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?

Yeah I think this is pretty common and tbh I prefer it. I'd much rather go into the weekend knowing I can celebrate or if I haven't been successful in a post rather than having it hanging over me all weekend. Plus it means if you are a bit gutted you can lick your wounds privately before going in with a brave face on Monday to congratulate someone else.

Yes, its always been the case, otherwise its very disruptive for everyone.

@Hearthnhome on the basis of your post, I would reckon she is one of the more mature members of your team?

i would begin any discussion with her stressing and re stressing the limited impact and change. She seems to do a very good job and I suspect she’s concerned may impact on her ability to continue to do so well

It's preferable to send bad news on a Friday for many good reasons mentioned above.

If you don't like it because "I'll be sad at the weekend!" then maybe you're not emotionally mature enough for your workplace. Part of being professional is dealing with bad news like an adult, and Friday announcements are (often but not always) a good way to ensure that.

As long as there's an open door for any dialogue that needs to happen asap on Monday.

By the sounds of it, the management at the OP’s organisation is very aware that this is a team that would spend the day on Friday moaning / complaining / speculating / gossiping, and so for the sake of productivity - took reasonable action to mitigate that!