I guess part-timers can answer in the hypothetical
Let’s say, by the deus ex machina of your choice, that your boss has decided in his or her benevolence that you guys have been working too hard, and you deserve some nicer schedules. But, he’s conflicted about how to implement this, and through the decisive power of drawing a name out of a hat, he’s chosen you to make this choice.
Would you rather:
A) Work 7 hours a day instead of 8, the normal 5 days a week?
or
B) Work 10 hours a day, but only 4 days that week (the day off is up to you).
Salary will remain the same either way.
There’s not a poll, because whatever you pick I’m more interested in the reasons why. And also how much the pot would have to be sweetened to make you change your mind (For instance, if you picked B, would you still do that if the A option was 6 hours a week? What about 5? If you picked A, what if it was 40 hours but you pick the day/time break down?).
No motivation for this other than I’m curious if you guys will end up picking the same way I would.
So your option is work 35 hours a week over 5 days OR work 40 hours a week over 4 days, for the same amount of pay.
Since I would likely end up working more than the 7 hours a day while in the office for the 5 days…I would pick the 4 day work week, as I’m normally here about 10 hours a day for 5 days a week.
I want to work more hours in fewer days, please and thank you.
The reason is that I started working in food-service, and I was the manager, and I was on salary - a SHORT day for me was 10 hours. I currently work for the government, and they literally shit bricks if I work too much in a day, or god forbid over a whole week. It’s ridiculous, and makes it difficult to get appointments or errands done.
I don’t mind working long hard days, I just want a decent amount of days off to get my own stuff accomplished.
I actually used to do a 4x10 hour work week once. I loved it! I worked Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. It was genuinely amazing how much that extra day off improved my quality of life. I got so much more done, I became much more organised, and I was more relaxed and productive on the days I was in the office. If it hadn’t been a temp job I’d still be there, just for the hours. People go on and on (and for good reason!) about struggling with work/life balance. Well, the 4x10 shift pattern is how you get it. 4x10 is so much better than 5x8, or 5x7 for that matter.
I’d go for 4 x 10 hour days. I don’t know how I’d get the job done with that drastic a cut in hours, but I assume that’s handled somewhere in the hypothetical.
The question is rather weird but I’d take the 5 7 hour days for the same money in a heart beat. Less hours worked and more time in the evenings at home.
I had one job where we did 12 hour days 6am to 6pm and one 8 hour day to get to the 80 hours in the two week pay period.
Let’s assume for purposes of the hypothetical that your boss already has you working a normal 40 hour week and not some marathon 90 hour week that’s just going to get compressed.
(although seriously, that is not normal in many industries. I usually do about 38 and when my boss at my last job suggested I could do 50 to get overtime I laughed at him)
Best work schedule I ever had was 9 hour days, leave an hour early on the second thursday, and take that Friday off.
Having a weekday off when all the 9-5 M-F businesses are open, or you can schedule the plumber to come, etc. etc. was awesome.
Even better was in the summer I’d take a day of vacation and turn every second weekend into four days. And I’d pick my off-friday carefully so that holiday’s made four days without burning a vacation day, or make it 5 days off.
I already have trouble doing a solid 8 hours of work in a day, so I would vote for the shorter workday. I have a desk/brain job, and my brain gets fried after around 6 hours.
I’m currently required to work a 37.5 hour week. I’d honestly be inclined to turn it into 3 days of 12.5 hours each. Put me down for 7:30 AM - 8:30 PM with a half-hour lunch, Monday through Wednesday. But if I can’t have that, obviously I’d take the 4/9.375 schedule. Probably Monday through Thursday from 7:30 AM - 5:00 PM.
As for convincing me to take the shorter work day instead, I think it would have to get knocked way, way down. Enough that I could come in fairly early and then leave early enough to go home by lunch. So, four hours a day from 8 AM - noon.
Is this supposed to be an honest question in which both options equal “less” work than the status quo?
In my - non American - experience the choice between 5x8 or 4x9 (with less vacation days) is a standard choice that many people can choose to their liking. Official working weeks are 36 hours, but if you work 5 days (at an assumed 8 hours) you get extra vacation days.
Having a full day off means so much more then a single hour does. I can get way more accomplished in either hours unbroken then I can in 5 one hour increments. 4 tens is my favorite schedule and really after meeting and all of the stupid drop in conversations in takes 10 hours to do 8 worth of work any how.
As far as how to value the difference inbetween I think I’d look atat is as vacation days. If you start with ten days vacation on the 5x 40 plan you would move to 60 days of vacation on the 4 x 40 plan. Or if you start with 80 hours on 5 x 40 you would move to 330 hours of vacation on 5 x 35. In a direct comparison you’s have 480 hours with 4 x 10 vs 330 wouldor about 45% more paid time off or 18 days. i’d want at least a 7% raise to work 5 x 7 and I’d probably ask for 10%.
4 x 10s in a landslide - 3 x 12s if I could get it.
Neither is likely in my chosen profession, but I’ve had those schedules before and they were amazing for me. I tend not to suffer from brain fatigue at the office (I have a desk job), and having a whole day (or days) off during the week in which to get things done would be outstandingly convenient.
No more screwing around with sick or vacation time if I need to have a doctor’s appointment or dentist appointment or an oil change or schedule services guys or workmen at my house or take a cat to the vet or do any of a thousand routine tasks that are either difficult to get done on weekends. How many doctor’s offices are open for routine appointments on Saturdays? How often do you have to schedule out weeks or months in advance to get a weekend slot because most of the world wants a weekend slot also?
Also, I am not a morning person. Therefore any day in which I can sleep in is a good day.
I’m almost about to do this. My boss offered me part time if I put off retirement a bit. If I work over 30 hours a week I get full benefits, which is a good deal. I thought of 5 6 hour days, but I’m going to do 4 8 hour days instead.
I have worked 12 hour days (on salary, so no OT) and the last few hours no one did anything useful. It was all “voluntary” (hah) and basically our top management showing we were really working hard on our doomed project. Even 10 hours of creative work is impossible - you’d be reading the Dope before you were done, and so getting money for nothing. So in the scenario I’d do 4 x 10.
