Article on the 4 day work week:

sweetsunnyc · July 2014

https://www.salon.com/2014/07/24/5_reasons_its_time_for_a_4_day_work_partner/

Thoughts? I really wish that my company would follow this

TheBorg7of9 · July 2014

I wish I only had to work 5 days a week.

groovygrl · July 2014

My employer offers a 4 day work week option in summer but it is 4 10 hour days- I have to take my kids to daycare & pick them up so 4 10s is just not an option with an almost hour commute on either end. It's a great thing if people can do it and it works with the job. I think more places are open to it than in the past but some jobs it just won't work. I personally would be willing to cut my salary by 20% to have a 4 day regular hour week but I think that would mess w/ benefits & classifications and stuff

jenn43 · July 2014

groovygrl said:

My employer offers a 4 day work week option in summer but it is 4 10 hour days- I have to take my kids to daycare & pick them up so 4 10s is just not an option with an almost hour commute on either end. It's a great thing if people can do it and it works with the job. I think more places are open to it than in the past but some jobs it just won't work. I personally would be willing to cut my salary by 20% to have a 4 day regular hour week but I think that would mess w/ benefits & classifications and stuff

Check your employee handbook groovygrl- Where I work full-time is considered 32 hours, so you would still get benefits if you worked a four day week.

SunAndRain · July 2014

I don't think a compressed work week (4x10 hours )is any better than a five day work week. When I worked 4x10, I got NOTHING done on those 4 days. No exercise, no socializing. I was exhausted by day 4.

Now an 4x8? I'd be all over that and am hopeful that DH will one day be agreeable to my cutting back even with the 20% pay-cut.

I worked 9x80's (9 hours per day with a 3 day weekend every other week) and that was by far the best schedule I've enjoyed.

SunAndRain · July 2014

jenn43 said:

groovygrl said:

My employer offers a 4 day work week option in summer but it is 4 10 hour days- I have to take my kids to daycare & pick them up so 4 10s is just not an option with an almost hour commute on either end. It's a great thing if people can do it and it works with the job. I think more places are open to it than in the past but some jobs it just won't work. I personally would be willing to cut my salary by 20% to have a 4 day regular hour week but I think that would mess w/ benefits & classifications and stuff

Check your employee handbook groovygrl- Where I work full-time is considered 32 hours, so you would still get benefits if you worked a four day week.

Yes, at my company you must work a minimum of 32 hours to retain benefits.

groovygrl · July 2014

True, it could be worth looking into, though I have an oddball classification and I don't know if they'd actually allow it to not be a true full time job. Also I would be expected to fulfill all the same responsibilities at 32 hrs that I have to at 40. I am not sure that would be a huge problem though and it would save my dept money so it could be a good thing. Maybe I'll have a little one on one w/ our HR person

.
I think I'd qualify for health etc type benefits but retirement might be affected.
Really I'd just like to have a 32 hour work week and divide it up however I want

Myaflowers · July 2014

Working four 10s would mean 10 one hour therapy sessions per day, instead of 8, which is still totally draining. I couldn't handle it. I wish we could just close early even one Friday per month. I work in a doctor's office. All the doctors I go to close early every Friday. It would be nice to have a half day once in awhile because we have literally NO downtime to take care of personal things. Anything that requires leaving a message and getting a call back either doesn't get done or is done by my husband because I can't take calls because I'm in session all day. Rant over.

rodiesmum · July 2014

Id love 4x10s and moreso 8x4 even w paycut!!

dashofreality · July 2014

Before I went PT I worked a 9/80, which I think is a great schedule. I would be open to 4x10, but only because I have a flexible job. I can leave work (I WFH now so step away) at 5 and then get back on after the kids go to bed or in the early morning. 10 hours in the office is too rough with kids for me.

My company is starting to get more on board with alternate arrangements. In my experience, people are willing to take pretty hefty paycuts for working 32 hours a week, with very little impact to their output. I often work more hours then my slated 24, but it is nice that if it is slow I have the option to work 24 and people have the expectation that I am not always available during the full work day. My boss constantly says that I should increase my hours because he feels that he gets fulltime work out of me and I am getting part time pay. I'm going to be increasing to 32 hours, but I am so glad that I had the option.

kmh2201 · July 2014

I have a 9/80 schedule and love it too. I feel like I have enough time to accomplish what I need to at work, and I have one day every two weeks for more time with my kids, and time to run errands and go to appointments.

I would be interested in a 4x8 schedule if the workload decreased proportionately. I don't feel I could do a 4x10 schedule while the kids are in school.

ColoradoBoat · July 2014

Doesn't it seem unfair that we would like less pay and still get the same amount of work done (32 hours vs. 40 hours)? Our HR rep is older and went down to 32 hours/week but still gets the same work done. Michelle Obama recently had stuff to say about how we need to demand flexibility, but part-time doesn't work cuz generally we still do full-time work. I think if our job is to get stuff done, sell stuff, etc, we should we paid on what we get done, and if it takes us only 20 hours/ week, all the better.

Want a personalized experience?

Article on the 4 day work week:

Re: Article on the 4 day work week:

Choose Another Board

Search Boards