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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

#271

Post by glenneroo »

GordonS wrote: post #212
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…

Around 5 years back, I went from 5 days a week to 4, taking a 20% paycut in the process. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made - it feels like I have so much more time for family, side projects and hobbies than I ever did before. And for reference, I work around 90% from home. TBH, the company I work for has got a pretty good deal out of this, as I'm sure my productivity hasn't dropped at all. (it's a mega…

A few years ago I seriously contemplated changing professions, so my boss allowed me to switch from full-time to 20 hours/week spread across 2-3 days. One immediate upside was that I only took a ~35% paycut due to being in a different tax bracket. As I dove deeper into my new career, I realized it wasn't for me, so I stayed at my old job... and now I can't imagine ever going back to full-time, as my quality of life has risen exponentially and I finally have enough time and energy for my never-ending list of hobbies and side-projects.

Re: More bosses give four-day workweek a try

#272

Post by bcrosby95 »

burnte wrote: post #140
davidjtighe wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely see where you're coming from, but having kids changes the calculus completely.

Not necessarily. Most folks have kids, most folks I know that prefer four 10s have kids, and like having that fifth day off.

Young kids need 10-12 hours of sleep. 10 hours working, plus 1 hour lunch, and a 30 minute each way commute means your kids likely should literally be sleeping the whole time you're at home during a work day.

I don't know any parents that do that - literally never interact with their kids 4 days out of the week. What actually happens is parents sacrifice their kids' sleep schedule.

Re: More bosses give four-day workweek a try

#273

Post by james_s_tayler »

Ididntdothis wrote: post #191
andrekandre wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I had a manager at a startup tell me that conventional management assumes that engineers will only stay at a company for 18 months, so they really pile on the stress which is ironic, because isn’t that why people stay less and less longer at a company (can’t stand the slog)?

I think economically it may make sense to hire fresh people for less money, burn them out and then have them leave soon. This may be one reason for ageism .

The people I've seen add the most value and be the most productive are always the ones with the longest tenure. Because they know the software backwards and they know the domain too.

18 months is barely a blip on the radar.

Re: More bosses give four-day workweek a try

#274

Post by EpicEng »

glenneroo wrote: post #271
GordonS wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Around 5 years back, I went from 5 days a week to 4, taking a 20% paycut in the process. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made - it feels like I have so much more time for family, side projects and hobbies than I ever did before. And for reference, I work around 90% from home. TBH, the company I work for has got a pretty good deal out of this, as I'm sure my productivity hasn't dropped at all. (it's a mega…

A few years ago I seriously contemplated changing professions, so my boss allowed me to switch from full-time to 20 hours/week spread across 2-3 days. One immediate upside was that I only took a ~35% paycut due to being in a different tax bracket. As I dove deeper into my new career, I realized it wasn't for me, so I stayed at my old job... and now I can't imagine ever going back to full-time, as my quality of life h…

>One immediate upside was that I only took a ~35% paycut due to being in a different tax bracket.

Are you in the US? If so, you can't save money on taxes by making less; it's a progressive system.

Re: More bosses give four-day workweek a try

#275

Post by glenneroo »

EpicEng wrote: post #274
glenneroo wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A few years ago I seriously contemplated changing professions, so my boss allowed me to switch from full-time to 20 hours/week spread across 2-3 days. One immediate upside was that I only took a ~35% paycut due to being in a different tax bracket. As I dove deeper into my new career, I realized it wasn't for me, so I stayed at my old job... and now I can't imagine ever going back to full-time, as my quality of life h…

>One immediate upside was that I only took a ~35% paycut due to being in a different tax bracket. Are you in the US? If so, you can't save money on taxes by making less; it's a progressive system.

I guess that's another quality of life perk of working outside the US :)

Re: More bosses give four-day workweek a try

#276

Post by decebalus1 »

vonmoltke wrote: post #252
decebalus1 wrote: post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If during rush hour you can leave work at 5 then do a workout or an errand to get home by 6, then you either live in a village or you're a winged animal.

Not to mention your workout must be really short.

Not only that, but even after years of gym going and explicitly trying to find my most efficient workflow, the shower, changing to/from workout gear and driving to/from gym, makes each workout take 2 hours (1 hour training + 1 hour logistics overhead). 2.5 hours if I talk to my gym buddies or use the sauna/hot tub.

Re: More bosses give four-day workweek a try

#278

Post by EpicEng »

glenneroo wrote: post #275
EpicEng wrote: post #274

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>One immediate upside was that I only took a ~35% paycut due to being in a different tax bracket. Are you in the US? If so, you can't save money on taxes by making less; it's a progressive system.

I guess that's another quality of life perk of working outside the US :)

Well, I'd say the opposite... Here you'd be making more money.

Re: More bosses give four-day workweek a try

#279

Post by msds »

systemtest wrote: post #178
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 did it a bit different. For 2020, working four days gives me 204 workable days per year. Working five days gives me 255 workable days per year. What I do is that I work five days a week and around June-July I take ten weeks off. I have the same amount of working days per year with the same income but it feels like a godsend to have a yearly sabbatical of over 2 months during the best weather of the year. It reminds…

I do this too, but split between 5 weeks in the summer for PNW alpine climbing and 5 weeks in the winter for desert stuff in the SW, plus normal vacation for long weekend climbing trips and the obligatory holidays.

If I had children, taking the summer off with them seems great - it's a shame their vacation policy isn't flexible...

Re: More bosses give four-day workweek a try

#280

Post by notjustanymike »

bananamerica wrote: post #187
notjustanymike wrote: post #104

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.

Why Wednesday though?

So that you never have to spend more than 2 days a row in the office. It keeps the stress build up low.
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