What are âsummer hoursâ in the context of an employment benefit? [closed]

Clash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP
.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;
up vote
10
down vote
favorite
I came across a a job posting on Stack Overflow careers that lists "summer hours" as a benefit, and now I'm wondering what this actually is.

What are "summer hours" in the context of an employment benefit? Is this some kind of standard, or actually defined anywhere? (I tried Googling it and found that it's a movie title, and that articles discussing its merits and/or decline as a workplace policy assume you already know what the term means.)
company-policy benefits
closed as off-topic by Lilienthalâ¦, jcmeloni, Jim G., gnat, Chris E Jun 20 '16 at 13:23
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- "Questions seeking advice on company-specific regulations, agreements, or policies should be directed to your manager or HR department. Questions that address only a specific company or position are of limited use to future visitors. Questions seeking legal advice should be directed to legal professionals. For more information, click here." â Lilienthal, jcmeloni, Jim G., gnat, Chris E
 |Â
show 5 more comments
up vote
10
down vote
favorite
I came across a a job posting on Stack Overflow careers that lists "summer hours" as a benefit, and now I'm wondering what this actually is.

What are "summer hours" in the context of an employment benefit? Is this some kind of standard, or actually defined anywhere? (I tried Googling it and found that it's a movie title, and that articles discussing its merits and/or decline as a workplace policy assume you already know what the term means.)
company-policy benefits
closed as off-topic by Lilienthalâ¦, jcmeloni, Jim G., gnat, Chris E Jun 20 '16 at 13:23
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- "Questions seeking advice on company-specific regulations, agreements, or policies should be directed to your manager or HR department. Questions that address only a specific company or position are of limited use to future visitors. Questions seeking legal advice should be directed to legal professionals. For more information, click here." â Lilienthal, jcmeloni, Jim G., gnat, Chris E
Days are longer during the summer. Maybe it means you have to work longer in the summer?
â Brandin
Jun 17 '16 at 18:15
2
It usually has to do with short Friday or every other Friday off but still put in the hours.
â paparazzo
Jun 17 '16 at 18:33
1
@Lumberjack Yeah. TBH, the education sector jumped to mind immediately, with the thought of summers [mostly] off. I see why they call it "summer hours" and not "very limited version of flex time between memorial day and labor day, some restrictions may apply, offer not valid in all locations."
â HopelessN00b
Jun 17 '16 at 20:51
5
Usually, in summertime, the livin' is easy. The fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high.
â mxyzplk
Jun 17 '16 at 21:42
1
@mxyzplk - You win WP for today.
â Wesley Long
Jun 17 '16 at 23:44
 |Â
show 5 more comments
up vote
10
down vote
favorite
up vote
10
down vote
favorite
I came across a a job posting on Stack Overflow careers that lists "summer hours" as a benefit, and now I'm wondering what this actually is.

What are "summer hours" in the context of an employment benefit? Is this some kind of standard, or actually defined anywhere? (I tried Googling it and found that it's a movie title, and that articles discussing its merits and/or decline as a workplace policy assume you already know what the term means.)
company-policy benefits
I came across a a job posting on Stack Overflow careers that lists "summer hours" as a benefit, and now I'm wondering what this actually is.

What are "summer hours" in the context of an employment benefit? Is this some kind of standard, or actually defined anywhere? (I tried Googling it and found that it's a movie title, and that articles discussing its merits and/or decline as a workplace policy assume you already know what the term means.)
company-policy benefits
edited May 23 '17 at 12:37
Communityâ¦
1
1
asked Jun 17 '16 at 17:56
HopelessN00b
9,78041753
9,78041753
closed as off-topic by Lilienthalâ¦, jcmeloni, Jim G., gnat, Chris E Jun 20 '16 at 13:23
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- "Questions seeking advice on company-specific regulations, agreements, or policies should be directed to your manager or HR department. Questions that address only a specific company or position are of limited use to future visitors. Questions seeking legal advice should be directed to legal professionals. For more information, click here." â Lilienthal, jcmeloni, Jim G., gnat, Chris E
closed as off-topic by Lilienthalâ¦, jcmeloni, Jim G., gnat, Chris E Jun 20 '16 at 13:23
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- "Questions seeking advice on company-specific regulations, agreements, or policies should be directed to your manager or HR department. Questions that address only a specific company or position are of limited use to future visitors. Questions seeking legal advice should be directed to legal professionals. For more information, click here." â Lilienthal, jcmeloni, Jim G., gnat, Chris E
Days are longer during the summer. Maybe it means you have to work longer in the summer?
â Brandin
Jun 17 '16 at 18:15
2
It usually has to do with short Friday or every other Friday off but still put in the hours.
â paparazzo
Jun 17 '16 at 18:33
1
@Lumberjack Yeah. TBH, the education sector jumped to mind immediately, with the thought of summers [mostly] off. I see why they call it "summer hours" and not "very limited version of flex time between memorial day and labor day, some restrictions may apply, offer not valid in all locations."
â HopelessN00b
Jun 17 '16 at 20:51
5
Usually, in summertime, the livin' is easy. The fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high.
â mxyzplk
Jun 17 '16 at 21:42
1
@mxyzplk - You win WP for today.
â Wesley Long
Jun 17 '16 at 23:44
 |Â
show 5 more comments
Days are longer during the summer. Maybe it means you have to work longer in the summer?
â Brandin
Jun 17 '16 at 18:15
2
It usually has to do with short Friday or every other Friday off but still put in the hours.
â paparazzo
Jun 17 '16 at 18:33
1
@Lumberjack Yeah. TBH, the education sector jumped to mind immediately, with the thought of summers [mostly] off. I see why they call it "summer hours" and not "very limited version of flex time between memorial day and labor day, some restrictions may apply, offer not valid in all locations."
â HopelessN00b
Jun 17 '16 at 20:51
5
Usually, in summertime, the livin' is easy. The fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high.
â mxyzplk
Jun 17 '16 at 21:42
1
@mxyzplk - You win WP for today.
â Wesley Long
Jun 17 '16 at 23:44
Days are longer during the summer. Maybe it means you have to work longer in the summer?
â Brandin
Jun 17 '16 at 18:15
Days are longer during the summer. Maybe it means you have to work longer in the summer?
â Brandin
Jun 17 '16 at 18:15
2
2
It usually has to do with short Friday or every other Friday off but still put in the hours.
â paparazzo
Jun 17 '16 at 18:33
It usually has to do with short Friday or every other Friday off but still put in the hours.
â paparazzo
Jun 17 '16 at 18:33
1
1
@Lumberjack Yeah. TBH, the education sector jumped to mind immediately, with the thought of summers [mostly] off. I see why they call it "summer hours" and not "very limited version of flex time between memorial day and labor day, some restrictions may apply, offer not valid in all locations."
â HopelessN00b
Jun 17 '16 at 20:51
@Lumberjack Yeah. TBH, the education sector jumped to mind immediately, with the thought of summers [mostly] off. I see why they call it "summer hours" and not "very limited version of flex time between memorial day and labor day, some restrictions may apply, offer not valid in all locations."
â HopelessN00b
Jun 17 '16 at 20:51
5
5
Usually, in summertime, the livin' is easy. The fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high.
â mxyzplk
Jun 17 '16 at 21:42
Usually, in summertime, the livin' is easy. The fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high.
â mxyzplk
Jun 17 '16 at 21:42
1
1
@mxyzplk - You win WP for today.
â Wesley Long
Jun 17 '16 at 23:44
@mxyzplk - You win WP for today.
â Wesley Long
Jun 17 '16 at 23:44
 |Â
show 5 more comments
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
up vote
18
down vote
accepted
Different companies will have different specific policies, but it generally involves the option for more flexibility to accommodate fun with family/friends in the good weather. Most often this centers around reducing the required work hours on Fridays (either the full day or the afternoon) so that people can go home early, take long weekends or otherwise enjoy time when the weather is great and kids are home from school.
The rigor of the rules has a lot to do with the rigor of the company. A company with supremely flexible work hours may not even mention summer hours, because the hours are so fluid already. Usually the regulations will:
- Not give you free time off, you make it up somehow
- Reduce the require hours of "must be present in the office between X and Y" on Friday (ie, core hours are 10-4, except on Fridays during summer hours they are 10-2)
- Be specifically for summer
- Provide some amount of legislation to suit business goals and the corporate culture. It could include "with management approval", "for salaried, but not for hourly employees", "for people with non-customer facing jobs", or even "mandatory for everyone" - that last may be because the company doesn't want to run the AC in the building.
It's worth asking on the interview what the details are so you know the specifics.
I've seen this at universities be working earlier hours. Students generally are later waking than adults and when they are ask gone... boom start earlier and end earlier!
â Elysian Fieldsâ¦
Jun 19 '16 at 0:26
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
15
down vote
In both prior positions that I have been at which included summer hours, it typically meant that we could take a half day on Friday as long as we made up the time elsewhere in the week. I have had some friends at a specific local business whose summer hours extended this to all of Friday; so they could take the entire day off if they made up their 40 hours Monday through Thursday.
For both cases, this was only offered during the summer. For my most recent position, it roughly started around when the local school year ended and roughly ended when the local school year started.
However, Summer Hours are going to be a company specific policy. You will want to check with your potential employer to know the exact details of the benefit.
6
Another form that seems to be common is also called "9/80" -- work your 80 hours in nine days instead of ten and take every other Friday off.
â Monica Cellioâ¦
Jun 17 '16 at 20:23
I've heard that called a compressed week.
â The Wandering Dev Manager
Jun 20 '16 at 20:43
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
2
down vote
I've never had this specific benefit, but my wife has. She's worked at the same company as long as I've known her, and the privilege seems to have been slightly modified every summer, but the general concept is that Fridays in the summer have modified hours.
Some years have meant that every other Friday is a half-day. Other years meant that they can leave an hour or 2 early every Friday. And some years, the benefit was not offered.
The only way to know what the specific benefit means is to ask.
suggest improvements |Â
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
18
down vote
accepted
Different companies will have different specific policies, but it generally involves the option for more flexibility to accommodate fun with family/friends in the good weather. Most often this centers around reducing the required work hours on Fridays (either the full day or the afternoon) so that people can go home early, take long weekends or otherwise enjoy time when the weather is great and kids are home from school.
The rigor of the rules has a lot to do with the rigor of the company. A company with supremely flexible work hours may not even mention summer hours, because the hours are so fluid already. Usually the regulations will:
- Not give you free time off, you make it up somehow
- Reduce the require hours of "must be present in the office between X and Y" on Friday (ie, core hours are 10-4, except on Fridays during summer hours they are 10-2)
- Be specifically for summer
- Provide some amount of legislation to suit business goals and the corporate culture. It could include "with management approval", "for salaried, but not for hourly employees", "for people with non-customer facing jobs", or even "mandatory for everyone" - that last may be because the company doesn't want to run the AC in the building.
It's worth asking on the interview what the details are so you know the specifics.
I've seen this at universities be working earlier hours. Students generally are later waking than adults and when they are ask gone... boom start earlier and end earlier!
â Elysian Fieldsâ¦
Jun 19 '16 at 0:26
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
18
down vote
accepted
Different companies will have different specific policies, but it generally involves the option for more flexibility to accommodate fun with family/friends in the good weather. Most often this centers around reducing the required work hours on Fridays (either the full day or the afternoon) so that people can go home early, take long weekends or otherwise enjoy time when the weather is great and kids are home from school.
The rigor of the rules has a lot to do with the rigor of the company. A company with supremely flexible work hours may not even mention summer hours, because the hours are so fluid already. Usually the regulations will:
- Not give you free time off, you make it up somehow
- Reduce the require hours of "must be present in the office between X and Y" on Friday (ie, core hours are 10-4, except on Fridays during summer hours they are 10-2)
- Be specifically for summer
- Provide some amount of legislation to suit business goals and the corporate culture. It could include "with management approval", "for salaried, but not for hourly employees", "for people with non-customer facing jobs", or even "mandatory for everyone" - that last may be because the company doesn't want to run the AC in the building.
It's worth asking on the interview what the details are so you know the specifics.
I've seen this at universities be working earlier hours. Students generally are later waking than adults and when they are ask gone... boom start earlier and end earlier!
â Elysian Fieldsâ¦
Jun 19 '16 at 0:26
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
18
down vote
accepted
up vote
18
down vote
accepted
Different companies will have different specific policies, but it generally involves the option for more flexibility to accommodate fun with family/friends in the good weather. Most often this centers around reducing the required work hours on Fridays (either the full day or the afternoon) so that people can go home early, take long weekends or otherwise enjoy time when the weather is great and kids are home from school.
The rigor of the rules has a lot to do with the rigor of the company. A company with supremely flexible work hours may not even mention summer hours, because the hours are so fluid already. Usually the regulations will:
- Not give you free time off, you make it up somehow
- Reduce the require hours of "must be present in the office between X and Y" on Friday (ie, core hours are 10-4, except on Fridays during summer hours they are 10-2)
- Be specifically for summer
- Provide some amount of legislation to suit business goals and the corporate culture. It could include "with management approval", "for salaried, but not for hourly employees", "for people with non-customer facing jobs", or even "mandatory for everyone" - that last may be because the company doesn't want to run the AC in the building.
It's worth asking on the interview what the details are so you know the specifics.
Different companies will have different specific policies, but it generally involves the option for more flexibility to accommodate fun with family/friends in the good weather. Most often this centers around reducing the required work hours on Fridays (either the full day or the afternoon) so that people can go home early, take long weekends or otherwise enjoy time when the weather is great and kids are home from school.
The rigor of the rules has a lot to do with the rigor of the company. A company with supremely flexible work hours may not even mention summer hours, because the hours are so fluid already. Usually the regulations will:
- Not give you free time off, you make it up somehow
- Reduce the require hours of "must be present in the office between X and Y" on Friday (ie, core hours are 10-4, except on Fridays during summer hours they are 10-2)
- Be specifically for summer
- Provide some amount of legislation to suit business goals and the corporate culture. It could include "with management approval", "for salaried, but not for hourly employees", "for people with non-customer facing jobs", or even "mandatory for everyone" - that last may be because the company doesn't want to run the AC in the building.
It's worth asking on the interview what the details are so you know the specifics.
answered Jun 17 '16 at 20:01
bethlakshmi
70.3k4136277
70.3k4136277
I've seen this at universities be working earlier hours. Students generally are later waking than adults and when they are ask gone... boom start earlier and end earlier!
â Elysian Fieldsâ¦
Jun 19 '16 at 0:26
suggest improvements |Â
I've seen this at universities be working earlier hours. Students generally are later waking than adults and when they are ask gone... boom start earlier and end earlier!
â Elysian Fieldsâ¦
Jun 19 '16 at 0:26
I've seen this at universities be working earlier hours. Students generally are later waking than adults and when they are ask gone... boom start earlier and end earlier!
â Elysian Fieldsâ¦
Jun 19 '16 at 0:26
I've seen this at universities be working earlier hours. Students generally are later waking than adults and when they are ask gone... boom start earlier and end earlier!
â Elysian Fieldsâ¦
Jun 19 '16 at 0:26
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
15
down vote
In both prior positions that I have been at which included summer hours, it typically meant that we could take a half day on Friday as long as we made up the time elsewhere in the week. I have had some friends at a specific local business whose summer hours extended this to all of Friday; so they could take the entire day off if they made up their 40 hours Monday through Thursday.
For both cases, this was only offered during the summer. For my most recent position, it roughly started around when the local school year ended and roughly ended when the local school year started.
However, Summer Hours are going to be a company specific policy. You will want to check with your potential employer to know the exact details of the benefit.
6
Another form that seems to be common is also called "9/80" -- work your 80 hours in nine days instead of ten and take every other Friday off.
â Monica Cellioâ¦
Jun 17 '16 at 20:23
I've heard that called a compressed week.
â The Wandering Dev Manager
Jun 20 '16 at 20:43
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
15
down vote
In both prior positions that I have been at which included summer hours, it typically meant that we could take a half day on Friday as long as we made up the time elsewhere in the week. I have had some friends at a specific local business whose summer hours extended this to all of Friday; so they could take the entire day off if they made up their 40 hours Monday through Thursday.
For both cases, this was only offered during the summer. For my most recent position, it roughly started around when the local school year ended and roughly ended when the local school year started.
However, Summer Hours are going to be a company specific policy. You will want to check with your potential employer to know the exact details of the benefit.
6
Another form that seems to be common is also called "9/80" -- work your 80 hours in nine days instead of ten and take every other Friday off.
â Monica Cellioâ¦
Jun 17 '16 at 20:23
I've heard that called a compressed week.
â The Wandering Dev Manager
Jun 20 '16 at 20:43
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
15
down vote
up vote
15
down vote
In both prior positions that I have been at which included summer hours, it typically meant that we could take a half day on Friday as long as we made up the time elsewhere in the week. I have had some friends at a specific local business whose summer hours extended this to all of Friday; so they could take the entire day off if they made up their 40 hours Monday through Thursday.
For both cases, this was only offered during the summer. For my most recent position, it roughly started around when the local school year ended and roughly ended when the local school year started.
However, Summer Hours are going to be a company specific policy. You will want to check with your potential employer to know the exact details of the benefit.
In both prior positions that I have been at which included summer hours, it typically meant that we could take a half day on Friday as long as we made up the time elsewhere in the week. I have had some friends at a specific local business whose summer hours extended this to all of Friday; so they could take the entire day off if they made up their 40 hours Monday through Thursday.
For both cases, this was only offered during the summer. For my most recent position, it roughly started around when the local school year ended and roughly ended when the local school year started.
However, Summer Hours are going to be a company specific policy. You will want to check with your potential employer to know the exact details of the benefit.
edited Jun 18 '16 at 20:26
Appulus
33148
33148
answered Jun 17 '16 at 18:09
Thebluefish
1,7381617
1,7381617
6
Another form that seems to be common is also called "9/80" -- work your 80 hours in nine days instead of ten and take every other Friday off.
â Monica Cellioâ¦
Jun 17 '16 at 20:23
I've heard that called a compressed week.
â The Wandering Dev Manager
Jun 20 '16 at 20:43
suggest improvements |Â
6
Another form that seems to be common is also called "9/80" -- work your 80 hours in nine days instead of ten and take every other Friday off.
â Monica Cellioâ¦
Jun 17 '16 at 20:23
I've heard that called a compressed week.
â The Wandering Dev Manager
Jun 20 '16 at 20:43
6
6
Another form that seems to be common is also called "9/80" -- work your 80 hours in nine days instead of ten and take every other Friday off.
â Monica Cellioâ¦
Jun 17 '16 at 20:23
Another form that seems to be common is also called "9/80" -- work your 80 hours in nine days instead of ten and take every other Friday off.
â Monica Cellioâ¦
Jun 17 '16 at 20:23
I've heard that called a compressed week.
â The Wandering Dev Manager
Jun 20 '16 at 20:43
I've heard that called a compressed week.
â The Wandering Dev Manager
Jun 20 '16 at 20:43
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
2
down vote
I've never had this specific benefit, but my wife has. She's worked at the same company as long as I've known her, and the privilege seems to have been slightly modified every summer, but the general concept is that Fridays in the summer have modified hours.
Some years have meant that every other Friday is a half-day. Other years meant that they can leave an hour or 2 early every Friday. And some years, the benefit was not offered.
The only way to know what the specific benefit means is to ask.
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
2
down vote
I've never had this specific benefit, but my wife has. She's worked at the same company as long as I've known her, and the privilege seems to have been slightly modified every summer, but the general concept is that Fridays in the summer have modified hours.
Some years have meant that every other Friday is a half-day. Other years meant that they can leave an hour or 2 early every Friday. And some years, the benefit was not offered.
The only way to know what the specific benefit means is to ask.
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
I've never had this specific benefit, but my wife has. She's worked at the same company as long as I've known her, and the privilege seems to have been slightly modified every summer, but the general concept is that Fridays in the summer have modified hours.
Some years have meant that every other Friday is a half-day. Other years meant that they can leave an hour or 2 early every Friday. And some years, the benefit was not offered.
The only way to know what the specific benefit means is to ask.
I've never had this specific benefit, but my wife has. She's worked at the same company as long as I've known her, and the privilege seems to have been slightly modified every summer, but the general concept is that Fridays in the summer have modified hours.
Some years have meant that every other Friday is a half-day. Other years meant that they can leave an hour or 2 early every Friday. And some years, the benefit was not offered.
The only way to know what the specific benefit means is to ask.
edited Jun 18 '16 at 11:12
answered Jun 17 '16 at 20:30
psubsee2003
587512
587512
suggest improvements |Â
suggest improvements |Â

Days are longer during the summer. Maybe it means you have to work longer in the summer?
â Brandin
Jun 17 '16 at 18:15
2
It usually has to do with short Friday or every other Friday off but still put in the hours.
â paparazzo
Jun 17 '16 at 18:33
1
@Lumberjack Yeah. TBH, the education sector jumped to mind immediately, with the thought of summers [mostly] off. I see why they call it "summer hours" and not "very limited version of flex time between memorial day and labor day, some restrictions may apply, offer not valid in all locations."
â HopelessN00b
Jun 17 '16 at 20:51
5
Usually, in summertime, the livin' is easy. The fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high.
â mxyzplk
Jun 17 '16 at 21:42
1
@mxyzplk - You win WP for today.
â Wesley Long
Jun 17 '16 at 23:44