Banning Friday meetings indefinitely!

Anonymous

June 11,2020 at 8:40PM UTC

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My employer announced this week that they're banning internal Friday meetings and I could not be more excited (and external, if possible). They're reasoning is to use this as a day to destress, focus on mental health, and get to projects you've been meaning to -- even if it's taking more personal time.

I'm absolutely thrilled about this as I'm seeing more companies take Friday initiatives and I also think this is a great way to retain employees and keep them happy. I'm also a firm believer that I'll get more done when it comes to being able to focus/destress.

Curious though, what are your thoughts on this initiative and what are your employers doing to take mental health initiates?

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Leslie WoodJune 11,2020 at 9:13PM UTC
I used to work for a company that implemented this practice as well. They started with early off summer Fridays, however , so many staff members could not participate due to their workload they changed the program the following year to leaving early every Friday or choosing 4 full days off over the program. Well, that wasn't terribly effective either, for various reasons.
The next summer they moved back to early off summer Fridays for everyone, however, no meetings after 12n. Better, but not quite right either. Finally, the program settled into no meetings on Fridays at all and that has been a success. This allowed all staff to get to their "to-do" lists, prepare for the following week - which also cut down on weekend work and increased work/life balance - and work on projects that needed focus. That was a great success and is still in place 5 years later!
Enjoy a wonderful program!
AnonymousJune 12,2020 at 12:54AM UTC
Wow, that’s amazing! So great to hear it’s been so effective.
Heather DennistonJune 12,2020 at 7:33PM UTC
So brilliant!
AnonymousJune 11,2020 at 9:50PM UTC
That's an amazing incentive!
AnonymousJune 15,2020 at 5:33PM UTC
Right??
Rachel MinnickJune 11,2020 at 11:20PM UTC
I love this. Meetings often generate work, right before you are in need of taking time for yourself over the weekend. I prefer meetings on Tuesday or Wednesday. Monday should be about setting your priorities for the week and should be relatively meeting free, too!
AnonymousJune 12,2020 at 1:35PM UTC
What a great idea!
AnonymousJune 15,2020 at 5:33PM UTC
Agreed!
AnonymousJune 13,2020 at 4:03PM UTC
Amazing! Can you share what companies are doing this?
Elisa MarshallJune 15,2020 at 12:48PM UTC
I would be interested in knowing this as well!
S. TeacheyJune 15,2020 at 1:00PM UTC
That’s a great idea! I have had more Friday meetings in the midst of COVID-19 than when we were all in the office. Sounds like your company recognizes the importance of employee satisfaction.
Paulla Fetzek, MSEdJune 15,2020 at 1:06PM UTC
The past two summers my company has instituted summer hours on Friday. It's been WONDERFUL.
This year, because of the pandemic, my company isn't taking this initiative. And I can tell you now, the employees are really down.
The thought process behind this decision: People don't work as diligently at home as they do in the office.
I'm not going to deny some truth to that. I live alone (with 2 cats) and while I worked my standard hours at home, I would allow myself more breaks at times. But I don't feel my work suffered whatsoever from my being at home.
However, I hated working from home. Two weeks ago our office reopened to limited capacity. With trepidation (which I still feel!) I've come back. Since my company isn't supporting summer Fridays... I talked to my boss. I have 5 weeks vacation at this point. So I'm leaving early (3:30 instead of 5pm) on Fridays. It's my own little "mental health" time!
All the best...
Jennifer DeGraffJune 15,2020 at 1:33PM UTC
That is amazing! Our company used to do early out on Friday in the summer. It was such a mental boost. There were times some couldn’t participate due to workload, but that was part of the deal and perhaps motivating during the week to stay on task. I wish they still did it. Enjoy!
JenJune 15,2020 at 1:55PM UTC
My company doesn’t do this but I made sure to do it for my team. Both Friday’s And Mondays are a relax day for me and on Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday’s I work very hard.
M Elizabeth IngramJune 15,2020 at 4:48PM UTC
I love this idea!
CynthiaJune 15,2020 at 5:09PM UTC
My folks are in so many meetings M-Th discussing matters with various groups that Friday is the only day they can have 1:1 catch-ups. I vote for meetings on Friday mornings.
jputnamJune 15,2020 at 5:47PM UTC
My company is incredibly meeting heavy. Our senior and executive staff have been working on changing this and continue to - yes - have more meetings about it! This seems like an amazing first step - especially hearing several success stories in the comments! I will definitely pass along to our VPs!
Elianet OlivaJune 16,2020 at 11:23PM UTC
This is an awesome initiative, it gives you time to feel accomplished before disconnecting for the weekend and allows everyone to come back recharged. Hopefully more companies start adopting this kind of initiatives, so their employees mental and physical health can improve.
Lyssa GoldbergJune 19,2020 at 7:38PM UTC
I had once proposed this to my boss for Mondays (Meetingless Mondays)! The idea being that it always felt like the busiest day of the week since there would always be a backlog of work to catch up on left over from the week prior, and a clear schedule allowed me to get everything in order for the rest of the week. But I like the sound of Fridays with no meetings too. Sounds like a good way to avoid the Monday backlog that I mentioned.
Harika ThambireddyJune 19,2020 at 11:44PM UTC
TGIF! Designating a meeting-free day could mutually benefit both the employer and employees. At the company I work at, we have occasional internal meetings on Fridays since the other days are usually occupied with client meetings.