June 16, 2008

WORKLIFE: Time off on summer Fridays gains steam

By Mercedes M. Cardona

Debbie Elliott got the idea to give employees time off on summer Fridays after reading a survey of benefits packages offered by her competitors.

"I saw that this other agency was doing it and I though 'Aha!,'" said Elliott, president of Talk PR Inc. in Wilmington, N.C.

Elliott's "Aha!" moment is becoming more common as "Summer Fridays" gain popularity. As workers look for more balance in their lives and companies try to retain skilled employees, half-days or full days off on summer Fridays are among the flexible schedules gaining acceptance.

This summer has seen a big jump in Summer Fridays, along with telecommuting and four-day weeks, said John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-based outplacement firm.

With gas prices coasting past $4 per gallon, a Friday off - or even a chance to leave early and beat the weekend rush hour - can be a powerful employee incentive.

Bruce Law, president of Salt Lake City-based Sprout Marketing, introduced Summer Fridays when he founded the marketing outsourcing company six years ago and recommends it to his clients as a morale booster that doesn't cost much money. His 15 employees leave at 1 p.m. on Fridays until the end of August.
But if management hasn't come to that conclusion, how does an employee ask?

First, choose the right champion, said Cindy Ventrice, author of "Make Their Day! Employee Recognition that Works." An employee with performance issues would not be the right person; she recommended finding a colleague who's in better standing to present the proposal.

And pick your battles, say the experts. Don't go in with a full menu of requests that will make you look like a slacker.
Employees should make clear that they will still be accessible and will make up the time, said Tom Musbach, managing editor at Yahoo HotJobs, an online career resource.

Some companies extend workdays in the summer to make up for the time off on Fridays, and most ask employees to keep their cellphones on in case they're needed.

"You have to realize you have to give something to get something," Musbach said.

"People are mature enough and know when they have an account and there's work to be done they will stay," said Richard Dukas, CEO of Dukas Public Relations in New York. "We'll try to make it up to them in other ways."

Dukas lets his staff of 23 leave at 2:30 p.m. on summer Fridays. It's part of his company's culture as a smaller firm and it helps him compete against larger shops to attract employees, he said.

"People are definitely motivated by money, but it's not just money, the work-life balance is very important," Dukas said. "Especially in this environment, when headlines are bad ... people look forward to the weekends."