Original article ISPreview UK:Read More
Broadband ISP Virgin Media (O2) has published some new insights from their fixed line network, which among other things reveals a fall in UK data traffic on Friday afternoons during the summer months, with as much as an 8% dip between 3-5pm compared to the winter, as “remote workers clock off early“.
Alongside the new network data, Virgin Media also asked an unspecified number of Britons – via polling insights based off a nationally representative survey conducted by Strand Partners for O2 – about their work policies and working habits in order to “fully understand the trend“.
The results found that 30% of Brits say they have a formal early Friday finish in place during the summer, while 48% said they’re not authorised to finish early on a Friday, and 32% say they regularly log off with or without official permission. Finally, 20% of Brits said that while they don’t have official early finishes, it’s now become informally accepted behaviour in their workplace.
Summary of Additional Results
➤ 61% feel they’ve earned the right to clock off early after a busy week.
➤ 59% say they don’t feel at all guilty about heading off early to start their weekend on Fridays.
➤ 63% of Brits saying they feel more productive earlier in the week if they can look ahead to finishing earlier on Friday.
➤ Some Brits confess to working on the move on a Friday afternoon, with 15% admitting to having worked from the train station, 14% from the park, and 10% from the pub, as the weekend beckons.
➤ 30% of 18–24-year-olds confess they’ve worked from the car while travelling for the weekend.
➤ 24% say they’ve often secretly left work early but kept their work status to ‘active’ on a summer Friday.
➤ 37% said they often plan to log off early on summer Fridays but typically end up working late.
➤ 25% say they often feel pressure to stay available on summer Fridays, even after the end of the working day.
➤ 64% of the Brits working a full Friday say they wish their company had a formal summer Friday policy.
Jeanie York, CTO of VMO2, said: “Our network traffic analysis is revealing changing workplace habits in real time as the nation takes advantage of long summer Fridays. We’re continuing to boost our fixed and mobile networks so whether Brits are working from their local park, or finishing their work at home, we’re ready to keep them connected.”