Why we finish early on Friday.

First brought in, in 2012, simply as a summer perk, here at Goodman Masson we’ve continued our tradition of early finish Fridays, not just throughout the summer but all year long. Seeing the clear positives, a 3:30pm finish has become a staple of our working week. As Red Bull, the brains behind Septembers National 4pm Finish Day, put it, “A 4pm Finish isn’t about slacking off, it’s about being more productive. It’s a day where we all head out of the office a bit earlier so we can do more of the things that are important to us after being more productive with our time in the office.”

In fact it might seem like an early finish on a Friday is simply a benefit for employees, however we can all see the benefits, with our CEO, Guy Hayward, writing not only about our early Friday finish but also the change in hours implemented in our offices last year.

“We have seen no impact on our productivity or operational metrics. In many teams, we have seen a marked positive change. Whilst I start the day at a similar time I am the first to leave at 5:30. The impact? My son summed it up perfectly “I really like sitting down for supper every night with you now””.

The marked change Guy references, has also been seen in a significant amount of research done on the matter. Hudson who conducted an employee productivity investigation on British Airways, found that productivity on a Friday ‘went off the cliff at exactly 2:39’. However at Goodman Masson, you’ll see fingers furiously typing right up until closing hours at 3:30, with the knowledge that the rest of the afternoon is theirs. The same amount of work is done, however youíll see less Facebook breaks and online shopping stop offs.

After all, when you hire the right people you won’t find employees logging off with a half-finished to-do list, regardless of what time they can leave.

In the years since the new Friday finish was implemented we have also found that those extra few hours also encourage bonding between employees, with teams able to fit in a little out-of-work socialising, whilst waiting for any other social commitments they have planned that evening.

The essence of our new video, in which our employees say what makes them happy, giving them the time to do these activities is essential to the way we continue to work here, and as Julia Linder, a Consultant here, puts it, “Goodman Masson succeeds because people are happy, people are appreciated, and motivated to impress their bosses because they respect them.”

CEO and Cofounder of Flocabulary, Alex Rappaport, agrees, writing ‘it may seem generous to give the whole office 4 paid hours off every week, but it leads to happier people and more focus during the hours we’re here.’

Topping the list of perks employees want to see, in a survey conducted by Paymentsense, allowing employees to start their weekend earlier, is a relatively cheap way of ensuring happiness within our teams. With 35% choosing the time off over more expensive benefits, including gym membership and free meals, we could all use an extra hour or two, even if itís just to avoid the rush hour commute home.