The four-day model and working from home are changing the shape of the working week.
After the upheaval of the past few years, it is apparent that Fridays in the office are very much out of favour, and a recent survey by
Consultancy Advanced Workplace Associates found that Fridays had just a 13% attendance rate in the office compared to 39% attendance mid-week.
The no-office Friday is increasingly becoming the no-work Friday too as more businesses switch to a four-day working week. Compressed weeks are based on a ‘work shorter, work smarter’ concept; in a highly competitive jobs market offering one day off a week
with no dip in salary is a strong draw for potential staff.
A significant six-month
pilot scheme involving 3,300 workers across 70 companies is currently underway in the UK, investigating the pros and cons of the four-day working week with no cut to pay. With further schemes planned, the concept may be here to stay.
A rare occurrence
Whatever direction the working environment takes in a broader sense, it does seem that Fridays in the office are, for now at least, a rare occurrence.
While it may be ideal to ditch the Friday commute and get straight into the weekend come logging off time, there may be a few unexpected downsides.
Is it an official working from home day or is it your choice? To put it another way, are your bosses and peers in the office on a Friday? Proximity bias is a real issue and while you may be working just as hard from home, being in your boss’ eyeline, or
taking part in that coffee break chat is more important than ever.
There has also been an impact on relationship building from a social perspective. It’s much easier to make Friday evening plans with colleagues when you are all leaving from the office together. It’s no surprise that the steps managers are taking to persuade
their employees in-house on a Friday have a significant social aspect.
Food trucks, happy hours, and special events are some of the benefits being used to tempt staff to rejoin office life. Come for the free food, stay for the work and collaboration.
Socialising aside, there may be other reasons to buck the trend and get to the office at the end of the week. If Friday is a quiet day in the office it may be the perfect opportunity to go in and get some work done in a calm, professional environment. If
your boss happens to be there, all the better.
Looking for some more flexibility in your job or a new opportunity? Check out this trio of roles below and the
Finextra Job Board for more available positions.
Business Intelligence Adoption Lead, Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds are recruiting a
Business Intelligence Adoption Lead who will play a key role in the company’s ambitions to become a truly data-driven bank. If you have experience in managing large scale communications and change programmes, and have a strong understanding of how BI tools
operate in a cloud-based infrastructure this may be the role for you.
Not quite what you’re looking for? There are more
Lloyds Banking Group roles here.
Enterprise Services - Implementation Specialist, Portfolio and ETF Primary Market Solutions, Bloomberg
Bloomberg, a global leader in business and financial data, news and insight is seeking an
Implementation Specialist who will work on pre-sales engagement, workflow configuration, user training, and analytics reconciliation. You will need a minimum of five years of experience working in Buy-Side financial institutions or financial technology
organisations as well as strong critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
There are currently dozens of roles on offer with Bloomberg across the globe –
check them out here.
Field Support Specialist, Ria Financial Services
Ria Financial Services is a global presence in the money transfer industry which offers its services in over 430 locations across over 160 countries. They are currently recruiting a
Field Support Specialist, role based out of Co Cork, Ireland. The successful candidate will be responsible for developing, training, and managing a portfolio of businesses which work as agents providing RIA Money Transfer services. You will need to be assertive
and motivated, with at least two years of experience as a Field Support Specialist or a similar role.
You’ll find further available
roles with Ria Financial Services here.
Ready to make that next step in your career? Take a look at the Finextra Job Board to learn more about exciting available job opportunities.