelihood of staying with
their employer.
“Right now, workers look at the surplus of open jobs in the market and
they feel confident that they can easily find a new position whenever
they like,” said Brian
Kropp, group vice president of the HR practice at Gartner.
“Employers are incentivized to do everything they possibly can to create
a place to work that is as attractive as possible, and providing
employees a head start on the weekend is one way to do that.”
Offering Summer Fridays is not possible across all industries.
Retailers, for instance, require an employee to always be in the store
and customer service representatives available to address issues. For
these employers, the ideal scenario is to create a corresponding
benefit, such as a summer bonus.
“Ultimately, Summer Fridays are about organizations providing the
increased flexibility that employees are seeking,” said Mr. Kropp. “It’s
a way for employers to show their staff that they are valued by giving
them the gift of time.”
For companies that are concerned that offering a summer schedule comes
at a cost to productivity — don’t. “We find that offering your employees
work-life balance can increase productivity, loyalty and employee
retention,” said Mr. Kropp.
The findings are based on a poll conducted in the second quarter of 2019
of 94 HR leaders in North America.
About Gartner ReimagineHR
Gartner experts will provide additional insight into the labor and
talent issues at the Gartner ReimagineHR Conference, taking place
October 28-30 in Florida.
Gartner ReimagineHR is the premier event for HR leaders around the
world. Join Gartner and senior HR executives to hear key insights and
learn actionable strategies necessary to support organizational
performance. Gartner ReimagineHR will also be held August 6-7 in Sydney
and September 18-19 in London.
Follow news and updates from these events on Twitter using #GartnerHR.
About Gartner for HR Leaders
Gartner for HR Leaders brings together the best, relevant content
approaches across Gartner to offer individual decision makers strategic
business advice on the mission-critical priorities that cut across the
HR function. Additional information is available at http://www.gartner.com/en/human-resources/human-resources-leaders.
About Gartner
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world’s leading research and advisory
company and a member of the S&P 500. We equip business leaders with
indispensable insights, advice and tools to achieve their
mission-critical priorities and build the successful organizations of
tomorrow.
Our unmatched combination of expert-led, practitioner-sourced and
data-driven research steers clients toward the right decisions on the
issues that matter most. We are a trusted advisor and objective resource
for more than 15,000 organizations in more than 100 countries — across
all major functions, in every industry and enterprise size.
To learn more about how we help decision makers fuel the future of
business, visit www.gartner.com.
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