Weekend ready | Are WFH Brits secretly finishing early on Fridays?

New data reveals a drop in broadband traffic on Friday afternoons during the summer months, suggesting that remote workers may be clocking off early.

The Friday traffic drop-off  - as much as an 8% dip between 3-5pm compared to the winter - comes from Virgin Media’s broadband network analysis, an indicator of the connectivity habits of the British public. Alongside the network data, Virgin Media asked Britons about their work policies and working habits to fully understand the trend.

Nearly a third (30%) of Brits say they have a formal early Friday finish in place during the summer. But despite almost half of UK adults (48%) saying they’re not authorised to finish early on a Friday, 32% say they regularly log off with or without official permission.

In fact, a fifth (20%) of Brits say that while they don’t have official early finishes, it’s now become informally accepted behaviour in their workplace.