irst came “dress down Friday” when suits and brogues were replaced by chinos and loafers in a nod to the start of the weekend.
Now, after the pandemic, are we in the era of “lights-out Friday” when swathes of offices in the City will simply go dark?
Renowned City law firm Kingsley Napley, which occupies six floors at its office on Bonhill Street, has decided it will flick the light switches to “off” in much of its space on Fridays.
According to the website Legal Cheek the firm will simply shut down two-and-a-half floors on the fifth working day of the week. The policy will result in annual savings of around £100,000 in energy, cleaning, and maintenance costs, as well as ticking an ESG carbon footprint box.
It will be fascinating to see if others follow. Although office occupation across the week is now well above 70% of pre-pandemic levels, employers have found it hard to persuade their staff to come in on Fridays, when the City is still largely in tumbleweed mode.
You only have to witness the Thursday afternoon drinking crowds 10 deep outside the pubs and bars of the City and elsewhere in central London to appreciate that Thursday is not just the new Friday for hospitality, it’s actually bigger than Friday ever was.
No wonder the Corporation is putting so much effort into making the City an all week tourist destination. With Fridays still so denuded of office workers the Square Mile desperately needs the leisure pound to make up a painful post-Covid spending gap.