To wonder if work deliberately send upsetting emails on Friday

[Arbesque]

The results of a promotion competition at work were announced on Friday afternoon. So lots of people going home upset for the weekend. I said to a colleague that it was a bit mean and they could have waited until Monday, but she reckons it's deliberate so that people will calm down over the weekend and not kick up a fuss in work.

Apparently it's common practice in lots of workplaces to announce bad news just before the weekend.

Has anyone else heard this?

One place I worked always announced proposed redundancy schemes about 6:30pm on a Friday evening.

Of course it was done deliberately, to ensure staff could worry the whole weekend. Bonus points for it being the Friday before a bank holiday Monday. Every bloody year, year in, year out.

People could apply for voluntary redundancy. While it might be tempting to stampede for the opportunity, it was worth waiting until 6:30pm on the deadline date to submit just an application... let them do the worrying.

I worked in an office where people being let go (fired) were always told on a Friday. It always seemed pretty cowardly of the Manager to me.

Sometimes it's just when things are ready to communicate and an invisible deadline. Think about when you are doing a project, it's nice to have it finished by the weekend so it doesn't drag to next week. Senior managers are just people with projects too.... Just like you

Yes, have experienced this since becoming a manager and doing 9-5 Monday to Friday.

Has been less than a year but it’s definitely a thing I have experienced a few times. Both internal and an external agency. It’s always things that are going to mean a lot of work for me and with deadlines included which are never generous.

I’m a worrier so not being able to deal with things is not good for me and it does spoil my weekend despite my best efforts to rationalize and switch off. That’s my issue obviously and I’m working on it but given I never really wanted the promotion to my management role, it really has given me a few ‘fuck this job’ moments.

It was different when I worked shifts and even if I wanted to do the same to my staff which I don’t, it wouldn’t have the same impact because they all work shifts over the 7 day week.

I don't know if it still happens but my local authority used to inform parents of the outcome of school applications by first class post sent on a Friday so parents would get them on Saturday.

Yeah I got sacked at 4.55 on a Friday bank holiday weekend 😅

This has just reminded me I got rejected from Oxford on 24th December. It’s only really just hit me what a shitty thing that is for them to do. I didn’t really mind at the time because I felt out of place at interview and so wasn’t very keen.

Yes, I used to work for a company who did this. Awful, wish I left there way before I did.

Yes, they definitely do. The director of the company I work for always sacks people after 3pm on a Friday. He said it’s so they have the weekend to drown their sorrows/calm down

Yeah at uni I always found they would realise grades at like 4.58 pm on a Friday so that we didn't bombard them with questions about why we got the grade we did.

Oh we had news entire team was to be made redundant during the weekend.

I always thought it was spite, and took pleasure in the fact that I wAs sooooo busy that weekend I didn’t see the email til 7am Monday.

It did show that the company was one to be happy to be leaving.

They later went bust.

I think bad news at the end of the week may have been dreamt up in expensive management courses, but is in reality appalling form.

Yes it's a known technique. You often find fines and other bad news appointments will arrive at the weekend too.
In defence, it can mean people aren't spending the weekend wondering, but I honestly think its done for the benefit if business rather than user

I was thinking about this thread yesterday. I have some news to give to my team. It’s not negative for them and doesn’t change their job role. I am being promoted and taking on another area of the business. It will actually open up more progression for my existing team.

However, we have supported the other area before and one of my team hates working in it.m, which I get. I am taking it over because it’s a mess. Their job won’t change at all unless they ask to get involved, but they tend to react to what they think worst case scenario for them would be, rather than listen to what’s said. They tend to be quite negative to any news. They were disappointed with an extra 5 days holiday and 19% pay rise this year, because they assumed we would change their job role if they accepted. They are on annual leave until Friday, and next week they are only in Monday and Tuesday and then go away on holiday. They are also having a difficult time in their private life.

My plan is to tell them on Friday morning, after I have spoken to the team who i am taking over (again first day they are all in to speak to face to face) , to give them the day to come up with questions. Before the end of the day. Then the weekend to think about it. Come back with more questions on Monday and Tuesday and hopefully, go on holiday not stewing it over.

if any of the posters who hate getting bad news on Friday (although this isn’t bad news) can let me know if they have a better idea, to make it easier please do let me know.

@Hearthnhome

what a depressing and frustrating team you have. On the basis of your post, wouldn’t matter if you told them the news whilst handing over a winning lottery ticket. Good luck!

It’s only one team member. Sorry when I said ‘one of my team’ I meant one individual.

A good number of years ago one of my friends was told that her work contract was not been renewed on a Friday afternoon. Not long after she started this job another lady was taken on. Due to a few things my friend figured out that there would be 1 job not 2 available by the end of her work contract. The department she worked in was always short staffed and had a boss who never fought to get the department more staff.

So my friend was told the news and their boss then told them exactly why they were not been kept on.
Within 3 months my friend found out from one of her former co workers the following happened.
2 woman had been given career brakes for a few months and had left the company for X period.
The lady they kept on gave her 2 weeks notice, told the boss how bad they were and said they were a fool to let my friend go.
The boss then tried to get 2 of her PT morning only staff to agree to 3 full days one week and 2 full days the next week. Both woman had kids and declined her nice offer.
She took on a new staff member who was always late, had a load of sick days and was not able to do any part of the job.
Then one of the career break woman got a better job and never returned to their old work place.

It became a turning point in my friends life. They went on to sort out a few things and ended up in a far better position than if they stayed their.

You need to tell them before they hear on the grape vine. I believe this is the real reason Friday is often used. Senior leadership and those affected need to know, HR do some work to put it in place. Someone starts something new in Monday, etc

Because your need to tell them before they hear through the rumour mill, you need to tell them before their holiday. So Friday is best so it doesn't ruin their annual leave

I have people like this in my team and it's my first big management job. Is this common? It's exhausting

Thank you. If I wait until after annual leave it will definitely be on the grape vine by then. Which is why my team are being told immediately after the other team. By the time both teams know it will be round all our offices.

My gut was that my plan was the best one, but reading so many different pov on here made me want to ask for other input. So thank you.

I wouldn’t say it’s common. There’s always ones that are more negative than others. This person is the most difficult one I have dealt with in 14 years of senior management. I find it easier to deal with the negativity when people are very good at their job. Also once you get to know them are very nice. Just really struggle with chance, even if the change doesn’t impact them.

Struggle with change. Not chance.

Is she actually good at her job? @Hearthnhome

Yes, she really is. Just doesn’t react well to any changes, even positive ones. If you just look at the role she is a top performer, goes above and beyond in the job role. Excellent at preempting problems and coming up with a solution or fix. Very dedicated to doing the best she can in the role.

I worked in local government (Council) and yes, that is routine.

I had a manager who would tell you on a Friday that he needed to have a word with you - but on Monday - so you'd spend the whole weekend worrying about it. Often it was something trivial, not anything 'bad', too.

He did tell me, years later, that he'd do it deliberately (this was when he did it to someone else). Tosser

Interestingly my organisation makes a concerted effort not to disseminate big news ( good or bad) on a Friday, it’s not always successful but there are conscious decisions around comms timelines factoring ‘not on a Friday’.

I like to give unexpected bad news towards the end of the day, ideally on a Friday, so if anyone is upset, they can leave quickly and not be the person who had a meltdown in the office. It's not because I'm a coward - it's because I want to give them dignity. It's how I'd like to be treated.

It's different if they're working from home - the day matters less then, because they don't have to walk past colleagues if they're upset. (I've actually never made anyone cry, but I'd never like to assume everyone would take bad news stoically.)

If it's an urgent thing where they know something is up, rather than it being a surprise, forget Friday, I try to get them an answer as soon as possible and break the news when I know.

If I ever book in time for a catch up, I make sure my staff know what it's for, because I know unexpected meetings with vague names can trigger people's anxiety.

If anyone wants to discuss something bad out of hours, I'm always contactable. I'm not hiding from them over the weekend. But I do think it's cruel to give someone bad news before they're about to deliver a presentation, or if they have a day of back-to-back meetings and can't have 5 minutes alone to process it. Where you can make the bad news less painful by adapting the timing, I think you should.