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Unpopular opinion: Weekdays/weekend split isn't for everyone

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Re: Unpopular opinion: Weekdays/weekend split isn't for everyone

#11

Post by ghaff »

skohan wrote: post #8
ghaff wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And to show how much of this is personal, during normal times, I'd consider a singleton day in the middle of the week an incredible waste relative to 3-day weekend (or even better a 4-day weekend once every two weeks) so that I could travel places.

The Wednesday off is not so bad for this; 2 vacation days and you're looking at a 5 day holiday

Sure, any arbitrary day off can be bridged to a weekend using vacation days. But normally I overwhelmingly use my vacation time for week or multi-week trips plus maybe some days around business travel.

Re: Unpopular opinion: Weekdays/weekend split isn't for everyone

#12

Post by amelius »

colmvp wrote: post #3

I tend to agree. There are some days in the week when I'm not checked in mentally and very unproductive. During those days, I'm better served to either sleep more or do something light to recharge for the next day/later in the week. And then there are some days including the weekend where I can code for the entire day non-stop and feel energetic. I still think having standardized days for working and rest is best for…

But perhaps you feel energetic during the weekend because there is less pressure. Or less distraction.

If we standardize on seven day work-weeks then some of those benefits may be gone.

Re: Unpopular opinion: Weekdays/weekend split isn't for everyone

#13

Post by User23 »

tolbish wrote: post #5

That is an unpopular opinion in the same way that saying "The 40 hour work week isn't for everyone" is an unpopular opinion.

Especially since it's observably true that for knowledge workers, almost nobody actually spends even close to a full percentage of their work hours doing the work in their job description. The productivity loss from requiring say 30 hours a week a week instead of 40 would be significantly less than a 25% decrease. In fact I wouldn't bet against a gain in total productivity.

Re: Unpopular opinion: Weekdays/weekend split isn't for everyone

#14

Post by User23 »

colmvp wrote: post #3

I tend to agree. There are some days in the week when I'm not checked in mentally and very unproductive. During those days, I'm better served to either sleep more or do something light to recharge for the next day/later in the week. And then there are some days including the weekend where I can code for the entire day non-stop and feel energetic. I still think having standardized days for working and rest is best for…

When I was at Big Tech Company I would just tell my boss if I was having one of those days and make it up on the weekend rather than using PTO. It was never a problem. It's amazing how much a good professional relationship with management helps.

Re: Unpopular opinion: Weekdays/weekend split isn't for everyone

#15

Post by brw »

skohan wrote: post #4

I currently work a 4 day week with Wednesdays off and it's like magic

Same here! Wednesday used to be the day I had college while working four days a week but when I quit college it just became my day off. I find that it works quite well for me while most of my colleagues seem to prefer having a three day weekend with either Friday or Monday being their day off.

I suppose there's pros and cons to either approach (which I haven't really researched at all yet) but to me right now breaking up a continuous stream of work days makes total sense (while still fitting for the 9-5 custom, which I, like many people, don't prefer but I haven't had any better opportunities yet).

Re: Unpopular opinion: Weekdays/weekend split isn't for everyone

#17

Post by maxerickson »

User23 wrote: post #13
tolbish wrote: post #5

That is an unpopular opinion in the same way that saying "The 40 hour work week isn't for everyone" is an unpopular opinion.

Especially since it's observably true that for knowledge workers, almost nobody actually spends even close to a full percentage of their work hours doing the work in their job description. The productivity loss from requiring say 30 hours a week a week instead of 40 would be significantly less than a 25% decrease. In fact I wouldn't bet against a gain in total productivity.

I've been furloughed down to 32 hours a week for 5 months (mostly taking 3 day weekends). It has had a noticeable (downward) impact on tempo, but we aren't necessary looking for ways to make it the permanent way to organize the week either.

It would be hard to sell me on taking Wednesday off, but I can see where people with more obligations would get a lot out of an arrangement like that.

Re: Unpopular opinion: Weekdays/weekend split isn't for everyone

#19

Post by the__alchemist »

docdeek wrote: post #16

Absolutely agree but it would be darn hard to manage with kids. I might be more productive on a Saturday than on a Tuesday, but hard to explain to the kids that you'll miss half the weekend because I wrote better on Saturdays than on Tuesdays.

This is one of the bigger effects of the general downside that social interactions may become difficult, depending on your circles.

Re: Unpopular opinion: Weekdays/weekend split isn't for everyone

#20

Post by steelframe »

mkl95 wrote: post #10

I worked for a startup that had an internal "story point meter" that would go up as you closed your tickets. The goal was to pressure employees into completing a certain number of story points per week the CEO considered a good number for a productive employee. Needless to say, this didn't work as intended, and the workforce was split between those who didn't care about it (higher ups) and those who maxed up their me…

As a software engineering manager, I put a story-point-based method of task size estimation and team velocity measurement in place about two years ago. A stipulation of this was that at no time would any one developer have their story point velocity assessed.

The purpose of this system is to provide the team with a powerful tool that it needs in order to set a realistic timeline on team deliverables, such as a launch milestone or a new feature. The ability of the story point methodology to have predictive power is destroyed when people are incentivized to gamify it.

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