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Ask HN: Would you switch to a 4-day-a-week schedule if you could?

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Re: Ask HN: Would you switch to a 4-day-a-week schedule if you could?

#31

Post by maerF0x0 »

be_kul wrote: post #30

Just one thing: In the 50s and 60s working weeks were 6 days in Germany (east and west). In the 70s this was reduced to 5 days (40 hours), and later, in the early 80s, in West Germany even to 35 hours/week. All this was possible without reduction of wages because working productivity had grown fast enough to compensate companies for the "lost" working time. Can anyone really imagine that working productivity grew sig…

We get paid not for value, but for replacement cost.

Therefore we do not get paid for productivity but for market rates. Obviously having a high value allows the company the freedom to pay us more, but all else equal the lower cost employee will should hired

Re: Ask HN: Would you switch to a 4-day-a-week schedule if you could?

#32

Post by troyvit »

#1 - I guess I would not make the switch. Usually I lose a day's worth of work every week doing things that don't directly contribute to my role and so I need all 5 days to recover from that. In that way I guess I already work a 4 day week, I just spend 5 days doing it.

Re: Ask HN: Would you switch to a 4-day-a-week schedule if you could?

#33

Post by anthonyoconnor »

1. Yes and I did about a year ago. I think I'll find it hard if I have to go back to 5 days a week. It's really nice to have long weekends every week. I've time to work on other things and take days to go hiking or skiing. It makes the work week really fly by as well. Some downsides are having to catch up on everything you missed on your day off, so it can suck up time. Also it takes people a while to realize that this is a permanent thing and to stop inviting you to meetings on a Friday. I would highly recommend that you pick the same day every week and stick to that. I picked Fridays and marked my whole calendar as out of office that day. Otherwise its too hard for others to manage if you take a Monday off one week and a Thursday the next.

2. Yes. I did this too. Although technically I negotiated to reduce to a 32 hours week instead of a pay increase. But I have the option of going back to a 5 days week with a 20% pay increase. Software engineers generally earn pretty good wages so I'd prefer to have the time than the extra money.

Re: Ask HN: Would you switch to a 4-day-a-week schedule if you could?

#34

Post by farisjarrah »

troyvit wrote: post #32

#1 - I guess I would not make the switch. Usually I lose a day's worth of work every week doing things that don't directly contribute to my role and so I need all 5 days to recover from that. In that way I guess I already work a 4 day week, I just spend 5 days doing it.

Those things that don't directly contribute to your role are still part of your job and you should be paid to do them. The onus should be on the company to streamline your processes so they don't waste everyones time.

Re: Ask HN: Would you switch to a 4-day-a-week schedule if you could?

#35

Post by B_Throwaway »

B_Throwaway wrote: post #13

By law, in the Netherlands, employees are allowed to reduce their work hours. Allegedly, unless there is a clear, critical business need for you to work the entire week, the company is not allowed to deny your request. I would love to work fewer days per week, and use the extra time to focus more on my personal development & side projects. However, at my current level of discipline, I'd be fooling myself if I said I…

The most common cases are people working 4 days every, or every other week. This seems to be popular with new parents.

I know of only one instance of a 3-day work week. The guy, a developer, is using the other days for graduate studies.

Re: Ask HN: Would you switch to a 4-day-a-week schedule if you could?

#36

Post by toomuchtodo »

maerF0x0 wrote: post #31
be_kul wrote: post #30

Just one thing: In the 50s and 60s working weeks were 6 days in Germany (east and west). In the 70s this was reduced to 5 days (40 hours), and later, in the early 80s, in West Germany even to 35 hours/week. All this was possible without reduction of wages because working productivity had grown fast enough to compensate companies for the "lost" working time. Can anyone really imagine that working productivity grew sig…

We get paid not for value, but for replacement cost. Therefore we do not get paid for productivity but for market rates. Obviously having a high value allows the company the freedom to pay us more, but all else equal the lower cost employee will should hired

Then we change labor law. It really is that simple (and how we are currently at a 40 hour work week).

Re: Ask HN: Would you switch to a 4-day-a-week schedule if you could?

#38

Post by maerF0x0 »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #36
maerF0x0 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We get paid not for value, but for replacement cost. Therefore we do not get paid for productivity but for market rates. Obviously having a high value allows the company the freedom to pay us more, but all else equal the lower cost employee will should hired

Then we change labor law. It really is that simple (and how we are currently at a 40 hour work week).

Until at will employment is undermined it will be hard to enforce. An employer just wont hire/retain <40 hrs & 5 day employees?

Re: Ask HN: Would you switch to a 4-day-a-week schedule if you could?

#39

Post by aianus »

> Would you do it if it also meant you made 80% of your current comp? Why or why not?

That would not be a fair discount because the number you see on your paycheck is not the full amount the company is paying to employ you. They also pay for benefits, payroll taxes, equipment, office space, management overhead, etc.

The all-in cost of an employee is closer to 150% of the number on your W2. So assuming your output goes down 20% you should be giving up 30% of your W2 salary to compensate your employer for that loss, not 20%.

Re: Ask HN: Would you switch to a 4-day-a-week schedule if you could?

#40

Post by coreypreston »

B_Throwaway wrote: post #13

By law, in the Netherlands, employees are allowed to reduce their work hours. Allegedly, unless there is a clear, critical business need for you to work the entire week, the company is not allowed to deny your request. I would love to work fewer days per week, and use the extra time to focus more on my personal development & side projects. However, at my current level of discipline, I'd be fooling myself if I said I…

Give yourself some credit, you might not use it productively initially, but once that was out of your system...
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