Companies have been found to have been resorting to new and bizarre tactics in a bid to lure Gen Z staff into the office.
Hundreds of UK businesses are attempting to recruit post-millennials who are not attracted to the traditional 9-5 by offering the perk of an early finish on Fridays.
While many firms are still trying to grapple post-Covid pandemic recovery, they are now attempting to coax staff back into the office by offering perks such as attendance to summer festivals, days off on your birthday and the rapid weekend exit.
New data revealed by the job market statistics and insights firm Adzuna has found that there has been a sharp increase in job postings offering the shorter days.
And while this new way of working may be a shock to many, an expert has said that this trend may be here to stay.
The weekend extension pack is part of an effort by many firms to coax younger staff who have proritised a more steady work-life balance following on from the Covid pandemic (File image)
Hundreds of businesses have been found to be attempting to recruit post-millennials who are not attracted to the traditional 9-5 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 persuade younger staff who have proritised a more steady work-life balance following on from the pandemic to work for them.
With this in mind, hundreds of UK companies have also been offering bizarre add-ons to the roles they advertise for, 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, it found that there were 1,426 job ads on the site citing ‘early finish Friday’ this March.
This compares to only 583 in the same month five years earlier – before Covid-19 changed the way Brits work.
While not all companies have been trying out the incentive, it was found that the perk has been targeted more heavily toward junior roles.
More than 75 per cent of those advertised were aimed at recruiting staff on salaries between £20,000 to £40,000.
This suggests that employees 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 they’ve ‘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 – £19.00 per hour was on Adzuna found to be advertising the early finish on Friday, despite it being a full time contract job.
Another role advertised on the site was a Management Accountant position offering £40,000 – 50,000 per year. Despite requesting an individual who produces ‘high-quality’ work, this company was too offering an early finish on Fridays, as well as flexible working.
While only offering £13,000 per annum, an IT apprentice role in Birmingham offered the same perk, as well as, irresistibly, ‘company nights out paid for’.
Meanwhile another high paying job at £40000 – £55000 per annum as a Software Systems Engineer in Leicester stated this early end of week exit, as well as ‘WFH options’, ‘Christmas shut down’ and access to social events.
A City of London firm was offering graduates the position of Technology Recruitment Consultant with a hefty pay 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.
Speaking about this, Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said the shift reflects the fact that employees are ‘demanding more’ from employers after the pandemic.
And the co-founder has said the trend may be here to stay.
While not all companies have been trying out the incentive, it was found that the perk has been targeted more heavily toward junior roles with firms recruiting staff on salaries between £20,000 to £40,000 (File image)
Mr Hunter said: ‘Work-life balance has come into focus since the pandemic and employees are demanding more.
‘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 were in tech and a further 90 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.’
