The Growing ‘Friday Effect.' Copy
New data finds six in 10 UK workers feel they deserve to take Fridays off after a busy week. Should leaders be worried about de facto shorter work weeks?
It’s a lament of managers everywhere: Nothing gets done on Friday. And, at least in some cases, their concern may be legitimate.
In Britain, a growing body of data suggests that the final day of the workweek is increasingly being treated differently by employees: They’re knocking off early. New research from a telecom company finds that nearly a third of UK adults say they leave early on Fridays, regardless of whether they’ve been granted permission. And many apparently aren’t conflicted about it: 61% say they have earned the right after a busy week, 59% say they feel no guilt, and 63% say an early Friday finish makes them more productive at the outset of the week.
Some are simply working on the fly: 15% say they have worked from a train station, 14% from a park, and 10% from a pub, while 24% admit they have left early while keeping their work status set to “active.“ Leaders have a more flexible outlook in general to the working week,” says Ben Angold, a Korn Ferry RPO market leader in EMEA. Other experts cite unofficial agreements for four-day workweeks.
But not all leaders are happy. The findings come at a time when many organizations are under pressure to improve performance without a major boost in hiring or revenue. Meanwhile, Britain’s productivity growth remains weak. The Office for National Statistics finds hourly output in the fourth quarter of 2025 was 0.5% lower than a year earlier, though still 2.4% above the 2019 average. To improve the employee-value proposition, some companies might offer early closing on Fridays, particularly during the summer months, says Stuart Richards, Korn Ferry’s EMEA market leader for the consumer industry. “But market forces often mean it’s not feasible to do that.” And the whole "short Fridays" idea often depends on your situation, says Andrew Lowe, Korn Ferry's senior partner in the Global Corporate Affairs, Sustainability and Impact practice: "I do see more pressure to be in the office, but not as much as pre-COVID."
Other data shows Friday is the quietest day of the corporate week in the UK. Research shows occupancy averages about 45% from Tuesday through Thursday, dropping to around 20% on Fridays. Other data indicate that 77% of workers commute to the office on Wednesdays, versus just 40% on Fridays; among 18- to 24-year-olds, that Friday figure drops to 25%.
Some experts are worried. A shorter Friday can mean fewer team lunches, end-of-week debriefs, and informal moments that help strengthen careers and culture. Remit has warned that hybrid-work patterns can weaken company culture and reduce spontaneous learning and mentorship. They can hit junior or less experienced workers, who benefit more from observing senior colleagues in person, especially hard.
To be sure, at plenty of offices, hybrid or otherwise, Friday is just as busy as any other day. Retailers don’t close early on Fridays (if anything, they stay open later). And workers in client-facing roles are generally unable to shut down early on Fridays if clients need to meet or get things done. “Most teams are busy, even though office attendance can still be low,” Richards says.
Some experts say the drop-off in Friday attendance reflects how modern work has changed in general, with the traditional 9-to-5 workday fading. People are arranging early-morning or late-night calls and taking on a few hours of work over the weekend. Alternatively, some firms lean into the “Friday Effect” by scheduling ten- or twelve-hour days from Monday through Thursday, then giving workers Fridays off. Under a flexible working scheme, people can sometimes slip through and coast. “Vigilance from leaders and regular tracking of outputs and outcomes will become increasingly essential,” Angold says.
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