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Is Friday the 13th bad for business? There is no reliable evidence that the date itself harms trade, markets or safety. Any cost comes from how people react to it, through postponed decisions, rescheduled meetings and cancelled travel. If you want a team that bases decisions on facts on any date, look at BOTI’s workplace essentials and personal effectiveness courses.
In the Western world Friday the 13th is often considered an unlucky day. So much so that many people suffer from a fear of Friday the 13th, known as paraskevidekatriaphobia. On Friday the 13th many Americans avoid making important decisions, move their meetings to a different day and even change their travel plans. One widely quoted US estimate puts the business lost on each Friday the 13th at $700 to $800 million. That figure is an estimate, not a measured loss. In the UK, a frequently cited study from the 1990s found fewer cars on some roads on Friday the 13th, but it did not show that the day was any safer.
Yet some of the world’s most successful people are superstitious. Tennis legend Serena Williams won a remarkable number of Grand Slam titles during her career, and she was known for her rituals. Before a match she tied her shoelaces the same way each time, and she wore the same pair of socks throughout a tournament. She also bounced the ball five times before her first serve and twice before her second. A fortune teller once told Coco Chanel that her lucky number was 5, and she named her most famous perfume Chanel No. 5.
Celebrity quirks aside, Friday the 13th is linked to bad luck through three main stories in Western tradition. Historians note that people only began treating the combination of Friday and 13 as one unlucky date fairly recently, from about the late 1800s.
- The last days of Jesus Christ, when 13 people were present at the Last Supper and the crucifixion took place on a Friday.
- The trials of the Knights Templar, ordered by Philip IV of France, which began with the arrest of the Knights Templar on Friday 13 October 1307.
- The Norse myth of 12 gods at a dinner party in Valhalla. The trickster god Loki, who was not invited, arrived as the 13th guest and tricked the god Hodr into killing the god Baldr.
Superstitions connected to the number 13
Ancient superstitions around the number 13 have survived into the modern era and still show up in business. Many aircraft have no 13th row of seats, and many buildings skip the 13th floor. This is especially common in hotels, where owners do not want to unsettle their guests. Some airports skip Gate 13, and some software makers have skipped version 13.0.
Superstitious beliefs around numbers in the Chinese culture
The number 13 is considered unlucky in Western cultures, but Chinese culture has its own lucky and unlucky numbers. The number 8 is considered lucky because it sounds similar to the words for ‘fortune’, ‘prosper’ and ‘wealth’. The number 4, on the other hand, sounds similar to the word for ‘death’ and is therefore considered unlucky. In a diverse South African workplace, it helps to know that colleagues and clients may hold very different beliefs about the same numbers.
Strange events that happened on Friday the 13th
The disappearance of a Swedish military plane
On Friday 13 June 1952, a Swedish military DC-3 with a crew of eight disappeared over the Baltic Sea, in what became known as the Catalina affair. A few days later, a Swedish Catalina flying boat searching for the missing plane was shot down by Soviet fighters, and its crew was rescued. For decades the Soviet Union denied any involvement. It admitted shooting down the DC-3 only in 1991.
Computer virus infects hundreds of computers on Friday the 13th
On Friday 13 January 1989, a computer virus that became known as the Friday the 13th virus, or Jerusalem virus, struck hundreds of personal computers in the UK. The virus was designed to activate on any Friday the 13th and delete files. The resulting slowdowns and lost files caused widespread anxiety about what was then a new technology.
Costa Concordia cruise ship sinks off the Italian Coast on Friday the 13th of January 2012
On Friday 13 January 2012, the Costa Concordia ran aground and capsized off the Italian coast, and 32 people died. At the time, it was reported to be the largest passenger ship ever wrecked, carrying almost twice as many people as the Titanic.
Can Friday the 13th be good for business?
Some businesses shy away from the number 13, but the evidence suggests the date does no real harm. Rumours say the stock market performs badly on Friday the 13th, yet analyses of historical market data have generally found no such pattern. Some analyses even found slightly better average returns on that day than on other Fridays.
A 2008 insurance statistics study in the Netherlands found that fewer traffic accidents, fires and thefts were reported on Friday the 13th than on an average Friday. One likely reason is that cautious people drive less and take more care on that day. As finance becomes more globalised, understanding what moves markets matters more. Not everyone in finance is superstitious. Even so, people in high-pressure, uncertain jobs often rely on rituals, and investors react to the moods of their peers as well as to market forces. In finance small waves can cause large effects, so Friday the 13th is a useful reminder to weigh every factor, including human behaviour, that drives the world’s biggest financial engines.
Friday the 13th at work
For most organisations, the real risk of Friday the 13th is not bad luck but lost momentum. When a client delays signing, a manager postpones a decision or a team moves a launch “just in case”, work slows down for no business reason. A few simple habits keep the day productive:
- Keep deadlines, meetings and go-live dates where they are, unless there is a practical reason to move them.
- Base decisions on evidence. A clear process for problem solving and decision making helps people separate facts from feelings.
- Respect colleagues who hold different beliefs. Do not mock them, and do not let superstition decide how the team plans its work.
- If a staff member is genuinely anxious, treat it as you would any other source of stress. Listen, and offer practical support such as stress management training.
- Use the date to have some fun. A light-hearted team quiz about Friday the 13th myths can lift morale.
Top 13 job skills employers want in the new world of work
Superstitions aside, one thing is certain: the world of work has changed a great deal since 2020. Remote and hybrid work, digital tools and artificial intelligence are now part of most jobs, and employers look for people who adapt quickly. You can read more about lasting workplace skills in BOTI’s guide to durable skills.
So, if you want to stand out in your next job search or promotion discussion, look beyond your technical qualifications. Here are 13 job skills that employers are looking for:
- Continuous Learning
- Time Management – see Essential Time Management Skills
- Decision Making
- Collaboration
- Emotional Intelligence – see Mastering Emotional Intelligence
- Creativity and Resilience
- Adaptability
- Change Management – see Change Management: Formulate Recommendations for a Change Process
- Coaching Mindset
- Project Management – see Project Management Fundamentals
- Cloud Computing
- Knowledge of new social & digital media
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) – see Introduction to AI for the Workplace
If you are not superstitious Friday the 13th is just another normal day
People explain the bad reputation of Friday the 13th in many different ways. If you strongly expect bad luck on this day, you are likely to notice every small mishap and blame it on the date. The same events on any other day would hardly register. If you do not hold superstitious beliefs, Friday the 13th is just another normal day.
Frequently asked questions
What happened on Friday the 13th?
Several notable events have fallen on a Friday the 13th. The Knights Templar were arrested in France on Friday 13 October 1307, a Swedish military plane disappeared over the Baltic Sea on Friday 13 June 1952, a computer virus deleted files on many personal computers in the UK on Friday 13 January 1989, and the Costa Concordia capsized off the Italian coast on Friday 13 January 2012.
Why is Friday the 13th considered unlucky?
In Western tradition the belief is usually linked to the 13 people at the Last Supper and the crucifixion on a Friday, the arrest of the Knights Templar on Friday 13 October 1307, and the Norse myth in which Loki arrives as the 13th guest at a feast in Valhalla. The fear of the date is called paraskevidekatriaphobia.
Is Friday the 13th bad for business?
There is no reliable evidence that the date itself harms business. The cost comes from how people react, through postponed decisions, rescheduled meetings and cancelled travel. Analyses of stock market data and insurance claims have not shown the day to be worse than any other.
How should managers handle Friday the 13th at work?
Treat it as a normal working day. Keep deadlines and meetings in place and base decisions on facts rather than dates. Respect colleagues who hold different beliefs, but do not let superstition drive planning.
Which numbers are lucky and unlucky in Chinese culture?
The number 8 is considered lucky because it sounds like the words for fortune and wealth. The number 4 is considered unlucky because it sounds like the word for death.
Luck does not build careers or teams, but skills do. To develop the people skills on this list, including communication, teamwork, adaptability and problem solving, look at BOTI’s 10 Soft Skills You Need course. Training runs in-house at your premises, at BOTI’s venue in Sunningdale, Johannesburg, or live online. Call BOTI on 011 882 8853 or email [email protected], or request a quote for your team. This course is not accredited. It is delivered as a professional skills programme, and delegates receive a BOTI certificate of attendance.