Kiwis cut Friday hours as weekend wind-down begins

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Nine out of 10 New Zealanders believe a "Friday feeling" exists while many spend the last two hours of the working week getting ready for the weekend, a survey has found.

Research by Colmar Brunton has found the average working Kiwi moves into a lower gear at 3.29pm on a Friday, finishes work at 4.04pm and "switches off" for the weekend an hour later. The research, commissioned by Mitre 10 and conducted last month, looked at New Zealanders' habits in the build-up to the weekend.

It found people in the Bay of Plenty get the weekend started earlier than anyone else in the country, winding down around 3pm, while people from the Manawatu and Hawkes Bay were more likely to treat Friday as any other day.

Hamilton optical assistant Bianca Quinlan, 22, said she usually finished work at 6pm on Friday. "My mind is still on work but I'm ready to get out the door," she said.

University of Auckland senior lecturer in employee and organisational engagement Dr Helena Cooper-Thomas said recovery from the working week allowed people to re-energise and return to work motivated and revitalised.

She said if employees felt unproductive at the end of the week there were things they and their bosses could do.

"For employees, they can think about what tasks they can still achieve - either tasks that they find motivating or that will be useful but don't require a lot of cognitive or physical effort."