August long weekend | One in five employees is off today, creating ghost town offices across the nation

As the summer draws to a close, workplaces across the nation are witnessing a significant spike in leave requests, particularly for the Friday preceding the much-awaited August bank holiday Monday.

A recent study revealed that this particular day has claimed the title of the most ‘booked-off day’ for the past seven years.

According to statistics from BrightHR, an impressive 18% of employees have already booked this day off to create a prolonged weekend. However, the numbers continue to surge as the holiday approaches, with a remarkable 22% increase in absence requests during the past week alone.

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The trend of 'last-minute Larry', individuals who scramble to finalise their leave requests just before the cutoff, seems to be driving this surge in late submissions.