Early finish Fridays perk offered by companies trying to recruit Gen Z
Early finish Fridays is the latest perk offered by companies trying to recruit Gen Z staff who are not attracted by the traditional 9 to 5
- Data by Adzuna found there were 1,426 job ads on the site citing early finishes
- Businesses trying to coax younger staff who have proritised work-life balance
- READ MORE: More than 30 per cent of work was done remotely in January
Hundreds of UK businesses are attempting to recruit post-millennials who are not attracted to the traditional nine to five by offering the perk of an early finish on Fridays.
As many firms grapple with the post-Covid pandemic recovery, they are attempting to coax staff back into the office by offering perks such as attendance to summer festivals, days off on your birthday and an extended weekend.
Data revealed by the job market statistics and insights firm Adzuna has found that there has been a sharp increase in job postings offering shorter days.
And an expert has said that this trend could be here to stay.
The weekend extension pack is part of an effort by many firms to coax younger staff who have proritised a better work-life balance post-pandemic
Hundreds of businesses are attempting to recruit post-millennials who are not attracted to the traditional 9 to 5 by offering the perk of an early finish on Fridays
Adzuna found that this weekend extension pack is part of an effort by many firms to recruit younger staff who have proritised a better work-life balance post-pandemic.
With this in mind, hundreds of UK companies have also been offering bizarre add-ons to the roles they advertise, including perks such as free barista-style coffee, massages, company nights out paid for and yearly holiday incentives with one hot and one cold destination.
In the data gathered by the online jobs portal, provided to Bloomberg, there were 1,426 job ads on the site citing ‘early finish Friday’ last month.
This compares to only 583 in the same month five years ago – before Covid-19 changed the way Brits work.
It was also found that the perk is targeted more heavily towards junior roles.
More than 75 per cent of jobs advertised with such perks were aimed at recruiting staff on salaries between £20,000 and £40,000.
This suggests that employers are trying to target Gen Z and newly-graduated staff as they enter the workplace.
Of the hundreds of roles advertised on Adzuna, 4,536 job advertisements sprung up in the UK when the words ‘early finish Friday’ were put into the search bar.
Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said the trend may be here to stay, saying that the company has ‘seen a surge in work perks offering flexibility or reduced hours to tempt new joiners’
A lower-level Electrical Technician job in Bristol that pays between £14.63 and £19.00 per hour was on Adzuna found to be advertising the early finish on Friday.
Another role advertised on the site was a Management Accountant position offering £40,000 to £50,000 per year. The company, which said it was seeking an individual who produces ‘high-quality’ work, offered an early finish on Fridays as well as flexible working.
An IT apprentice role paying just £13,000 per annum offered the same perk, as well as ‘company nights out paid for’.
Another role paying £40000 to £55000 per annum as a Software Systems Engineer in Leicester offered perks including an early end of week exit, as well as ‘WFH options’, ‘Christmas shut down’ and social events.
A City of London firm was offering graduates the position of Technology Recruitment Consultant with a hefty salary of up to £50,000 per annum, and an ‘early finish Fridays at 3pm’. Alongside this, one of the benefits included ‘monthly team nights out on the company card’ as well as ‘yearly holiday incentives’ to one hot and one cold destination.
Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said the shift reflects the fact that employees are ‘demanding more’ from employers after the pandemic.
And he has said the trend may be here to stay. ‘Work-life balance has come into focus since the pandemic and employees are demanding more.
The perk of early Friday finishes was found to be more targeted towards junior roles
‘In response, we’ve seen a surge in work perks offering flexibility or reduced hours to tempt new joiners… we expect this figure to stay strong as employers seek new methods to tempt top talent.’
About 156 of the vacancies offering an early finish on Fridays were in tech and 90 were in general graduate positions, according to the Adzuna data.
The next largest cohort was in the sales and marketing field, which accounted for 74 job advertisements listing the perk.
Hunter said: ‘For job seekers, if a company offers early finish Fridays it signals that they are flexible in their attitude to working hours and care about their employees’ wellbeing, which are two factors of utmost importance to today’s job hunters,’ Mr Hunter said.
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