Why This Company Does New Employee Onboarding on Fridays

If you’re like most companies, you probably have your new employees start work on Mondays. It’s the first day of the workweek, and new hires get five full days under their belts at their new jobs before heading home to enjoy the weekend.

That’s how the traditional thinking goes, anyway. But it might not be traditional for that much longer.

Meet Spredfast, a social media marketing agency based in Austin. Two years ago, Spredfast began having new hires — everyone from entry-level employees to C-suite executives — show up for their first day of work on Fridays.

If you’re looking to improve how you do employee onboarding, having new hires start their jobs on Fridays might make a whole lot of sense. Here’s why:

01. First impressions matter

Walk around the offices of any company on a Friday afternoon, and you won’t find a happier group of employees. The weekend is so close that everyone can taste it, which generally puts people in a better mood. On the flip side, Monday mornings are the most dreadful part of the week for workers. Everyone talks about how quickly the weekend went by and laments being back in the office so soon.

First impressions matter. New hires who start on Fridays are surrounded by enthusiastic employees who are in good moods. New hires who start on Mondays are surrounded by grumpy employees who can’t believe they’re already back at work. Which environment sounds more inspiring?

02. New hires come in refreshed

After getting a job offer, many workers put in their two weeks notice and plan to start at their new company on the following Monday after those two weeks are up. In many scenarios, this means your new employees are closing out their tenures at their old companies on Friday, relaxing over the weekend, and starting their new job on Monday.

When workers are allowed to start on Friday, they can almost certainly take at least a few extra days off between jobs. This allows them to collect their thoughts and rest up, assuring they are on top of their game when they show up to work for the first time.

03. Your current workers won’t be overwhelmed

Monday morning is a difficult time of the week for even the most motivated employees. For the most part, employees ease back into the workweek and aren’t necessarily in the best moods. They’re stressed, and the last thing they want is to be responsible for new employee onboarding. They’ve got their own workloads to take care of, after all.  

Allow your new hires to start work on Fridays, and your existing employees will have gotten a majority of their assignments and responsibilities for the week done by the time they meet their new colleagues. They will have room in their schedules to accommodate the needs of new workers.

04. New employees get a head start

Don’t think about starting on Friday as starting four days later than they otherwise would. Think about it like giving your employees an extra day to get acquainted with their new surroundings before starting a full week the following Monday.

New hires, who will already be riding the high that comes with every Friday, will get a taste of what it’s like to work at your company before getting to enjoy the weekend. When they return on Monday, they will already be a little familiar with what it’s like to work at your organization and can start tackling some lighter assignments right away.

That’s how one company does it. What day of the week do you think is the best day for new hires to start work?

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