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More bosses give four-day workweek a try

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Re: More bosses give four-day workweek a try

#101

Post by tentboy »

volkk wrote: post #31
mjayhn wrote: post #18

I can't begin to explain how much less stress I encounter in day to day life having just one week day to stay home. Just having a day to be able to easily knock out chores between Jira issues; drop the car off at the dealer, sell something on craigslist, complete a house project, go to the dentist, meet the handyman, go to the bank, etc is so nice. All of these things wind up on the back burner when I'm in the middle…

> I know not everyone is as sapped for energy as I am after work, but I leave work and sit in an hour of traffic. My energy is just sapped from me by the time I make it home. I have enough energy to feed myself and sometimes work out to maintain my health.. I know that some people just dont have the privilege of living close to their jobs, but after spending one internship getting up at 5;45am to drive with my dad to…

I think there is a happy medium too, and you don't need to live across the street from your job. I really like my job - which is located in the suburbs outside of DC but I wanted to live closer to the city so I have metro access and can easily bike around the city.

I could easily get a nice place walking distance from work but my 30 minute commute (pretty much against traffic so not stressful) allows me to enjoy my time after work and the weekends much more than I would from the extra time from a short commute. I also enjoy driving and listening to music in my car so maybe thats part of it too

Re: More bosses give four-day workweek a try

#102

Post by clarry »

echelon wrote: post #75
izzydata wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If they increase the hourly pay by 20% then probably quite happy. Edit: 25%.

Conversely, I'd accept lower pay for 4x8. I'm close to financial independence and would rather have my time than more money.

> I'm close to financial independence and would rather have my time than more money.

I'm not close, but I'd still take time over money. I need enough money to live healthy and have a bit of fun sometimes. After that, I just need time and energy to actually live my life.

Re: More bosses give four-day workweek a try

#103

Post by zhdc1 »

kuu wrote: post #80
k__ wrote: post #36

I'm from Germany and none of my friends works 40h anymore. They're all down to 50-80% This is even regulated by the law, your employer has to allow you to reduce your work time, only in some extreme cases they can deny it. Works like a charm.

Do you also get paid a 50-80%?

Salary is set at a 100% baseline, but your contract is fixed at a certain percentage (usually 80% or 60%) and your salary and working hours are adjusted accordingly.

Employees are generally not expected to work beyond that amount, and when they do, it's with the understanding that they can go around and reduce their working hours the following week (or whenever works for them & their manager) to cover the delta.

Re: More bosses give four-day workweek a try

#104

Post by notjustanymike »

I introduced "work from home Wednesday" at our company and the reduction in stress is palpable. Hell, I sleep better on Tuesday nights knowing I've got a day of silence lined up. The naysayers quickly fell in line too, once they realized how much more they could get done that day.

Re: More bosses give four-day workweek a try

#105

Post by alistairSH »

jonny_eh wrote: post #46
rverghese wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But doesn't this rely on everyone else working 5 days? If everyone had a 4-week, it would be just like the current weekend. You can't go to the bank or dentist, because they would also be off. Perhaps you could get the same effect and quality of life by taking Sunday and Monday as your days off and working Saturday.

Maybe people could take different "3rd" days off?

How do we decide who gets Friday or Monday (ie, a three day weekend)?

I have a friend who once had M-W off, and worked the four remaining days. He hated it because his time off was completely misaligned with his peers, so he had no social life.

Edit - I don't have any fundamental problem with working fewer hours or fewer days. But, I think I'd prefer 5x7 hour days instead of 4x8.

Re: More bosses give four-day workweek a try

#106

Post by Kaze404 »

Darkphibre wrote: post #78
wolco wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are trying to kill 40 hours that works. Why not 14-14-12 or 20-20 where you take 4 hours from each day to get the 8 hours for sleep. I remember going to an interview somewhere and during the summers they came in at 8:30am each day (instead of 9) so they could get off at 2:30pm on a Friday. That sounded like hell for no big gain. We need to go down to 20 hours.

I've pulled a 140hr work week twice in nearly three decades of my career. Those weeks were... not sustainable. Fortunately, I was paid hourly both times, so I was compensated, and the project did get completed. Ok. Honestly? The first time I was quite young, working with other employees on a fun project with an insane deadline, and it was a blast. But having 4 hours to drive home, eat, sleep, shower, return? Not the…

There's not enough money in the world to convince me to work 140h in a week.

Re: More bosses give four-day workweek a try

#107

Post by calvinmorrison »

cortesoft wrote: post #63
mjayhn wrote: post #18

I can't begin to explain how much less stress I encounter in day to day life having just one week day to stay home. Just having a day to be able to easily knock out chores between Jira issues; drop the car off at the dealer, sell something on craigslist, complete a house project, go to the dentist, meet the handyman, go to the bank, etc is so nice. All of these things wind up on the back burner when I'm in the middle…

It is an especially big deal for working parents... having a day when kids are at school/daycare to do chores and errands is huge... so many things are impossible to do when you are chasing kids around. I get way more done on a weekday home than a weekend.

how about single working adults? I have to literally take off of work to go to the DMV.

Re: More bosses give four-day workweek a try

#108

Post by blackearl »

blobbers wrote: post #82

"Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is backing a parliamentary proposal to shift to a four-day week." -- with all the Russian meddling in the U.S.A., maybe they can get this pushed through! Jokes aside, I would love this. Right now in tech asking for this sort of thing feels like a 'career limiting move', and definitely in a hiring situation could label you as 'not a hard worker' despite your emphasis on efficien…

If not career limiting, pay limiting. I'd worry that I suddenly get a 20% cut in salary

Re: More bosses give four-day workweek a try

#109

Post by positr0n »

tombert wrote: post #77
jhomedall wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think he meant that as 'why is this so common in the defense industry'.

Oh, upon rereading the comment that makes more sense, that's my dumb fault :) I don't know actually; presumably one defense company started doing it any then the rest just followed.

It also might be a government thing? 9/80 is common in the few national labs I've worked at or know people in. DoE and DoD labs.

Re: More bosses give four-day workweek a try

#110

Post by saghul »

I've been working 32 hour weeks ever since my daughter was born 2 years ago. Mondays are my day off, we go to music classes, walk on the park and just spend time together.

On tuesdays I'm "hungry" when I go back to work. I think this is the perfect balance for me and I feel I'm more productive than ever.

It may not be for everyone, and it's definitely a privilege, but if you can, I really encourage you to try it out.

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