This is a question for salaried employees (or those who charge by the hour, but are expected to work full 40 hours for an employer).
Where/How did you find your job? If you started at 40 hours per week, how did you negotiate it to 32?
Ask HN: Anyone working 4 day week here, as an employee?
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Re: Ask HN: Anyone working 4 day week here, as an employee?
#2In my previous job I asked my boss if he would let me drop down to 3 days per week (60% salary). To my slight surprise, he was totally fine with it
I did this after working hard for ~1 year at the company. Once you prove your worth, it's in your employers interests to keep you i.e. it would cost them way more if you left for another job with shorter working hours so don't be afraid to ask
If it was doing it again though, I'd request this during my yearly review, and I'd ask for a 4 day week with no drop in salary
There are already companies offering a 32 hours work week though:
Disclaimer: I'm the founder
Re: Ask HN: Anyone working 4 day week here, as an employee?
#3In my previous job I asked my boss if he would let me drop down to 3 days per week (60% salary). To my slight surprise, he was totally fine with it I did this after working hard for ~1 year at the company. Once you prove your worth, it's in your employers interests to keep you i.e. it would cost them way more if you left for another job with shorter working hours so don't be afraid to ask If it was doing it again tho…
Awesome, thank you for the link and the answer!
Re: Ask HN: Anyone working 4 day week here, as an employee?
#4"Hey boss, I'd like to go down to 32 hours/week at least for a bit"
"sure, email HR to adjust your contract and tell your teamlead"
Re: Ask HN: Anyone working 4 day week here, as an employee?
#5Just accepted a 32hr week job. Was advertised as, and applied for it, as 40hrs. After having an offer from them, I got another offer elsewhere at a much higher salary.
I knew the first was a better cultural fit, so went back and asked them to work with me. No room to negotiate on salary, so they offered 32hr weeks and I jumped at it.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone working 4 day week here, as an employee?
#6"For the foreseeable future, I'm going to take Fridays to be with my family. Can we make that work?"
"Good for you! Coordinate with your team and make sure you fill HR in on your absences."
This was after working the full 40 weeks for four years* with an employer that knows how important work--life balance is.
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* Well, I did take one afternoon/week off for medical reasons for half a year. And arranged 60 % work to have time for university in parallel another year. And was away on parental leave for most of yet another year. I guess a good employer does not make it hard to stay with them.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone working 4 day week here, as an employee?
#7Just accepted a 32hr week job. Was advertised as, and applied for it, as 40hrs. After having an offer from them, I got another offer elsewhere at a much higher salary. I knew the first was a better cultural fit, so went back and asked them to work with me. No room to negotiate on salary, so they offered 32hr weeks and I jumped at it.
Did it come with a pro-rated lower pay or same pay as the initially negotiated 40hr week?
Re: Ask HN: Anyone working 4 day week here, as an employee?
#8Just accepted a 32hr week job. Was advertised as, and applied for it, as 40hrs. After having an offer from them, I got another offer elsewhere at a much higher salary. I knew the first was a better cultural fit, so went back and asked them to work with me. No room to negotiate on salary, so they offered 32hr weeks and I jumped at it.
Did it come with a pro-rated lower pay or same pay as the initially negotiated 40hr week?
Pay and holidays stayed the same as the original offer, not pro-rata. It was a case of "not enough money in the budget" rather than "you're not worth more"
Re: Ask HN: Anyone working 4 day week here, as an employee?
#9I told the employer that I currently work 4 days so I won’t join without keeping that schedule.
Before that, I just asked for 4 days and made it clear I provide the value of those who work 5 days a week. No pay cut required.
Re: Ask HN: Anyone working 4 day week here, as an employee?
#10Was working fulltime.
Asked my manager to go down to 4 days. They said yes.
Now down to a 3 day week (spread over 5 days) as it fits my situation better.