Leap year 2024 - make the most of the extra working day!

What’s a leap year, and how does it affect work processes?

Earth completes one orbit around the Sun, or one solar year, in around 365.25 days. Typically, we round the number of days in a year to 365. About every four years, we add a day to the calendar to compensate for the lost half day. Those are known as leap years. Leap year offers either a day off or a typical working day. Examples of this phenomenon include 1916, 1944, 1972, 2000, 2028, 2056, and 2084 in the Gregorian calendar, which is used in most of the world. All end-of-century leap years (leap years divisible by 400) start on a Saturday. In 2024, there is an extra working day. It affects many aspects of the working process, like curricular activities, software systems, payouts, and even employee productivity. Leap years are associated with numerous superstitions, omens, and traditions. A year with an extra day also impacts employees and their salaries. This post will reveal some secrets of this phenomenon, popular leap day activities, and recommend ways to track work hours more effectively during the leap year.

This article is presented by WorkTime employee monitoring software. It ensures good employee productivity even on a leap year!

What happens because of an extra working day?

1. Extra payouts & bonuses

Leap year payroll may vary based on several factors. For staff who receive a fixed salary each month, a leap year may not be favorable. Employees essentially work one extra day for free. However, the economic calculations in a leap year are not as straightforward. In many statistical estimations worldwide, such as when measuring GDP, all years are considered equal. The basis for these calculations is taken from February, which has 28 days plus a quarter day, regardless of whether it’s a leap year. Alan Price, CEO of BrightHR, a Toronto-based HR software provider, says the leap year is good news for anyone who is paid hourly. "Hourly employees who work on Feb. 29 should be paid as usual. This means they should be compensated for all hours actually worked, including an extra day in February, just like any other day," he told CTVNews.ca in a statement. Salaried employees paid weekly or bi-weekly will also be paid as usual for the extra day, excluding their personal leap day activities. However, some salaried employees are paid monthly or semi-annually - once on the 15th and once on the last day. Price says those salaried workers may be "out of luck."

Utilizing WorkTime can facilitate tracking the number of hours worked. If the company pays a fixed wage per month on February 29th, hourly payment can be applied for the additional day.

"Those who work on February 29th would not be entitled to additional pay for that extra day unless their employment contract provided otherwise," Price admitted. Interestingly, teachers from a school in Maryland, the US, used to launch a campaign in 2008, urging people not to work on the additional day of the leap year. However, this campaign has yet to materialize into a public holiday worldwide. Some argue that individuals receiving a fixed monthly salary might see it differently, believing they are overpaid. To prevent it, time monitoring tools can come in handy. In February, even in a leap year, employees with fixed monthly wages still work a couple of days less than in any other month. The most popular alternative ever proposed to the current calendar is the World Calendar, devised in New York in 1930. Its creators suggested moving February 29th to June 31st and making it a worldwide day off for various interesting leap day activities. On the whole, min-wage hourly workers can actually earn less than the minimum wage for the year if they work on a leap day. Price suggests that employers need to consider leap years to comply with provincial minimum wage laws. A viable solution to this issue could be compensating these workers for overtime or providing new employees with an annual salary slightly exceeding the minimum wage requirements. WorkTime will let you know whenever your employees overwork or underwork to compensate fairly.

It's best to ensure an employer has official documentation that takes into account both hours worked and hours paid to the employee.

2. Extra opportunities for marketing & sales

Did you know that your sales team gets an extra opportunity to bring more customers? As a result, you get a higher income!

Promos & sales

You can use an extra leap day to develop distinctive marketing strategies and promotions centered around this event. It will help attract attention and increase sales. You may provide exclusive discounts, limited-edition items, or "29 deals." Recall a 29% discount and use a multi-channel approach.

Giveaways

If you want to create leads and attract potential consumers, you might want to think about providing free samples, extended trials, or product demos and previews. Think about making them available exclusively for the 29th of February.

Social contests

Another idea is to involve customers through contests or events like special competitions, quick sale, freebies, quizzes, or else. Try to infuse your messaging with fun and playful branding. Ask your audience to share “leaping” photos or videos to mark the day. Use a trending hashtag like #LeapYearContest to increase campaign visibility.

Generate relevant content

Content is king, so why not make leap year-themed blog entries, social media updates, or videos on February 29th? Discover leap year history, renowned athletes born on February 29, global superstitions, and movies about leap years to make use of these facts. You can manage overtime to see if some employees were doing better than others and deserve a bonus.

3. Officially unrecognized

Here is what CBC states: “The majority of the time, banks, insurance companies, and other large financial organizations do not acknowledge leap day as a valid date, meaning that individuals are forced to select either February 28 or March 1 as their birth date. Although this has become less of a problem as a result of tech advances, there are still websites that refuse to accept February 29.”

4. Accounting activities suffer

The inclusion of an extra day can potentially disturb the usual accounting cycles, calling for adjustments to maintain precise financial statements. Compliance with regulatory requirements may be affected by leap years. Specific provisions related to leap years could be present in tax laws or financial regulations. It is crucial for finance teams to stay informed about any alterations or guidance from regulatory bodies to ensure compliance and prevent penalties. It is very important to take into account the extra day in the reporting period when making financial records. In order to do this, accruals, depreciation schedules, and other accounting entries may need to be changed to reflect the right time period. If these changes aren't made, the financial records could be wrong, which could have big effects on following the rules and making decisions. February 29th transactions may be affected by leap years. Companies must record and assign these transactions to the correct accounting periods. To account for the extra day, revenues, expenses, and other financial indicators may be prorated. Maintaining financial reporting integrity requires careful attention to these aspects. Software for department monitoring might be helpful.

WorkTime allows employers to monitor separate company’s departments, including finance, HR, design, marketing, etc. You can enhance department management and productivity, irrespective of your staff location.

5. Issues with reporting & scheduling systems

Business performance KPIs can be affected by leap years. The extra day in the leap year may need adjustments to KPIs like revenue per day or inventory turnover. Missing these modifications can lead to misinterpreted KPIs and erroneous performance assessments. Leap years can be disruptive to the planning and budgeting process, given that the additional day can influence cash flow predictions, revenue projections, and expense forecasts. Teams need to meticulously assess the ramifications of this extra day when formulating leap financials. This could entail modifications to growth rates, expense allocations, and revenue assumptions to accommodate the extended reporting period effectively.

With WorkTime, you can watch how well your employees perform, no matter what day of the year it is. You’ll see how much time they spend on various apps and whether those activities are relevant for their job.

6. Extra working time & employee satisfaction

Additional time is allotted for you and your team to work a bit longer, accomplishing extra KPIs. In addition, this is wonderful if you and your team are passionate about the work that they accomplish. What if they don’t? If you have employees that do not enjoy their work, it is possible that they will become dissatisfied and unmotivated on this particular day. The good news is that you will discover precisely who is dissatisfied with their work. There might be a decrease in production because of no extra payments or else. On the other hand, staff can dedicate this extra day to other valuable activities described further in our post.

Rest assured you can increase your staff engagement and motivation using WorkTime. You can do that by implementing leaderboards, goal fulfillment, and productivity reports.

7. Staff monitoring WorkTime system works well!

Even if a leap year occurs, WorkTime is designed to function without any problems. Every day of the year, it will keep on tracking time, monitoring workers, and maintaining the productivity of each department.

Fun bonus!

History behind leap years

Every four years, an extra day is added to our calendar, making that year a leap year. The origin of this phenomenon was humorously explained by Baron Munchausen. Interestingly, Munchausen suggested adding not February 29th but May 32nd to the calendar. According to the calendar introduced in the 16th century, a year consists of 365 days. However, annually, five hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds go unaccounted. Over four years, these hours and minutes accumulate into an extra day to synchronize our hours with the Earth's rotation (the complete planet’s orbit around the Sun takes 365.2422 days). Another question is what makes leap day in the business world so special. Historically, there were many arguments regarding the effect of leap years on businesses. Some employers already take leap day activities into account when calculating the amount per pay period. For example, the Public Services Agency of Canada divides the annual salary by 26.088 to determine the bi-weekly salary. Because of a leap year, the average year length is 365.24 days, and 365.24 divided by 14 is 26.088. To estimate wages more accurately, attendance monitoring tools might work (at least, to check whether an individual worked that day).

Leap year babies challenge

People born on February 29th likely face the most unique challenges when it comes to celebrating their birthdays. They can truly mark their birthdays only once every four years. "In childhood, it used to upset me a lot, but now I'm used to it, and I even enjoy people's reactions when they find out I was born on February 29th," said Dimitrios Michalopoulos to the BBC. However, the chances of being part of the Leap Day Club are not very high. According to statistics, they make up 1 in 1461 births.

Famous leapers

Currently, there are around 5 million people worldwide born on this day. Actor Alex Rocco, 18th-century English poet John Byrom, and Pope Paul III are just a few notable figures born on February 29th. A very interesting figure in the business world born this day is Tony Robbins. He’s a famous motivational speaker and life coach. In fact, even the very first and most powerful superhero from the DC Universe, Superman, was born this day! Oh, and don’t forget about Jack Robert Lousma, an American astronaut, aeronautical engineer, NASA astronaut, and politician. You can check more celebrities here and in this gallery.

All those born on this day can celebrate their birthdays in style in Anthony, Texas – the self-proclaimed World Leap Year Capital. Every four years, Anthony hosts a festival that includes a special dinner for the leap year celebrants.

Science behind the leap year

From the scientific aspect, we should consider the following:

It takes longer than a year for the Earth to make one trip around the Sun.

Every day doesn't really have 24 hours.

There are days that are longer than others.

What happens to the Earth and Moon system in the end will be very different from what people see now.

The Earth's axial rotation, orbital revolution, and precession all work together to make the number of days in the year not quite even.

The Gregorian calendar does a great job of keeping track of leap days.

There will be no need for leap days in 4 million years.

We'll have to change our plan again in the long run.

How to determine leap years?

To ascertain if a year qualifies as a leap year, adhere to these guidelines: 1. Check if the year is divisible by 4; proceed to the next step if it is. Otherwise, move to step 5. 2. If the year is divisible by 100, proceed to step 3; if not, move to step 4. 3. If the year is divisible by 400, go to step 4. Otherwise, proceed to step 5. 4. Conclude that the year is a leap year, indicating it has 366 days. 5. Conclude that the year is not a leap year, signifying it has 365 days. It’s simple to estimate that the next leap year will follow in 2028 (by simply adding 4 to 2024).

What are the next 5 leap years?

We are currently in 2024, which is a leap year. The next 5 leap years after 2024 are 2028, 2032, 2036, 2040, and 2044. A leap year occurs every 4 years.

Economic impact of a leap year

What does a leap year mean for the world's economy? The answer is not much. Salaried workers working “for free” that day is hotly debated. Consider this: you actually work for less, not free. The same can be said for employers who underestimate the role of this day (after all, they can always use smart staff monitoring even in a leap year not to miss out on their budget and goals). Math shows a leap year is 0.27% longer than a normal year. Most workers are paid for 261 days per year. Average is 262 days in leap years. A salaried employee earning $50,000 per year earns $191.57 per day, or $190.84 in a leap year—$0.73 less per day. So instead of eight hours of indentured servitude, you made less that day. Anyone who rents their homes or has a parking or public transportation permit are eligible to win extra on leap days. A "free" day of usage is provided to them. An additional day is provided to members of a fitness club so that they can burn off some calories.

The disadvantages of having an extra day include increased use of gasoline and utilities, as well as an increase in the amount of food consumed.

Good deeds and charity: recommended leap day activities

There are those who seek to use the extra day of the year for the good of humanity and kind leap day activities. Dedicate February 29th to charity. Many in Europe and in the United States are following that call. There are many such campaigns - from charity marathons in favor of cancer patients to volunteer classes for children. The main thing, they say in charitable foundations, is that on February 29th, bosses have no problem giving a day off to their employees who want to participate in such events. Some may allow their staff to work remotely this day and simply monitor them distantly. Still, not all companies are ready to respond to this call. Other leap year promotions and ideas may include:

Making an extra effort on a leap day. Think about giving your time to a good cause. Pick up the phone and give a long-lost friend a call. Try something new.

Refraining from requesting time off for leap day activities. A long lunch is in order.

Paying no attention to exaggerated claims made about February reports.

Making the most of your complimentary items.

With WorkTime, tracking leap day productivity can greatly benefit departments aiming to achieve more within a month. Utilizing leaderboards, teams can be motivated by the potential for increased productivity.

Why do some people love February 29th?

So, is there a February 29th this year? Yes, and that’s why we’re sharing this info with you. Some workers adore February 29th. They gain not just one extra hour but a full day for leap day activities. With many wonderful freebies:

Additional insurance day for free

An extra day of free cell phone service

Day-long free rent

Extra cable day free

Free day on automobile lease

In other words, pretty much anything with a monthly paying cycle is free. However, if you're a salaried person and the leap day event falls on a work day (like this year), it's a rip-off. Because you work an extra day in February but get paid the same, it’s a kind of volunteer day. Employees who do not request a free day should still remember that local governments give away free holidays.

Whether your staff works on the leap day or not, WorkTime will make you track their active and idle time easily to estimate their salary more accurately.

February 29th tips and tricks

So, what should you do next February 29th? Here are more leap day activities you can benefit from, whether it’s a work day or day off:

Develop a new blog post. It will increase the likelihood that your content will be viewed by others and aid in SEO.

Employ analytical analysis. Which are the most popular pages and posts? Which are not attracting any visitors? Leverage data to inform and direct your content strategy.

Install employee monitoring software. This solution will help you keep an eye on what and how your workers are doing even on a leap day.

Make contact with former consumers. Checking in with former clients is an excellent way to reestablish contact. It has the potential to generate new business or even result in a referral.

Utilize calls-to-action (CTA) throughout your website. Examine each page of your website for possible places to include or strengthen CTAs.

Assess your budget for leap day marketing. Do you fall under or over? Do you believe your budget would be best spent in particular areas? You may also optimize other resources using a special tracking software. Other leap day marketing ideas may involve leap day discounts and special offers for customers might work as well.

Create video or podcast content. Discuss a captivating product/feature, offer a few supplementary suggestions for your clientele, or furnish a concise overview of your manufacturing facility.

Engage in activities such as going for a stroll or watching a film, with the intention of seeking inspiration that may be utilized to enhance your products or services marketing.

Examine your social media profiles and website to ensure they are properly adjusted. Update product or service descriptions.

Optimize your web content. Where might you potentially condense and streamline your content? Where would you require supplementation?

Assess the effectiveness of your communication. Does it conform to your brand and clearly express the distinctive selling points of your products and services?

Initiate a novel marketing initiative. Is there a holiday coming up you want to develop a campaign around? Is there something you have been eager to experiment with on Facebook?

Get yourself some updated business cards. You may think about using various free templates and tools for that purpose.

Do some reading. That’s a rather engaging leap day challenge. Seth Godin's "Poke the Box" is a great read, for example. With 83 pages, you might finish it before lunch. Or you may read articles on how to improve your business productivity on leap day and track hours more accurately using employee monitoring software.

Join a live webinar. To keep up with the latest marketing trends, social media platforms, etc., webinars are a fantastic resource.

Segment your clients better. This way, you will be able to target your content and marketing efforts depending on the distinctive qualities of your target audience.

Inquire about testimonials. Including testimonials from satisfied customers on your website is an excellent method to bring in new prospects. They contribute to the credibility of the projects you’ve carried out successfully.

Make a unique offer to customers. Consider what your existing or potential clients will respond to the most favorably, and then design a special offer in accordance with that concept.

Bottom line

You have an extra day on February 29th, so use it to get things done and enjoy new achievements. Break the records set in February by selling more goods, fulfilling more requests, or meeting other specific goals. Many people believe hourly workers on February 29th should be paid for all hours worked, including the February additional day, like any other day. Even weekly and biweekly salaried workers will most probably also be paid for the extra day in the near future. There is another option. Employees could get a bonus equal to their pay for every hour worked on this day. This would encourage them to do their best and go above and beyond what was expected. Wish to track your employee’s time more effectively, no matter if it’s a leap year or not? WorkTime provides a secure and non-intrusive method of monitoring your staff. Instead of taking annoying screenshots, it replaces them with data that is informative. Start working smarter and greener - try WorkTime for free 14 days in a row!