Four day working week

magic_murph

Whats your thoughts on the topic of moving to a four day working week.
Good, bad or somewhere in the middle?

theteal

What's the detail?

4 * 10 hour shifts?

biko

Sure, but will I keep my pay?

Also, are you expecting me to do the same work, just in 4 days instead of 5?

s7ryf3925pivug

good for me. good for people with kids.

I think its essential and inevitable

if you genuinely have forty packed hours work in a week you need help tbh

EmmetSpiceland

magic_murph wrote: »

Whats your thoughts on the topic of moving to a four day working week.
Good, bad or somewhere in the middle?

Not a bad idea for officer workers, considering the amount of “actual” work that gets done in a given week.

I’m assuming the salary would be pro-rata’d down accordingly? Staff who actually work could then work overtime on that “sacrificed” day and get their pay back up.

biko

biko wrote: »

Sure, but will I keep my pay?

Also, are you expecting me to do the same work, just in 4 days instead of 5?

if the answer to both of these is yes, its still a massive improvement imo

Unearthly

I do it. 10 hour days.

3 day weekends

PopePalpatine

Hmm...9pm dinner, but 3 less hours of commuting, it's a difficult choice.

_Brian

I worked compressed work weeks, 4 days one week 3 the next, 12.5hr shifts.
Lots of good stuff about it.

We cycled though nights though and that was a killer.

biko

ICE group have said they will look into it.
https://4dayweek.ie/
Apparently their webdevs and QA are on weekend leave as site isn't working properly..

NickNickleby

Union meeting....

Convenor: "Brothers (and sisters)! After years of tough negotiating, we, YOUR union have finally won the one-day working week. It has been agreed that the day of work will be Wednesday"

Narky voice down the back : " What? EVERY Wednesday?????"

I worked with people who opted to do a shorter working week, for a commensurate reduction in pay. Very nice, taking the taxation etc into account, the hit on take home pay wasn't so bad, that an extra day with the kiddies couldn't make up for. However, the evil bar stewards we worked for still expected 5 days work in 3 (or 4) days. Stress levels went through the roof. It also affected the rest of us, as the group targets were being affected and we were getting sh!t over that.

There's no such thing as a free day off (or lunch).

bullpost

magic_murph wrote: »

Whats your thoughts on the topic of moving to a four day working week.
Good, bad or somewhere in the middle?

For older workers as they near retirement its a good idea. Benefits them and frees up work for younger workers.

Apiarist

I am all for it and ready to be take a cut (say to 80%) to my current salary.

Wanderer78

I'd rather a complete flip flop, the 5 day weekend, the children can do the rest

red petal

I'm hoping to go down to a 4 day week for the Summer. I will be taking 1 day a week unpaid and can't wait. For me the drop in wages is absolutely worth it and I would do it indefinitely if i could. Working full time with kids and a self employed partner is hard. There is not enough hours in the day.

biko

https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/107525245/perpetual-guardian-makes-fourday-week-permanent

Trust company Perpetual Guardian has made its four-day week permanent after its trial was a hit among employees and boosted productivity.

The company claimed productivity had increased by 20 per cent during the trial, and staff were more engaged and enthusiastic.

Perpetual Guardian has more than 240 employees and will make the four-day week an option for all its full-time workers from November.

Cina

I'd love it.

Only problem is that bank holidays would turn into a disappointing event as they'd be irrelevant, companies would still make you work the 4 day week.

Sonics2k

I did a four day week for a years when I worked for Blizzard.

It was honestly a great shift system, and worked really well. It meant 3 full days to take care of things, so I didn't have to worry about booking time off work mid-week to go to the bank or credit union or any of that stuff.

We tried to get it implemented in my current office, but it was shot down by the higher ups who just didn't want to do it.

Deebles McBeebles

Would happily go to 4 day working week.

It will become a thing in Ireland by the time I'm retired.

bertsmom

I do 4 ten he shifts a week (evenings) after nearly twenty years on a five day week in the same company. I would never go back to a five day week or day shift. Love the extra money (generous shift allowance) and the extra time off.

bertsmom

Cina wrote:

Only problem is that bank holidays would turn into a disappointing event as they'd be irrelevant, companies would still make you work the 4 day week.

On bank holiday weeks we only work three days so we still have the benefit of the extra day off

Unearthly

Cina wrote: »

I'd love it.

Only problem is that bank holidays would turn into a disappointing event as they'd be irrelevant, companies would still make you work the 4 day week.

Well legally they'd need to give you 1/5th of the working week day in lieu.

For example if your shift includes the bank holiday and they make you work it, you get 10 hours holidays to take some other day.

If the bank holiday was on your weekend, you'd get 8 hours to take some other day.

sbsquarepants

I recently switched from 5 to 4 and a half days and I can not over state how much better it is. I love it.
If I could wangle it down to 4 I'd take the hand off them for it.

ILoveYourVibes

magic_murph wrote: »

Whats your thoughts on the topic of moving to a four day working week.
Good, bad or somewhere in the middle?

3 day working week and then we can talk.

No **** it what am i a sucker? BRING IN THE ROBOT SLAVES!

Deebles McBeebles

sbsquarepants wrote: »

I recently switched from 5 to 4 and a half days and I can not over state how much better it is. I love it.
If I could wangle it down to 4 I'd take the hand off them for it.

Are you finding much difference in the pay packet or are less taxes helping there at all?

InTheShadows

Been doing it now for over 5 years and wouldn't be able to go back to normal 9-5 Mon-Fri. I'm in at 8 and finished at 6:30 officially and off every Friday. In reality im home by 6:30 most days as im 10 minutes from the jobs front door.

Cina

Unearthly wrote: »

Well legally they'd need to give you 1/5th of the working week day in lieu.

For example if your shift includes the bank holiday and they make you work it, you get 10 hours holidays to take some other day.

If the bank holiday was on your weekend, you'd get 8 hours to take some other day.

Four day working weeks would generally assume more working hours in the day for the four days you're in so I doubt companies would just give you the day off as it'd work out as more time than currently.

sbsquarepants

Deebles McBeebles wrote: »

Are you finding much difference in the pay packet or are less taxes helping there at all?

I'm down a good bit, but it's because I should have been doing the 4.5 days for the past 5 years or so but we were busy so I was getting paid overtime to bring it up to 5. I'm basically down a weeks wages every month :eek:

But I've discovered I much prefer the time to the money, they'd struggle to get me back working 5 full days now.

One eyed Jack

Kenzie Swift Asparagus wrote: »

good for me. good for people with kids.

I have a child and I can’t see how a four day working week would provide me with any advantages over my current flexible working arrangements (a mix of office based / office based / remote work, not a typical 9 to 5 anyway), but I could see how it could be an advantage for people whose children have half days on Friday that they might want to spend more time with their children.

I’ve worked four day weeks before (10hrs x 4) and honestly I hated it. I never got used to that extra two hours and then the day I was supposed to be “off” was just wasted - child was in school anyway and I couldn’t make any plans which meant being unavailable to collect my child from school. It certainly didn’t make me any more productive than I wasn’t already :pac:

But no, I get that it could be a good option for some people, depending upon their lifestyles and their careers and the type of jobs they are in of course, as not every employment can lend itself to the idea of a four day week. I think that remote working from home is likely to become a thing a lot sooner than the four day week tbh.

sbsquarepants

Mr.S wrote: »

Our place has introduced this on a trial basis for the last number of months.

4 day working week, but paid for 5 and you don’t need to work longer to just make up the hours. You can pick which day you take off during the well, with a mix of people taking Monday / Wednesday or Friday off usually.

Has had zero disruption to business and everyone seems to be happier and are far more productive.

Now that is a nice perk to have!

Plopsu

Cina wrote: »

Four day working weeks would generally assume more working hours in the day for the four days you're in so I doubt companies would just give you the day off as it'd work out as more time than currently.

Depends on whether you're paid for the same hours as when you were on a five day or paid for 80% of that.

Alun

Mr.S wrote: »

Our place has introduced this on a trial basis for the last number of months.

4 day working week, but paid for 5 and you don’t need to work longer to just make up the hours. You can pick which day you take off during the well, with a mix of people taking Monday / Wednesday or Friday off usually.

Has had zero disruption to business and everyone seems to be happier and are far more productive.

It might depend on what industry you're in, but 20 years ago in the Netherlands I was an IT contractor working at a company that introduced a 4 day week, and I personally found it a PITA. Biggest problem was organizing meetings and trying to find a day when everyone was in. On Mondays and Fridays the place was like a ghost town, and while that sometimes was an advantage if you had a task that needed a bit of peace and quiet, if you needed to consult with anyone the chances were very high that they wouldn't be there.

odyssey06

I'd rather work 9 days per 2 weeks, with a commensurate reduction in pay. I think that would be more manageable as a decrease in pay while still giving you some time back.

I would not be a fan of doing a 4 day week if that just means same amount of work in longer days.

A lot depends on the work and how much interaction you have, and how urgently work has to be responded to.
A 4 day week isn't a good idea if you need to have staff to respond to issues immediately.
I think you should still have core days of Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursdays as otherwise it is impossible to get meetings \ workshops organised.

If someone can chip away at a backlog of non-urgent work, then just have a clock in \ clock out system where you have to do X hours per week. If you want to do that as 4 days, 5 days or 4.5 days, it's up to you.

seamus

NickNickleby wrote: »

There's no such thing as a free day off (or lunch).

It wasn't that long ago that working 5.5 days a week was the norm in Ireland, as well as 45-50 hour work weeks. And nobody has paid for the loss of those hours.

Mr.S wrote: »

4 day working week, but paid for 5 and you don’t need to work longer to just make up the hours.

How does that work? You can choose to add an extra two hours to your day every day, or do two 12-hour days or something?

Alun wrote: »

It might depend on what industry you're in, but 20 years ago in the Netherlands I was an IT contractor working at a company that introduced a 4 day week, and I personally found it a PITA. Biggest problem was organizing meetings and trying to find a day when everyone was in. On Mondays and Fridays the place was like a ghost town, and while that sometimes was an advantage if you had a task that needed a bit of peace and quiet, if you needed to consult with anyone the chances were very high that they wouldn't be there.

Things will adjust though. Same as you don't schedule meetings on a Saturday, people will get used to scheduling them in the middle of the week (when they should be done tbh).

Lots of people seem to think this is a really niche request, that nobody can afford to take a 20% pay cut. But if you consider two working parents, the money they would save if they had two extra days off in the week (i.e. they only have to pay for 3 days childcare instead of 5) would more than make up for the drop in salary.

It's gaining momentum, and it'll eventually be standard.

Snotty

My current role could never go to 4 day week, for no other reason than the dinosaur executives would have a kitten at the very mention of it, but the role is certainly suitable for 4 day week.

Some people here do a 3 day week, 12.5 hour shifts but working from home, add in a 20% shift allowance and its a handy number.

I did it a few years back on a swing shift basis, ten hour days followed by ten hour nights. 8AM to 6PM first week then 6PM to 4AM the next. A long slog sometimes but when you finish for your weekend at 6PM on a Thursday you could really do some great things with your time because you're not back to work until the following Monday evening. There was a lot more destinations out of Shannon (nearest airport at the time) with budget airlines at the time, so for a single guy as I was back then you could hit Berlin or Barcelona or Paris or Poznan or whatever for 20 quid on a Thursday night and not get home until Monday afternoon.

But you really did need the three and a half day weekend to relax and recharge the batteries, especially after a week on the late shift.

magic_murph

biko wrote: »

Sure, but will I keep my pay?

Also, are you expecting me to do the same work, just in 4 days instead of 5?

Yes now get back to it.
Your constant use of online entertainment has been logged.

Capt'n Midnight

The four day week is older than you think


Robinson Crusoe had all his work done by Friday

suicide_circus

i'd be fine with it but the mortgage still needs to be paid so not sure how that would work

suicide_circus

suicide_circus wrote: »

i'd be fine with it but the mortgage still needs to be paid so not sure how that would work

same hours just concentrated into four days, for many, it's a win because one day's travel less to pay for and an extra day off.


I used to work 3 x 12 hour shifts even better, the shifts are hard going and the first day of the four day weekend was mostly a day of rest but still four days off a week.

DEFTLEFTHAND

You'd never get anywhere though. People with big ambitions work 6, 7 days a week.

Galwayguy35

Grand in theory but for people like me who rely on OT to pay the bills it's a non runner.

suicide_circus

Deleted User wrote: »

same hours just concentrated into four days, for many, it's a win because one day's travel less to pay for and an extra day off.


I used to work 3 x 12 hour shifts even better, the shifts are hard going and the first day of the four day weekend was mostly a day of rest but still four days off a week.

plenty of people on 45 hour weeks plus, that would be lets say 0800-1900 4 days a week, tough going.

Strumms

Unearthly wrote: »

I do it. 10 hour days.

3 day weekends

Same I did the same. I was off Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Saturday and Sunday were great to have off as per usual and Monday too as you could do things like pop to the bank and all shops would be open and less crowded. The nature of the work and the longer shifts would have you waking up on Saturday not feeling all that energized that was the one drawback in fact you’d take till that evening to start feeling good again.

I took yesterday off and it was great
That's my contribution

Did it for a few years. All other days were hours between 8 and 4 so it was fine.

Last year, I asked for some half days instead and preferred it.

I would go with the french 35-hour working week retirement from 62, American work around the clock culture frowned upon.

SuperS54

Many years ago when attendants were still a thing in petrol stations I used to work 7am to 10pm 3 days a week, a full 45 hours as there was no lunch break given that there was only one employee at a time! Did 6 days straight a few times in order to get 8 days "off" but it was never worth it. Couldn't attempt it these days! 4 8 hour days sounds nice though!

ILoveYourVibes

mariaalice wrote: »

I would go with the french 35-hour working week retirement from 62, American work around the clock culture frowned upon.

Only poor Americans work around the clock.

ILoveYourVibes

ILoveYourVibes wrote: »

Only poor Americans work around the clock.

Your evidence for this is?