What attracts you to a job? Apart from the basics of good pay and working environment, we also look at the perks a job gives us – everything from medical to the holiday structure. But one thing that must have occurred to you while working on the last day of the week, Friday, is how you just can’t wait for work to be over, so the weekend can begin.
And voila! It seems some companies are catching on to this trend and offering to younger generation employees as way to catch their eye. According to a report by the Guardian data gathered by the job market statistics and insights firm Adzuna show that over 1,400 UK job postings mentioned a “early-finish Friday” as a benefit for prospective candidates last month.
And it’s a growing post-pandemic trend. In 2018, only 583 companies advertised an effective weekend extension, five years before Covid-19 obliged many white-collar employees to work from home, the report says.
POETS Day
It’s a new take on the so-called Poets Day habit – an acronym for “Piss off early, tomorrow’s Saturday” – in which workers punch out by 3:30pm on Friday afternoon to begin their weekends on Saturday morning.
As per a report by BarryPopick, Friday is also known as “POETS Day,” which stands for “Piss/Punch/Push Off/Out Early, Tomorrow’s Saturday.”
“‘Poet’s day’ (piss off early, tomorrow’s Saturday)” appeared in The Guardian (London, UK) in 1977 as part of a piece about then Calcutta (Kolkata), India. A 1981 newspaper quoted the phrase “Push Off Early, Tomorrow’s Saturday,” as well and the term is used by workers in the United Kingdom and Australia, but is largely unknown in the US.
Amid Labour Market Shortage
The benefit has been targeted more aggressively at junior roles, the Guardian report says, implying that firms are attempting to target and compete for Gen Z as they enter the workforce.
Employers are struggling to fill openings in one of the tightest labour markets in the UK in decades, it says, following an exodus of young people from work into study during the pandemic and a steep spike in the number of over-55s taking early retirement.
Because of the labour shortfall, firms have had to battle for employees, and while the number of openings has declined marginally in recent months from all-time highs to 1.1 million, the figure is projected to remain elevated as long as the need persists.
Who all Are Offering the Perk?
According to Bloomberg, a handful of mid-to-large-sized businesses are among those that provide the perk.
Fashion supplier DCK Group also offers an early start to the weekend as among the benefits of a graduate position in merchandising. Raytheon Technologies Corp., an aerospace manufacturer, advertises the same benefit in a job offering for a contracts manager, explains a report by Firstpost.
Most Desired Perk
According to a new survey conducted by employee benefits platform Sodexo Engage, 87.6% of employees said an early Friday finish was their most desired perk, followed by paid holiday allowance (84.1%) and summer hours, which allow employees to work extra hours at the beginning of the week in order to finish earlier at the end (76.8%). Employees stated that they would be willing to contribute at least 3% of their annual salary in order to receive better benefits from their employer.
They would give up up to 5% of their income for food discounts, 4.3% for a health plan, and 3.3% for childcare assistance, says a report by HR Magazine.
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