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Oooh - I'd kill for a four day week...

nytimes.com

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Re: Oooh - I'd kill for a four day week...

#11

Post by cubicle67 »

I work between 25 and 30 hours a week. I don't earn a great income, especially compared to figures mentioned here, but it's enough to pay the bills and I'd rather spend more time at home than at work.

It works because we have a very modest house with an equally modest mortgage. We own the car, my wife runs a very tight budget and we don't have many other outgoings. Our largest expense (greater than the mortgage payments) are school fees; we send our 4 kids to a Montessori school but we're happy to pay the money because we can afford it (just) and it's something we both strongly believe in

The downside to the extra time I have, is that I haven't exactly used it wisely - in fact I've mostly squandered it, which makes me sad looking back at the year gone by.

Re: Oooh - I'd kill for a four day week...

#12

Post by thomie »

wccrawford wrote: post #4
duck wrote: post #3

I work a four day week, 10 hours a day (which I am thinking is different from the article's example) and love it. However, I've seen a dozen plus others try it and all switch back so it obviously isn't for everyone.

Actually, it does talk about squeezing a whole week's work into 4 days, so it's probably 4 10-hour days as well. I've considered it, but I know my productivity sags at the 8 hour mark as it is, so I don't think it's a good fit for me or the company.

"Seventy-five percent of Dutch women now work part time, compared to 41 percent in other European Union countries and 23 percent in the United States"

"Twenty-three percent of Dutch men have reduced hours, compared to 10 percent across the European Union and in the United States; another nine percent work a full week in four days."

Re: Oooh - I'd kill for a four day week...

#13

Post by oscardelben »

cubicle67 wrote: post #11

I work between 25 and 30 hours a week. I don't earn a great income, especially compared to figures mentioned here, but it's enough to pay the bills and I'd rather spend more time at home than at work. It works because we have a very modest house with an equally modest mortgage. We own the car, my wife runs a very tight budget and we don't have many other outgoings. Our largest expense (greater than the mortgage payme…

Don't worry about the past. What can you do from now on with the extra time?

Re: Oooh - I'd kill for a four day week...

#14

Post by hpaavola »

Two years ago I switched to 30 hour week, and there is no way I'm going back. I'm happier, in better shape and get so much more done at home.

I do understand why people work like crazy, they have huge mortgages or other loans. I cut my hours before taking huge loan (I have smallish student loan to pay), so I just need to adjust my future house/apartment to my income. It's much more easier this way, than to first take huge loan and the trying to cut hours.

But for my friends who don't have that much debt, I always recommend them to work less. Here in Finland we have quite heavy progression in income tax. It makes the pay cut smaller, since your tax percentage goes down. And if you have small kids, kindergartner bills goes also down, since you can pick them up earlier.

It's amazing how big difference two hours a day can make. Nowadays I exercise at least three times a week (I lost 10 kilos this fall, yay!), I cook better and healthier food and do some programming as a hobby.

Before cutting my hours, I made more or less average pay, now my salary is pretty much the same as median salary.

And I don't think I get any less done at work than I used to. I'm quality assurance engineer and I don't believe that anyone can really be productive for 8 hours a day in non-trivial tasks.

Re: Oooh - I'd kill for a four day week...

#15

Post by cubicle67 »

oscardelben wrote: post #13
cubicle67 wrote: post #11

I work between 25 and 30 hours a week. I don't earn a great income, especially compared to figures mentioned here, but it's enough to pay the bills and I'd rather spend more time at home than at work. It works because we have a very modest house with an equally modest mortgage. We own the car, my wife runs a very tight budget and we don't have many other outgoings. Our largest expense (greater than the mortgage payme…

Don't worry about the past. What can you do from now on with the extra time?

perhaps not spend my Thursday evening on HN? :)

Re: Oooh - I'd kill for a four day week...

#17

Post by jth213 »

cstross wrote: post #6
duck wrote: post #3

I work a four day week, 10 hours a day (which I am thinking is different from the article's example) and love it. However, I've seen a dozen plus others try it and all switch back so it obviously isn't for everyone.

Years ago, I had a job where I had a four day week. (Actually four days a week every week, and an extra half day one week in three.) The trouble was, the extra couple of hours per day wore me down; after four days on, I needed an extra day just to get over the cumulative fatigue before I could enjoy the weekend. The best single thing you can do to reduce working fatigue is to minimize your commuting time. If you comm…

I've found the same thing with my 4/40 schedule. By Thursday night, I'm wiped out, and I can't imagine having to go to work on Friday. But it is nice having 3 day weekends. I may switch back to a 5/40 schedule when DST begins. As it is now, I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark.

Re: Oooh - I'd kill for a four day week...

#18

Post by xcvgreghre »

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Re: Oooh - I'd kill for a four day week...

#19

Post by SkyMarshal »

cubicle67 wrote: post #15
oscardelben wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't worry about the past. What can you do from now on with the extra time?

perhaps not spend my Thursday evening on HN? :)

Sideproject! Expose yourself to the possibility of serendipity, no matter how remote. :)

Re: Oooh - I'd kill for a four day week...

#20

Post by tybris »

Also, high-tech industry is in a sad state in the Netherlands. Large IT projects fail at a remarkably high rate. Successful start-ups move out. Foreign tech corporations settle only for localization and catching a tax break. There is not much of an engineering culture. Salaries are generally low, venture capital non-existent. I moved abroad.

Ironically, Dutch engineering education is among the best of the world, but after college, there's nothing that keeps computer engineers like Dijkstra, van Renesse, Vogels, Kaashoek, Moolenaar and van Rossum at home.

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