WTF happened to Friday?
Partner Content from The Guardian
Imogen Fox unveils The Guardian’s third instalment of their annual cultural insights report, Shift Happens. This iteration highlights a new approach to the working week, how people are maximising time and the opportunity this holds to advertisers.
Three things we noticed this year: no one was around for a chat in the office after 5.31pm.
Everyone’s getting stuck into small plates at 6pm – if they’re lucky enough to get a table.
And there’s a queue for the treadmill at 6am …
What’s the old saying? Two’s a coincidence, three’s a trend?
Like journalists, advertisers are fascinated by culture shifts, and the more we started talking about how different the week now feels, the more we wanted to see what all these new moments mean for our customers.
So for the third instalment of our annual cultural insights report, Shift Happens, we’ve been having a proper look at Fridays.
We soon realised that the entire rhythm of the week has changed: the nine to five has morphed into the five to nine; we’re getting up earlier and clocking off sooner.
And while working from home might have killed the Friday night pint – we are getting a lot of laundry done …
Over the last two years, our Shift Happens report has found a nation of foodies who love trying new recipes; explored how getting out into the deep outdoors brings meaning to everyday life; and unpacked the destination goals behind our most interesting holidays.
It’s a research project that’s had a real-world effect, providing the impetus for some of our most exciting work with brands and informing a significant part of our partnership revenue.
Our research started with a 1,300-person nationwide survey, including in-depth interviews and on-the-ground intercepts on a Manchester Friday in August, and underpinned it all with our largest first party data set: how our audience interacts with Guardian journalism across our app, podcasts and paper.
And for the first time, we’ve gone international – running parallel research with Guardian Advertising in Australia, where the government put the “right to disconnect” from work after office hours into law last year.
We found nearly 70% of the UK say the rhythm of a typical week has changed in the last three years.
And there’s a powerful force reshaping how we live and work in a world that feels faster than ever: “timemaxxing”.
Sixty-four per cent of the UK now “actively maximise” their time to get the most out of life, a stat that rises to 73% for Guardian readers.
It’s like we’ve stealth-launched a four-day week, in what could be one of the biggest shifts in the way we work and play since the Sunday Trading Act opened up shop and pub hours and changed that “Sunday feeling” forever back in 1994.
We’re squeezing the most out of life – an early-bird Britain that gets up for the gym before the office, “joy-slices” mid-week lunch hours with work BFFs, ticks off chores in the middle of the day and goes all in on a “proper weekend.”
We found 45% of us socialise most on a Saturday, and 69% have more “me-time” on weekends.
And the biggest timemaxxers are also the happiest.
Guardian readers not only maximise their time more, they also rate their happiness levels higher than non-readers.
And they’re going all in on life – doing significantly more than the rest of the country.
This matters to advertisers because The Guardian probably has the biggest pool of people in the country who are looking for new ideas.
They come back to us throughout the day too.
Our revamped app has been built to meet this shift: beautifully redesigned to bring together the best of Guardian journalism in one place, while our “Saturday made me do it” ad campaign highlights how much our audience love stories about second acts and reinvention.
The numbers back this up: 64% of UK adults have tried to positively change their life – soaring to some 80% for Guardian readers.
We’ve covered everything from teachers-turned-stuntwomen, divorcees becoming lawyers, and 60-year-old journalists “Benjamin Buttoning” their way back to feeling 40 – like Phil Daoust’s “Fit for ever” quest.
His motto? “Never write yourself off.” Maybe that’s what’s happened to Fridays …
Imogen Fox is the chief advertising officer at The Guardian.