Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business

Early-finish Fridays weren’t universally popular in the 1970s office

Men sitting in a pub.
When her office allowed an early finish on Fridays, Gillian Goss recalls how some colleagues sat in the pub to avoid going home to help with chores. Photograph: Adrian Sherratt/Alamy

In the 70s, my workplace brought in Friday closing at 3.30pm (UK firms try to lure Gen Z workers with ‘early finish Fridays’, 6 April). Most office staff welcomed it, but the warehousemen huddled in a local pub: they feared that if they got home early, they’d have to go to the supermarket with their wives. One person complained that it was difficult to get back from lunch in time to go home.
Gillian Goss
Pershore, Worcestershire

• Has Suella Braverman or Rishi Sunak made any observation about the ethnicity of the gang of Walsall offenders, who all appear to be white, judging by the photo you published (Twenty-one convicted in West Midlands child sexual abuse inquiry, 5 April)?
Sanjay Batra
London

• Towns and cities are indeed too noisy (Opinion, 10 April). One simple law change would go a long way: require cars to be as quiet outside as inside. Car companies have made them almost silent for those inside, with no regard for those outside.
Will Fry
London

• In 1971 the description of our new house (Letters, 10 April) said: “The estate agent takes no responsibility for a sabre-toothed tiger that may be lurking in the elephant grass in the garden.” It had obviously escaped by the time we moved in.
Val Harrison
Birmingham

• There were not three but four emperors in AD69 – Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian (Letters, 9 April). God forbid we get a fourth stooge in charge in Britain.
Simon Lacey
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, US

• Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.