August 17, 2007
Are You Getting Half Day Fridays in August?
It's a time-honored D.C. tradition, for some at least: Half-day workdays on Fridays in August. It's the reason why the lunchtime rush will be worse than you expect it to be today, your co-worker has a swimsuit under her officewear, and DCist comment threads are slooooow. It's also one of the classic sources of ill will between close friends in this city. To wit, from all of us who don't take half-day Fridays in August, to all our friends who are planning on slipping out of the office after lunch for a relaxing afternoon at home or a leisurely trek to the ocean, we have just two words for you: Suck It.
But we're curious, how many of you actually do get this summertime office perk?
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Working from home 2 days a week - Wednesdays and, of course, Fridays - is even better.
Seriously? People who get every half off in August are some lucky bastards.
I am leaving early today for happy hour at Bar Pilar though... 4:30 here I come!
we have "summer fridays" - you can chose 7 fridays from memorial day to labor day that you leave at 2pm. pretty sweet deal, eh?
I'm a contractor. I don't even get sick leave.
Guest #3: If you don't mind my asking, who's "we"? Is this generally a public sector thing?
We work 9 hour days 4 days a week, with half days every friday year round. The bosses are even open to people that need flex time during the week, and then work a full day friday. Now I don't remember the last time an architect only worked 40 hours/week, but it's nice when it's applicable.
I almost never do it because I feel guilty; but my friends, usually, negotiate 9hr/day for 2 weeks to get a Friday off every other week; or, actually, you add up hours in advance by getting to the office very early or staying late. I guess, an early Friday gives you time to check-in early on that getaway romantic hotel with your spouse, or getting to the last-minute-errand stores and be ready to go to the beach next Saturday very early-early morning.
today is the last half day friday for the summer. i shall miss it deeply.
My office closes at 1:00 every other Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day. We don't have to work extra hours during the week or anything. It's great!
I've lived in D.C. most of my life, and this is the first I've heard of this. I'm skeptical that this "time-honored" tradition is all that wide-spread.
hahaha suckers - we get every other Friday off (entirely off) from June to August :)
In fact, I am writing this from my bed, having just woke up 20 minutes ago.
PS - Neko Case last night? Awesome. That voice could drown me any day.
Can you really give this poll on a Friday? Results are likely skewed--when I had this little perk a few jobs back, I can tell you I never would have been online voting about it..
Never had anything like that anywhere I've worked, and I can't think of anyone I know that got that deal. Sweet if you can get it, though.
guest[10]: Same here. This is the first I've heard of it outside of comp time situations.
mellbell: No way is it a "public sector" thing. Sounds more like a Big Three kinda thing.
I'm spending my afternoon (early leave starts at 2:00) getting a haircut.
Go ahead and be jealous.
Memorial Day to Labor Day every other week I can work 9 hrs a day Mon. - Th. for a half day on Friday. On the opposite weeks, the other half of the staff gets the half Friday.
I get summer friday hours now, but I used to burn with envy at my last job because all my friends did and I didn't. Now that we're all shuffled around, I'm the lucky bastard while they secretly/not-so-secretly hate me. Sweet sweet karma.
Somehow I think that poll is rigged - if you're getting a 1/2 day on Fridays you wouldn't be around to take the poll!
:-)
I'm dying of jealousy.
Here's another person who's hearing about this for the first time.
It's probably one of those things that mainly applies to shady "consultant" jobs, where the people barely do any work anyway.
I used to get this perk when I worked for a University in Connecticut. Missing it now.
I'm a native Washingtonian and this used to be a pretty common practice, but not so much anymore. Speaking as a "shady consultant," I would say that we are the reason that this doesn't happen so much--billable hours!!!
In fact, I remember a time when DC businesses (mostly retail) would shut down for the month of August just because it was so slow here.
Doug: Not to be dense, but "Big Three"? I assume you're not talking about Stalin, FDR and Churchill...
I think it only counts if you actually get the time off, as opposed to getting redistributed hours throughout the week (or 2 week) span. Half the people in my office are on compressed schedules and therefore get Friday off, but that doesn't mean they didn't earn it.
I have the day off today actually...I'm enjoying it but all hell is breaking loose at our condo, The Whitman. Those of us who like following the condo's rules are being attacked by a small, but annoying group of residents who smoke on the roof (they've set fires!), leaving broken beer bottles strewn on the roof, and let's their pets roam free in the halls!
IT'S AN ALL OUT WAR! GOOD VERSUS EVIL!
Don't believe me, read about it here: http://thewhitmandc.blogspot.com/
Thanks God for our Whitman Watcher putting these tres nasties in their place.
I just wanna enjoy our rooftop pool today in peace and harmony!
Is anybody really constricted to a static eight-hour-a-day schedule anymore? I mean, unless that's how they choose to put in their forty hours.
Most people I know collect a few extra hours Monday-Thursday to peace a little early on Friday. Or they come in early on Friday (the post-rush-hour rush-hour is usually lighter on Fridays).
I used to take this option and duck away early for trips, well, when you marry a bartender, "weekend getaways" become a thing of the past. That's love, folks. That's love. =)
Most of my friends seem to either work at home, or have government jobs as professional web surfers. Or both.
So, I am allowed to take Friday afternoons off (though I have to make up the time), but seeing as I'm about the only person I know who actually has to go to an office and actually has to produce something, it doesn't seem like much of a perk.
Guest #11:
You have the day off and you are spending it reading DCist?? Hahaha!
jamie, didn't anyone ever tell your friends that you make much more as a professional web surfer in the private sector?
Yeah, but they're all bleeding heart liberals. They'd rather do nothing for the government at a lower salary, because it's serving the public.
my company has "summer hours," where we work from 8-6pm Monday - Thursday, and then theoretically get out at 12pm on Fridays.
however, we're starting to think it's a ploy to get us to just work more. this week, i hit my 40 hrs at about 10am this morning . . . and look at that. i'm still here, working. no break for lunch, either, in hopes that i can get out of here before 5pm.
le sigh.
I've lived here my entire life and have never heared of a "time-honored tradition" of half-day Fridays.
"Thanks God for our Whitman Watcher putting these tres nasties in their place."
I think the Whitman Watcher (btw, what a creepy name, suggesting someone spying through the slats in his venetian blinds) should be embarrassed to see his blog fast becoming a city-wide joke. It was his original, highly emotional rants about everyday "rule violations" that got every other literate resident of the Whitman worked up about his antics.
Where the hell do you people who have half days work anyway?
During August, my office doesn't even open on Fridays.
That said, we get enough mandatory unpaid overtime during the year that we all really think of it as partial comp time.
I've worked 3 jobs in DC and each one had some variation of Friday hours during the summer, lucky me!
I've never had anything like this in the ten+ years I've been working in DC.