By Bizna Brand Analyst

When it comes to letting employees loose on Fridays, different companies may take a starkly different approach. Even within the same employer, several departments can vary on whether they allow workers to curtail their hours during Fridays. But do such policies really boost company morale and productivity, or do they just end up creating more stress and work?

Well.allowing employees to work half a day on Fridays is actually a really beneficial thing. Humans aren’t on the assembly line nearly as much anymore, so equating productivity to hours is often incorrect. The reality is, hours really don’t matter. For that reason, it is better to allow your employees some time off on Fridays. Here are other reasons why.

Employees love that idea.

This one is clear: All employees love the idea of working half a day on some days. For a boss, It is a great recruiting device that can also help with employee retention. Happy employees are ones who stay with a company for an extended period, and that saves time and money.

Most employees switch off on Fridays anyway.

When it’s Friday a good number of people get caught up in the party or resting mood.They just don’t feel like working. The weekend is only a few hours away and working hard isn’t something that’s on the top of their priority list. For this reason, keeping employees on a full day on Fridays is more counter-productive than productive. It just doesn’t help. People can’t wait to get out.

Distance may not interrupt work.

Just because employees are out of the office doesn’t mean they’re not available digitally. In fact, there might almost be an argument that when an employee is away from the stress and distraction of the office, he or she may in fact be more responsive and more productive. While sitting on that swimming pool edge or at that bar table, an employee will most likely give good feedback when you ask for their opinion on something via a text because they are in a  really good mood.

They can prevent burnout and boost productivity.

Yes, half Fridays mean people will work less on that particular day. But they may work even harder once they’re back. Employees return to the office after the longer weekend refreshed and ready to work. And the effects aren’t only in terms of productivity. Taking these mini-breaks may even lead to lower stress levels and better health — and as a result, decreased health insurance costs for a company.

It may make people more efficient.

If people have more time to do a task, it doesn’t mean they’ll do a better job at it. In fact, they may just do it faster if need be. A half day on Friday motivates employees to work as hard as possible to get as much done as they can in five hours, and it is empowering.

You can save company costs

Another way that this benefits you as a boss is that you can literally save money on things such as electricity. It’s a small reason, but if your entire office is shut down on Friday afternoons, that’s a significant amount of time that you’re not running dozens of computers, the A/C, the lights and all the other costs that go along with running an office.