It's painful to look outside your office window and see nothing but sunshine. The seconds seemingly tick a little slower when it's a beautiful day outside - meanwhile you're stuck in work and there's nothing you can do about it.
But one company has decided to cut everyone some slack by giving Friday afternoons off to its staff of roughly 2,000 people during the summer.
Vodafone employees in New Zealand have been blessed with the opportunity to go home from 2pm on the final day of the working week. The offer will begin this week and go all the way until the end of February.
An internal memo, published by the New Zealand Herald, said: "We hope you'll make the most of the extra time - perhaps escape the city for the weekend, pick up the kids from school and head to the beach, or maybe catch up with friends and family around the BBQ."
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But the statement also warned that people should be working a little bit harder during the week so that they don't fall behind on their work.
Anyone who happens to be rostered for Friday afternoon will get a whole day in lieu.
There are loads of workplaces that are switching things up to see if it helps with productivity and overall staff morale.
VERSA is a Melbourne media agency that creates 'world-first experiences across voice, digital and mobile'. It made the decision two years ago to switch to a four-day working week, every week and has noticed a massive change.
Managing Director Jonny Clow told LADbible: "We literally close the office on a Wednesday which allows our team to fit in some life admin, family time, sport or sleep into their week rather than having to squash it all into the weekend."
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"After trying lots of flexible arrangements that didn't work (people taking so many different days off that it became impossible to manage), [Kath] realised she could create a single day-off for everyone.
"Wednesday makes sense as it's the middle of the week. Approaching a business like two small weeks creates a whole new model. Friday becomes a day of great industry in what can be seen a slack day where people have a long lunch or leave early."
Jonny says they work on a trust-based system instead of policing everyone's hours.
He admits it took a while to get everyone in house adjusted to the move, not to mention the company's clients, but it's made some serious waves in terms of revenue and job retention.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: News