Comments on: 4 Day Workweek 3 Day Weekend

By: Colin

Colin — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:23:51 +0000

Hey! I have been a fireman for 2 years and i work 4 days on 4 days off, i really like this job i get paid for 5 days and i only work 4 days, i get 75,000 pound a year,

By: Lara QT

Lara QT — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 20:59:46 +0000

At Regency we operate a 9/80 system – where the staff work 80 hours in 9 days instead of 10. So in effect everyone gets every other Friday off. Because we are a small team we split the roster – one half are off this Friday and the other half next week.

It works wonderfully as people are encouraged to schedule doctor appointments and any other personal engagements they would usually need time off for on their 9/80 Friday. And because half their team is in, the customer is not negatively impacted – there is always someone here to talk to.

In Trinidad we are one of the few firms that does this as it is very unusual outside the energy sector.

By: James

James — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 01:10:21 +0000

I’m doing this right now at my job. I work 3, 12 hour days one week, and 4, 12 hour days the next, and every two weeks I have a three day weekend. I love these kinds of shifts, because if I’m working 8 hours, I may as well work 12.

The only downside is that it doesn’t leave me much time to do anything on the days I work, and I’m not able to schedule something at the same time every week (because I work opposite days each week).

However, I also get to work from home on the weekends

By: Lucy

Lucy — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:59:18 +0000

A four day work-week does sound fantastic! Unfortunately, where I’m from (Australia) it seems a 50+ hour work-week is pretty standard in corporate workplaces. (Ten hours * five days).

I couldn’t cope! I used up all my days off doing mundane things like going to the dentist, the doctor, getting my hair cut, and sometimes just to recover. When I asked my boss if I could please please please work part-time, he said no way… so I had to quit to preserve my sanity. Now I work in academia and don’t think I’ll ever be brave enough to return to full-time work in a corporate setting. I’d rather stock shelves at a supermarket!

By: LA

LA — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 13:35:01 +0000

why not solve the unemployment problem that some of us know will only get worse in our post industrial economy, reduce the work week to 24 hours/ three days standard. there is no fundamental truth or law that says everyone has to work “full time” 40 hours a week. there will still be plenty of work left over for anyone who wants/ needs to do 30+ hours and people will be able to spend time doing what they want. get a hobby, an allotment, more time with your family, help out with charity and other creative projects that make our communities a better place for everyone. people would also be generally fitter with more physical activity. really the only things that need to be 24-7 are water, energy, food production, emergency services and one or two others. stop people making a lifestyle choice to live on benefits (im looking at it from a uk perspective), put them to work doing something constructive.

By: Lee

Lee — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:08:13 +0000

Our company has a slight variation. We can’t close the office for a whole day so iinstead we work an extra 1/2 hour Monday to Thursday and then get off 2 hours early on Friday. It’s amazing what a psychological difference it makes to get home early on Fridays. More time to take care of personal things that are best done during ‘business hours’. Or just get a jump on the weekend. The extra 1/2 hour each day is barely noticeble.

By: Rolando

Rolando — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 18:06:59 +0000

I’ve worked a 4 day workweek for 10 years, and love it. Our employer has always had a 10 hour workday. The extra 2 hours isn’t really that much more difficult once you get used to it. Our dept was on a crazy 2 week average for a while, where we’d work 12 hour days, 4 one week and 3 the next, for an average of 44 hours/week (we were all on salary). The 4 day week was looooong, but a 4 day weekend was awesome.

By: Randy

Randy — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:17:24 +0000

Many companies or departments within companies are allowing 4 day work weeks. It benefits the employees and employers by providing extended and flexible staffing.

At my company if the employee does not provide a customer service function a 4 day work week is permitted. Added flexibility is gained by supplementing this with telecommuting.

Our HR studies have shown gains in productivity. During periods where raises and other compensation will be flat or minimal this can be used to compensate for lost pay increases.

By: Anca

Anca — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 13:20:42 +0000

Recently I have started to “negotiate”my scheduler and I do not have Fridays off but I have shorter Fridays. During the week (Mondays to Thursdays) i came to work early and leave a little bit later and this allows me to end up the work week earlier Fridays. Lucky me that I have a good boss

But, as you have perfectly said, this cannot be applied by everyone and in every company, here is an article describing when 9-5 isn’t working for a business

By: habben

habben — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 20:48:52 +0000

I liked the schedule but not the job.

By: habben

habben — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 20:34:34 +0000

I once worked for a collection agency where everyone worked 4 – 10 hour days per week. The office was closed on Friday. It allowed the collectors to catch people at home before or after work.

By: Mark

Mark — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 19:25:16 +0000

@Corey – I’m not sure I could handle a 24 hour shift. I’m guessing that firefighters get to sleep some during that time. Of course fighting fires would probably keep me awake for a 24 hour period too.

By: Mark

Mark — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 19:22:36 +0000

@Karen — Thanks for your comment. Just out of curiosity, was your employer offering 4 day work weeks to everyone or were you the only one doing that?

By: Karen Anderson

Karen Anderson — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 15:20:39 +0000

A few years back I had a job at a pubishing company at which I worked four days a week and was paid for five. The agreement with my supervisor was that I would be as productive as other people in my group working five days a week with the same job description; as it turned out, I was actually more productive. Sadly, our group was transitioned to another part of the company during a re-org and the new division did not allow flexible work schedules. I was back to five days a week, a schedule that eventually led me to leave the company. The irony was that in the five-day schedule, people spent a least an hour or two a day on gossip, long coffee breaks, and, of course, lots of phone calls and emails dealing with personal business (legal issues, elderly parent issues, house repair, etc.) that could have been handled on their own time — if they’d had the fifth day off.

By: Corey

Corey — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 01:39:59 +0000

I think that four, ten hour work days in a week are ideal. I received a job offer from a place that works six, eight hour days with three days off rotational. Some of the police stations around here work twelve hour shifts, three on three off. But over all I think the firefighter have great shifts. 24 shifts, one day on, one day off, one day on, three days off. There are many variations of this type of rotation.