Author Topic: 4-day week yay or nay?  (Read 11051 times)

AgentCooper

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4-day week yay or nay?
« on: November 13, 2015, 12:43:45 PM »
Anyone tried a 4-day week, and would you recommend it?
Any adverse effects on your health?  Your free time?  Your family life?  Your career (e.g., jealousy of co-workers)?

I've never tried it.  At my prior job, I asked my boss about it and she told me that I could totally do it if I wanted, but that she strongly advised against it, because the 10-hour workdays "nearly killed" her.


This is a spin-off from my case study posted at the below link.  Thinking of 4-day week in order to reduce my commuting costs by 20%.

http://forum.mrmoneymustache.com/ask-a-mustachian/reader-case-study-move-large-family-to-city-to-save-on-commuting/

renata ricotta

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #1 on: November 13, 2015, 02:12:40 PM »
I think it depends on what line of work you're in. A 10 hour shift on a physically demanding assembly line? Might be significantly more difficult than an 8 hour shift. Your old boss's reaction to me seems kind of silly, but might make sense in context. I have a desk job and I regularly work 10+ hours in a day, because my workload demands it, and it's fine. I don't love it, but it certainly wouldn't "nearly kill me." I'd happily have that be my default for a three day weekend.

SomedayStache

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #2 on: November 13, 2015, 02:20:10 PM »
I had a job where we worked 9 hours days M through Thursday and alternated an 8 hour day on Friday/Friday off.

This totals up to 80 hours every two weeks, you get every other Friday off, and even the Fridays that you work seem quick and easy since they are one hour shorter than normal. 

I think 10 hour days would be hard but 9 hours were okay.

FLA

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #3 on: November 13, 2015, 02:28:16 PM »
as a nurse, I loved a 4 day week. It actually decreased my commute home because I stayed past the time of evening traffic so I only got home about an hour later. 

cons- single mom, kids were young so not much homework but I got home late to make the dinner and have time with them.  For this reason, I stopped.

But in a two parent household or if I was single, I would've done it again in a heartbeat.

Goldielocks

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #4 on: November 13, 2015, 02:30:53 PM »
As a manager, I introduced it to the supervisors. 

Why?

They were all putting in 10-12 hr days and complaining about pay (they were salaried / exempt employees, no overtime pay).   

Turned out that we only needed the extra supervisory help at the start / end of shift.   Reducing them to 4 x 10 hr days, having only 1 supervisor per day, reduced their overtime by 10 hours per week.. win. win.

RyanAtTanagra

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #5 on: November 13, 2015, 02:37:40 PM »
I've had one job in the past that was 4 10hr days and I absolutely loved it.  10 hours doesn't feel that much longer than 8, but that extra day off makes a world of difference.  I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I could.  If it's an option at your workplace then it shouldn't cause any jealousy, as your coworkers could choose to do it if they really wanted.

Bearded Man

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #6 on: November 13, 2015, 03:32:17 PM »
Would not do it IF I had a long commute. In my area it is very common for people to spend 3-4 hours a day commuting. By ferry, bus, car or any combination of the three. I drove 4 hrs a day round trip for 2 years. Luckily once I was proven three months in I was allowed to work from home 3 days a week.

lthenderson

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #7 on: November 13, 2015, 03:44:20 PM »
Did 4 - 10hr days for awhile and loved it. I would have kept doing it but in my profession, important meetings and emergency events always seemed to happen on my one day off and it got to be just an excuse to get me back in for unpaid time off so I went back to the 4 - 8hr days.

relena

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #8 on: November 13, 2015, 04:58:49 PM »
At one of my previous jobs, we had a 9 80 work schedule until the company decided to get rid of it. It was wonderful while it lasted!

My hair dresser has a 4 10 work schedule that he set himself of course. It works out well for him.

MsPeacock

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #9 on: November 13, 2015, 05:20:10 PM »
I work 4 10s and I have recently started having two of those days w/ 3 hours of telework. I go to work at 6am - leave a 4:30 on "normal" days and SKIP out of work at 1:00 on my telework days. LOVE IT. I have Fridays as my day off. I used to have Wednesday and it was even better - 2 days on, one off, 2 on, 2 off. Had to change due to work meetings. Yeah, so adjustment due to being tired - but HELL YES.

Jeremy E.

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #10 on: November 13, 2015, 05:24:23 PM »
I worked 4 10s when I was an intern and loved it, wish I could still do it but it's now allowed. I also came up with another plan, 9 9's per 2 weeks, 81 hrs per 2 weeks. Couldn't get that one through either. My work is not flexible.

Bearded Man

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #11 on: November 13, 2015, 05:44:56 PM »
At one of my previous jobs, we had a 9 80 work schedule until the company decided to get rid of it. It was wonderful while it lasted!

My hair dresser has a 4 10 work schedule that he set himself of course. It works out well for him.

We have that, but one thing I didn't like about it was that I had to use 9 hours for each day of PTO...

Dee18

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #12 on: November 13, 2015, 05:55:40 PM »
Love it without kids, but not with kids.

Cranberries

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #13 on: November 13, 2015, 06:14:33 PM »
I've done it in a couple of different jobs. They were all physical. I would come home wiped, but the three day weekends were pretty great. I'm not sure I would do well with an office 4/10 schedule, as I think I might have trouble concentrating at the end of the day. I would try it for a month or so and see how it worked. Just a heads up: it always took me a week or two to adjust, but then it was quite doable.

Mikila

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #14 on: November 13, 2015, 06:36:54 PM »
If you can handle it, the long days off are great.  It's a tradeoff, though, since on the days you work you can kiss leisure goodbye.

I am speaking as someone who works 4 12s, then takes 4 days off.   

Sent from my XT1526 using Tapatalk


moneyandmillennials

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #15 on: November 14, 2015, 02:15:39 AM »
definitely yay, I already work a lot of hours.

how did you convince your company to start 4 day weeks?

BlueMR2

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #16 on: November 14, 2015, 02:55:05 AM »
Depends on the job.  I could do 10s easily back when I was doing physical maintenance work and also IT support type work.  However, not programming.  We have 9 hour work days (5 9's) and the last hour of the day is already a waste.  My brain is pretty much toast after 8 hours on a normal day and as little as 6 hours on a really intense day.

Miss Prim

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #17 on: November 14, 2015, 05:45:40 AM »
I did 4 10's when I was working full-time and I liked the extra day off per week.  After awhile, 10 hours just seemed like 8 anyway.  But, when I went to part-time, I switched back to 8hrs.  It's all perception, but when you are off a few days and them come in for a 10 hour shift, it feels very long. 

I had a fairly long commute, so it saved me a lot in gas too.

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Bucksandreds

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #18 on: November 14, 2015, 06:57:57 AM »
I do it for childcare purposes and don't like it. I leave for work at 5:50am. If you are the type of person who needs little sleep or doesn't mind waking up at 5 then it may be for you. Once my kids are in school, I'm going back to 8 hour days

TomTX

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #19 on: November 14, 2015, 07:19:54 AM »
So, I work notionally 9 hours M-R, plus 4 hours on Fridays. However, when I have trips for work I accumulate comp time. There are lots of little time incentives (safety, wellness) - I've started spending these to take Fridays full off, so I'm mostly working 4 days a week. When I'm home, it's 9 hours. When I'm on the road it's more - but what else am I going to do? Watch TV in the hotel room? Might as well catch up on (work) emails.

Gray Matter

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #20 on: November 14, 2015, 08:03:26 AM »
I'd love a four-day work-week, but not 10-hour days.  I could have done this in my 20s, but after having kids, being sleep-deprived, and having more demands on me/my time, I couldn't do longer days.  I just don't have the stamina/energy/focus I used to have.  As a matter of fact, I'm doing 80% (6.5 hour days) and can't imagine even working 8 hours a day ever again.

Obviously varies by person and personality, but for me it's more of an energy-management thing than a time-management thing.

JLee

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #21 on: November 14, 2015, 08:44:40 AM »
4x10 is awesome if you aren't forced to take a 1hr unpaid lunch (making it 11 hours).  If you're able to work through lunch or skip the "smoke breaks" that consume so much time during the day and just work 10, then it's barely more than working 8 + 1hr lunch. The extra day off is absolutely glorious...going back down to 2 days off is brutal.

obstinate

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #22 on: November 14, 2015, 11:04:04 AM »
I'm thinking about starting with 4 8s at some point in the next few months. We're very close to finishing growing our 'stache, and it seems like it would not set us back too much for me to claw back that extra day.

mm1970

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #23 on: November 14, 2015, 11:14:10 AM »
never did 4x10, but did have a job where we did 4x9 + 4 (half day friday) - Glorious!

Wouldn't want to do it with kids.  In order to pick them up on time, I leave at 4:30 pm.  So I'd have to get to work at 6 am.

Davids

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #24 on: November 14, 2015, 12:12:14 PM »
If i had that option i would choose Wed as my day off instead of Fri as i think most would choose. Having Wed off would break up the week nicely.

JLee

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #25 on: November 14, 2015, 12:13:28 PM »
If i had that option i would choose Wed as my day off instead of Fri as i think most would choose. Having Wed off would break up the week nicely.

Friday or Monday...having three contiguous days is awesome. Easier to decompress and relax.

MicroRN

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #26 on: November 14, 2015, 12:42:54 PM »
I work 12s, (2-3 a week) and love it.  You commute the same distance no matter the length of the workday anyway.  The downside is that on days that I work, all I do is work and sleep.  After that though, I get 4-5 glorious days off in a row.  It's easy to schedule appointments and take care of errands.  I think I'd probably like 4 10s even more due to a little more time during the day to keep up with the house. 

TVRodriguez

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #27 on: November 14, 2015, 12:53:00 PM »
DH works 4 days, Monday through Thursday. He leaves home at 6am and is back by 5 or 6pm. I do all childcare those mornings so he can go early. I work, too, but I have a more flexible schedule working for myself. Actually, he works for himself, too, but this schedule works better for him. He loves it and loves having Fridays free after dropping the kids at school.

Exhale

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #28 on: November 14, 2015, 12:57:14 PM »
Friday or Monday...having three contiguous days is awesome. Easier to decompress and relax.

+1

BlueMR2

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #29 on: November 14, 2015, 04:40:41 PM »
If i had that option i would choose Wed as my day off instead of Fri as i think most would choose. Having Wed off would break up the week nicely.

Yeah, Wed. is the best.  As I near my PTO rollover, I start burning it by taking every Wed. off.  Having 2 short "weeks" each normal week is better than a single long weekend.

MsPeacock

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #30 on: November 14, 2015, 06:55:58 PM »
never did 4x10, but did have a job where we did 4x9 + 4 (half day friday) - Glorious!

Wouldn't want to do it with kids.  In order to pick them up on time, I leave at 4:30 pm.  So I'd have to get to work at 6 am.

Actually, for me w/ childcare it works out favorable. I leave for work at 0530 (Nanny comes). Older kid gets up an hour later and leaves for school at 0730, younger kid's school starts at 0930. I am off work at 1600 - home shortly afterwards. I have two telework afternoons - so I am home before they are. One day a week the younger goes to after school care for about 30 minutes. Next year when he is in 4th grade I will probably just have him come home on his own for that 30 minutes. The least valuable time for me w/ them would be early morning. This way I have afternoons and evenings w/ them and can volunteer on my day off  at their school (which I do obsessively - and have since Kinder. ) I get more time w/ my kids, spend time making nice w/ their teacher and others at the school - which pays off many times over, and have time for appointments, gym, etc.

Gimesalot

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #31 on: November 14, 2015, 11:13:40 PM »
I work 4-ten hour days and I love it!  I get so much more done on the weekends, and it really takes the stress off to have a weekday to go to the doctor, bank, etc.  Also, because my boss is awesome, I can choose to take Friday or Monday off.  So, a lot of times I will take Friday off the first week and Monday off the second week!

For me it is not too bad because I leave my house around 7:25, get to work around 8:00 am, and leave at 6:00 pm. 

fallstoclimb

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #32 on: November 16, 2015, 07:07:56 AM »
I did it for about a year....it was pretty rough.  By the time you factor in the commute, gym, cooking & eating dinner, and prepping breakfast and lunch for the next day -- there's just no time left in the day.  I actually got pretty depressed with work taking up so much of my life.  (Then again, I'm pretty serious about getting at least 8 hrs a night, so I suppose if you sleep less you'll have more free time on either end of it.)

I much preferred working 9 hour days, so that I got one day off a pay period.  Do you have that option?

Actually what I like best is what I have now:  8 hour days, with two telework days a week, and a bike commute on the days I do go in.  But not everyone is that lucky. 

JZinCO

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #33 on: November 16, 2015, 08:15:25 AM »
I love 4-10s. I mix it up with 9-5s. At one point I was doing 8-10s which provides for six day weekends. Anyway, none of these options tend to get disruptive like when I worked 14 16s. At that point, you're just pushing every other responsibility off until your tour is over.

2Birds1Stone

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #34 on: November 16, 2015, 08:50:54 AM »
I did 4 x 10 in retail management and loved it. I would work the 4 busiest days of the week so the time flew by. I had the choice of when I would work during those days too. Since the store was staffed from 9 AM to 10 PM it wasn't bad at all. At an office job that might be different due to the monotonous work.

prudence

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #35 on: November 16, 2015, 11:37:30 AM »
I had the 4-10 option at one job and I loved it. Having that extra day off every week, more than makes up for any inconvenience of working longer days.

ShaneD

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #36 on: November 16, 2015, 11:45:08 AM »
Another hand for the 4-day option. Reduces commute time and costs like you said, and the difference between 8 and 10 hours if it's not super physically demanding really is minimal: you're already in the head-space for the work when adding that extra 2 hours, as opposed to having to get back into it a 5th time in the week. (And you also feel more like you can still make real progress in the day come 3 pm, as opposed to feeling like you'll never get this thing done before day's end.) Also frees up a day where you can get errands done faster than on weekends. And it gives you that uninterrupted 3 days of off, which is so much more relaxing than 2 (where you can feel like you get 1 day to relax, but the 2nd day is already anticipating the work day coming). If your personal schedule allows with your family comfortably, I'd definitely try it.

Schaefer Light

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Re: 4-day week yay or nay?
« Reply #37 on: November 16, 2015, 11:59:33 AM »
Depends on the job.  I could do 10s easily back when I was doing physical maintenance work and also IT support type work.  However, not programming.  We have 9 hour work days (5 9's) and the last hour of the day is already a waste.  My brain is pretty much toast after 8 hours on a normal day and as little as 6 hours on a really intense day.
Which begs the question - what is the optimal number of hours in a workday for a knowledge worker?  Apparently, 8 hours was best for assembly line workers.  But how did we come to the conclusion that 8 hours is best for computer programmers?