Leaving work early on a Friday

Question

When I used to work in a corporate office, every Friday our team would want to leave work a little early, but we only could if the boss did it first.  Is this common practice?

sandmanstone · Answer

A practical perspective - if the company is oriented to measuring people for their output and results instead of their presence (which is good) many people usually have their work done before the week ends, so 'early out' reflects the state of work for the team.  Some less modern companies measure value by presence (that is they expect 'butts-in-seats).  Figure out which type you work for.  Observe people, and ask.  Best of luck!  hopefully you are in a modern company that measures results! Christine

Anonymous · Answer

I was always of the mindset that everyone is an adult, and should be able to make their own choices about their life and or leaving early.. are you guilt free ? good to go then.. :-)

Anonymous · Answer

From my experience, it varies based on company. I have a friend who gets to leave every Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day at 3pm... which would be pretty nice!

BeckyB_25 · Answer

I leave work early on Fridays. And I do think the optics around that are part of a company culture. I know I work my butt off, so I hold my head high when I peace out! :)

Anne Knox · Answer

I think it is weird that you had to wait in boss. This could make Friday’s very unproductive as everyone is watching the boss for signs of leaving. A good work environment would allow each individual to decide depending on workload if they could leave. If someone abused this policy by leaving when deadlines weren’t met , phones were not cover, or something similar, deal with individual with the problem

Kathleen Beeman · Answer

It is pretty common at companies I work at as long as we aren't hourly employees. Often it is expected to leave really early before a 3 day weekend which is nice! My manager works from home on Fridays so he can jet out even earlier so that is kind of nice for me...

Corina · Answer

It is common practice in companies that have a healthy company culture. If a team delivers everything that needs to be delivered on a regular basis, it can easily be brought up.

Rebecca Jones · Answer

We do it. If there is a ton of work to do, we stay until it's done, but my team is motivated to get things done quickly so they can go home sooner.

Anonymous · Answer

I've been lucky to spend most of my career in fairly relaxed setting where many people leave a bit early on Fridays. I personally feel that if you've put your hours in and gotten your work done you should feel comfortable leaving the office, regardless of when the boss leaves. While it's important to keep appearances, I also think it's important to work in an environment where there is a mutual trust that everyone is doing their work.

Paulla Fetzek · Answer

I would say the practice depends on the company.  As it so happens, from November - March, I leave at 4pm on Fridays [religious reasons].  I requested this before I ever started working at my current job and offered initially to skip lunch on Fridays in order to leave early.

These days I work about 10.5 - 11 hours a day (and don't generally ever take lunch) so I more than make up time.  I don't have to worry about leaving early on Fridays once Daylight Savings Time comes.

For the past 2 years, during the Summer (from Memorial Day - Labor Day] the president of the company allowed Summer Hours on Friday.  Most everyone is allowed to work an extra hour Mon-Thur and then you can get off at 1pm on Friday.

Again, as I work so much standard, it's not hard for me to get the time in.  And I do take advantage of leaving early on Fridays during this time when I can.

For those in the company who perhaps can't take every Friday afternoon off (our Customer Care team for example), they work a regular week - thought they get off at 4pm on Friday.  Every other week though, a member from the team gets to take a Friday completely off with pay.

I personally would MUCH rather have this option!

With all of this by the way, we don't have to 'wait' for a boss to leave first.  In fact, often employees leave early.  And their bosses are the ones who stay behind.

All the best...

Leaving work early on a Friday

You're invited.

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