Support NeoGAF

[West Texas CEO]

Interesting idea for a 4 day work week in U.S. in an article I read. I'll outline it here (link at bottom).

1. Countries that work less are happier.

2. Shorter work weeks don't hurt economically.

3. Increased productivity with a 4 day work week.

Obviously one of the downsides I see is less pay as well as some scheduling concerns regarding the actual work week. But some of the top happiest countries (Norway, Sweden) have implemented the 4 day work week successfully.

The article also points out that although productivity has increased overall in the U.S.in a normal 5 day work week, it has been at the cost of decreased morale and longer hours worked. Some numbers I stole from Forbes.com:

-36% of employers allow at least some employees to work a 4 day week while only 7% let all employees do this.
-44% of female doctors work 4 day weeks. (didn't see a number for male)
- 86% of men and 67% women work more than 40hrs in any given week.

So have any you experienced a 4 day work week? Do you think its a good idea? Thoughts please.

Link

 

[Raphael]

Give me 4 x 10 hours, 3 days off. I am not doing much anyway, i can not do much 2 hours more per day easily.

 

[West Texas CEO]

Give me 4 x 10 hours, 3 days off. I am not doing much anyway, i can not do much 2 hours more per day easily.

Interesting.

We have people working 4 x 10s, but more of them working 4-10s one week, 5-8s the next for every other Monday or Friday off. Those seem to be the happiest. For many, 4 x 10s every week is too much, and they tend to burn out late in the day and accomplish less work.

 

[GeorgPrime]

Interesting idea for a 4 day work week in U.S. in an article I read. I'll outline it here (link at bottom).

1. Countries that work less are happier.

2. Shorter work weeks don't hurt economically.

3. Increased productivity with a 4 day work week.

Obviously one of the downsides I see is less pay as well as some scheduling concerns regarding the actual work week. But some of the top happiest countries (Norway, Sweden) have implemented the 4 day work week successfully.

The article also points out that although productivity has increased overall in the U.S.in a normal 5 day work week, it has been at the cost of decreased morale and longer hours worked. Some numbers I stole from Forbes.com:

-36% of employers allow at least some employees to work a 4 day week while only 7% let all employees do this.
-44% of female doctors work 4 day weeks. (didn't see a number for male)
- 86% of men and 67% women work more than 40hrs in any given week.

So have any you experienced a 4 day work week? Do you think its a good idea? Thoughts please.

Link

At tge moment i have a 8 hour work day but i get 30 minutes lunch time and additional 1 hour screen off time. So basically i only work 7 hours a day.

Fucking amazing

 

[BigBooper]

When I was 18 I worked for a while in a production factory and worked 4x10s. It was night shift too. I loved having the extra day on the weekends. Also, if you fit the time into fewer days, you save all the extra time commuting and getting dressed on time etc.

 

[YCoCg]

4x10 was brilliant when I had a job that allowed that.

 

[bitbydeath]

Either that or get the world to agree on an 8 day week. Two days simply isn’t enough for a weekend IMO.

 

[Patrick S.]

We're short on staff, a four day work week would force me to do even more shit in my time off

 

[MaestroMike]

yes 5 days is fukking horrible (even tho I work 5/6 days a week usually but some work days are shorter than others) but 4 days is def the sweet spot. the other days i would spend resting and loading up with energy/nutrients. consuming and digesting food on a plant based diet aint easy with all that fiber and energy and also removing metabolic waste products from ur system. takes a lot of time for the body to process all that sh!t. im about to go to work in a couple of hours wish i had more time to sleep

 

[DKehoe]

A recent trial in Iceland was apparently a huge success.

Seems like it makes sense, so why not.

 

[Soltype]

During the summer we do 4 10 hour days instead of 5 8's and I'm loving it.I actually have time to do big projects on the weekend.

 

[GamingKaiju]

In both of my previous jobs they had an option of 5x8 hr shifts or 4x11 hr shift. The pay was the same, I got more or longer breaks on the 4 day rota hence the longer day.

Working 4 days was wayyy better for me an example is having 3 off days from week 1 and 3 off from week 2 meant you had nearly a week off every 6 weeks.

 

[nush]

The first company I worked for in China had six day weeks. I quickly realized that finishing everything on a Friday would have me just "Looking busy" and bored on Saturday so I just slowed down to fill the time. Give people more time and you take the pressure off to be efficient, it's false economy.

Outside of service jobs 4 days a week is possible.

 

[darrylgorn]

If it means less work, sure.

But I'm not on board with stuffing the same amount of work in a shorter time frame.

I would take a salary cut for 1 less day of work per week.

 

[Blade2.0]

Yes. But it should be 4x8 days, not 4x10. We don't need a 40 hour work week anymore for most jobs

 

[Birdo]

I'd prefer 3.

 

[West Texas CEO]

I'd prefer 3.

we're not talking about how many penises you prefer at one time.

 

[Methos#1975]

Love to see this made mandatory and jobs like mine that try to force a six day work week any chance they get a chance have to respond to the changes

 

[fran.fernandez]

Same salary? Ok

 

[6502]

Worked 4 days a week many years, it was great to have the extra day off. Also when skint I could work 2 overtime days a week (higher rates) and earn 30% extra take home pay. Odd occasion where flexibility helps the employer and is a genuine gain for employee.

 

[Kev Kev]

ive never had a typical "work week" so i dunno. i work pretty much everyday, even days i have off im practicing guitar or writing songs that i will eventually use to play in bands, perform in gigs and teach lessons. so i guess if you have that 9-5 type of job then cool, but its hard to imagine me not working everyday so i dont know how i feel about it.

honestly, i would say work more days but less hours. instead of 4x10 hour days, or 5x8 hour days, try 6x6.5, or 7x5.5. ive been working too hard for too long so my mind is jaded lol, but i prefer to work in short spurts over more days because im more productive and then i still have 18 or so hours left in everyday to do whatever i want.

im aware how unpopular my take probably is tho so just my preference

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Better idea - don’t try to frame it into a political debate of ‘doing the hours’, instead push for ‘as long as you do your work, it doesn’t matter how many hours you do’. Seeing work in terms of hours per week screams industrial Revolution and factory shifts, it doesn’t apply to majority of knowledge workers.

 

[Kev Kev]

Better idea - don’t try to frame it into a political debate of ‘doing the hours’, instead push for ‘as long as you do your work, it doesn’t matter how many hours you do’. Seeing work in terms of hours per week screams industrial Revolution and factory shifts, it doesn’t apply to majority of knowledge workers.

mmm, i think youre being a bit naive here

any boss that sees their employees getting there work done in a short amount of time is just going to keep piling on more work until they have them right back to 40 hours a week. and hell why stop there? might as well give them 60 hours worth, why not 80?

i think we need set time limits to get things done. it motivates people to work harder and more efficiently, and also promotes a routine schedule. and of course, stops youre boss from having the power to just keep piling more work on you simply because you are a more productive employee than youre fellow associates.

 

[bronkonagurski]

I would much prefer a 4 work day work week for my job.

 

[Punished Miku]

I'd prefer 3.

I did 3 for years. Two 16s and a 12, and still got overtime every week. And a four day weekend every week. It's not for people that need 8 hours of sleep every night, but I basically had a vacation every week.

 

[Armorian]

we're not talking about how many penises you prefer at one time.

I think one is enough for this hole

____________________________________________________________________________

On topic, great idea about 4x10, same salary and more free day. Most Ukrainians in Poland are working 5x12 (and many times with saturday), I know that's the way to earn the most money in another country but so much life is wasted in job this way...

 

[OmegaSupreme]

I work four 10s. It's great. I don't ever want to go back.

 

[Kenpachii]

would prefer just hours and grind them out the way u want it too.

So if you wanna work one day for 16 hours, that's 1 day extra off that week. This allows for far more control of your own weeks.

 

[SireSmogMurk]

I currently work a 4 x 10 Wed-Sat at a major shipping company and though I can't come out and say what company directly... I can say Wonder Woman is my favorite Amazon. Between hours 8 to 10 it really is rather dull, you can feel the time stretch. It's kind of nice. Those 4 days worked however leave you with less free time in the evenings.

We can work overtime as offered and sometimes I do, but doing so feels a bit oppressive because you know you are losing a full day off and you know you are extending your work week to 5 days. Most people have a 4 day shift, the only difference being the times and days worked. Some people have sat - sun, and wednesdays off, they effectively work never work more then 2 days in a row unless overtime, when there is mandatory overtime they get hit the hardest.

I'm considering switching to a 3rd shift for the extra wages during those hours... but I did that game when I was younger and I put my time in and then some. The extra wages weren't really worth it then, maybe they might be now?

 

[GeekyDad]

I voted yes because under normal circumstances, yeah, I'd love three days off. But after just finishing my third week back after a 10-month medical leave, I had to call out today because I literally couldn't walk. My work is very physical, and I just couldn't do it right now. But yeah, I like the idea. It was actually just added to our new union contract, which I'm sure will pass. Thankfully, it has to be agreed upon by both employer and employee.

 

[QSD]

I work 4 days a week, 32 hours. It's more or less standard in my workplace (assisted living home for people with psychiatric problems). I get paid extra for irregular hours I work (mostly evenings) so that compensates the lower salary.

I love it and would recommend it to everyone. I started a small sound design business (Q uixotic S ound D esign) which brings in a little money too and serves as a creative outlet (and basically just a source of fun) . I wouldn't have been able to manage that on a 5 day work week, and it does a lot for my mental health to have that.

One thing that's also worth mentioning is that in my workplace we generally have pretty good relations between colleagues. I think having a 32 hour work week contributes to this, there is less stress and you get enough time away from people to appreciate them again when you next work with them.

 

[xrnzaaas]

My work hours are very fluid, but I was a normal 9-5 guy I'd probably be happy with that deal. But I'm not sure if going from 40 to 32 hours is good news for business owners, even if that meant paying your staff less money. You'd essentially have to hire more people to cover for a shorter work week and the additional costs of maintaining an employee are very high in my country. My guess is that some businesses would rather pay for overtime each week than to look for extra staff.

 

[AJUMP23]

Am I working 40 hours in 4 days or 32? Is my pay the same as my 40 hour week. I’m willing to work 4 days a week but not for less cash.

 

[MastaKiiLA]

4 day work weeks would be awesome. An extra day to unwind on the weekends? Sign me up.

My mom did that with the government for a while. She also alternated 4s and 5s every other week. She was much happier than when she did 5 days every week. I'm 100% certain I'd love a 4 day work week. My job doesn't allow for it though. I have to be able to provide technical support if something goes wrong, and 3 days is too long to have a problem festering in an online service.

 

[Mihos]

I would just work during that day off anyway, then listen to people cry that I got promoted over them.

 

[Mr Hyde]

I'm from Sweden and I work 4 days a week, 9 hour shift. Mon-Thursday. I think it's great because I value the extra time off in the weekends. I wouldn't wanna have it any other way.

 

[Belmonte]

Not sure if it is a good idea. IMO less hours and more days working have better results. At least for me, in my line of work, it works better.

There is a study by Swedish psychologist Anders Ericsson which states that most people have maximum 3 hours of focused concentration per day plus one more hour of sub-optimal concentration. After it, our attention decreases significantly and we can't work properly on demanding tasks.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/productivity-focus-work-tips/2021/05/31/07453934-bfd0-11eb-b26e-53663e6be6ff_story.html

Also, most people overestimate how many hours they truly work. The average worker is productive for 3 hours per day:

https://www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/...worker-is-productive-for-this-many-hours.html

 

[SuperBabyMethod]

I wouldn’t mind worker longer hours in those 4 days and then have 3 days off.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Generally I’m in favor of working more even if they say you have a 4 day work week most will continue work else where it looks like working less is great for Sweden but guess what? We aren’t European and we aren’t overworking like Asian countries either.

 

[Kev Kev]

Not sure if it is a good idea. IMO less hours and more days working have better results. At least for me, in my line of work, it works better.

There is a study by Swedish psychologist Anders Ericsson which states that most people have maximum 3 hours of focused concentration per day plus one more hour of sub-optimal concentration. After it, our attention decreases significantly and we can't work properly on demanding tasks.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/life...453934-bfd0-11eb-b26e-53663e6be6ff_story.html

Also, most people overestimate how many hours they truly work. The average worker is productive for 3 hours per day:

https://www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/...worker-is-productive-for-this-many-hours.html

yeah, this is kind of what i was getting at in my post. you wind up actually having better productivity when you work less hours over more days. i know people dont like the idea of work 6 or 7 days a week, but the thing is those 4 or 5 hours you work go by in a flash, and then oyu have the rest of the day off. and as a bonus, as you said, youre actually being more productive and possibly making more money or working your way up the ladder quicker.

and going to the gym after a 5 hour day is so much easier than going after a 10 hour day.

just different strokes i guess, but yeah i prefer to work shorter shift over 6 or 7 days. i dont need to have multiple, whole days off all in a row. i just get lazy when i have that much time anyway lol

 

[IDKFA]

Yes please. I'll happily work a few more hours a day if it means I get an extra day off in the week.

 

[SlimySnake]

lol I work 9-10 hour days anyway. companies will lose out on a full day of work.

maybe things are different in other places but in software engineering firms no one really does 9-5 days.

 

[Taxexemption]

The longer you work the worse you perform for that last hour or two. People are not meant to perform any task for more than 6 hours. We should be moving towards a 6 hour work day. Our society is interested in perpetuating policies that keep wages low so that won't happen.

 

[dr_octagon]

for office work, it's a better situation because people have the time and space to focus on their free time. with five days, people will stretch out the day and week without necessarily doing much more.

studies have shown working from home increased productivity. a four day working week has been on the cards for a while. it's definitely a positive overall.

 

[crazepharmacist]

Give me 4 x 10 hours, 3 days off. I am not doing much anyway, i can not do much 2 hours more per day easily.

try 3 x 12 hours. 4 days off a week. It’s actually too much time off. Which Is why I usually pick up overtime and do 4 x 12 hours and make bank

 

[Ironbunny]

Well we do 2x12 hours in weekends and week days are free. Only downside is we have to work every holidays too. Meaning christmas etc. Been doing this 10 years now. We also get paid sommer vacation (30 days) and 6 days winter vacation. I think verybody should have these hours.

 

[EverythingsOverrated]

I would gladly take 4 days at 10 hours a piece. One of the big downsides of working a typical M-F 9-5 kind of job is when it comes to doing things like going to the bank or the DMV you end up having to take time off of work since you can't go on weekends (or with my bank it's open for limited hours Saturday and you wait in line for over an hour).

I also noticed that I usually spend the majority of one of the days of the weekend just unwinding from the previous week which leaves one day to try to get shit done then right back to work.

 

[Raphael]

Well we do 2x12 hours in weekends and week days are free. Only downside is we have to work every holidays too. Meaning christmas etc. Been doing this 10 years now. We also get paid sommer vacation (30 days) and 6 days winter vacation. I think verybody should have these hours.

This sounds absolutely amazing. What do you do?

 

[Ironbunny]

This sounds absolutely amazing. What do you do?

Cable manufacturing. But this kind of shift routine is common on other metal industries here too. Its basicly replacing 5-shift systems and still runs 24/7. Interestingly our factory is doing really well compared to others in the same group and pushing records every year. And thats with less work hours per person. Also people are calling much less sick.

 

[triplestation]

yes

it is hilariously overdue