# Full-timers: fewer hours or fewer days? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 19, 2015, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017 "2015-11-19T20:58:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/41 "2015-11-20T15:29:30Z")
I would love four 10’s. I am currently work five tens and some of those days are 11 or 12 hours. The only nice part about it is everything over 8 hours is overtime. I only have to work 3 more hours of overtime then I will meet my employer’s quota for overtime for the quarter. Anything over 128 hours in a quarter is then double time plus I can’t be designated for weekend overtime. Union membership has it’s privileges. ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/42 "2015-11-20T15:57:06Z")
I’d go with 4x10 over 5x7 in a heartbeat. Yes, it’s more time, but there’s other advantages to that. I used to have a 4x9 schedule, which is, frankly, the best compromise between those two, and I loved it. I would take Wednesdays off, so, unless there was a closure or I needed a different day off for some other reason, I never had to work more than two days in a row. It also meant I could do any appointments or shopping during the day and not have to use leave or deal with crowds. I even did my work out midday, which not only made it better, but also helped me avoid the crowds. Also consider that by having one less day of work, that’s one less day of commuting, which for some people is significant, not to mention expenses related to gas, parking, food, cleaning work clothes, etc. that are less. Adding all of that up alone, puts the savings in time and money alone at least on part with what I might save by working one less hour. Even moreso, I’d much rather have one extra day to do with what I please than one extra hour each day. One extra hour after work isn’t going to make a substantial difference to my life, maybe a little more leisure time on that night, but with that extra day I can actually use that to set aside a whole block of time to do something that could enrich my life, like working on a hobby, or whatever. So to make it even, and be willing to do that other, I’d have to end up ahead in terms of time and money investment. If I could work from home at least 2 or 3 days a week with the ability to flex my hours, then 5x7 becomes way more attractive. By that, I mean, if I need to do something midday, if I can just work from home, take a couple hours to do it, then finish the day, or if I need a day off being able to flex that within the pay period, then yeah, I’d go with 5x7 instead. Frankly, I really hope more jobs that are able to telecommute start pushing more in that direction, and less hours in total for everyone. I still think most people spend too much time at work and unnecessary time and energy commuting to work. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/43 "2015-11-20T16:08:41Z")
> [@MoonMoon](#): > > I’m with you. I’d love to work fewer days, but I can’t handle 10 hour days. Once upon a time, but no more. I’m with you and **yellowjacketcoder**. My brain can no longer handle a full 10 hours of work, and I would have constant migraines if I tried. (Over the summer, a major project had me working 11-12 hour days, but some of it was from home after a couple hours break; that was barely tolerable). If I could do that (say, 7 in the office, and 3 at home), that would be fine. Otherwise, I am utterly unproductive after 7.5 in the office. ---
**Author:** ![Macca26](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/13edae/32.png) [@Macca26](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Macca26)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/44 "2015-11-20T16:55:04Z")
I can’t do 10 hour days. My brain is already fried enough with a normal 8 hour day and I’d say I’m really only 100% productive for 6 of those hours usually. While I’d love to have 3 day weekends, one hour more for myself a day will work just as fine given the way I use my free time. That and it just makes sense financially to cut my hours for the same amount of pay rather than just shift my hours around for the same pay. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/45 "2015-11-20T17:21:52Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Fewer days. You save time by missing one whole round trip of commute, one whole day of work clothes, one fewer day of coffee and lunches. > > I don’t ever really feel like I need more hours in a day. But I often feel like I need more days away from work. Yeah, one day off would take two hours off my commute each week. Plus, I doubt I’d be that much more energetic coming back after 7 hours than 8. You can concentrate longer on stuff with an entire day - and you get to sleep later. ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/46 "2015-11-20T17:25:19Z")
5x7 for me - at least that way I’m getting something done for myself at night. 10 hour days become “work, commute, eat, sleep, repeat” far too easily, not to mention what happens if things go wrong and you have to work late. Also, the diminishing effectiveness thing that many others have mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/47 "2015-11-20T17:27:11Z")
Ten hour days? Those are for wimps. I used to work sixteen hour days in order to get two more days off every week. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/48 "2015-11-20T20:25:26Z")
I’d choose five seven-hour days. A ten-hour work day wouldn’t give me much time to get a workout in, but thinking back to when I’ve worked 10-hour days in the past, I’ve kept my workouts in, making those days nothing but workouts, work, and sleep, with very little time to unwind. I’d rather space it out, so each day I can work out, work, sleep, do laundry, empty the dishwasher, and read a book. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/49 "2015-11-20T23:47:28Z")
> [@ctywkr](#): > > However, if I had a choice, I would work my sisters shift. She’s a nurse and works 3 12 hour shifts and get paid for a 40 hour week. I have this option but three 12 hour shifts can be really punishing. The ward where I work has this shift arrangement available and mostly the younger ones love it because they get four days off a week instead of two but I prefer to stick with eight hour shifts because I’ve done 12s and they killed me. I got nothing else done while I was ‘on’ except work/sleep and ended up doing housework/cooking etc on my first two days off. I could do 12 hours at a desk but the pace of work in my ward can be frantic. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/50 "2015-11-21T00:21:41Z")
I’m my own boss, so it’s not just a hypothetical. For myself, it’s fewer hours and more days. In fact, I kind of like putting in 6-hour/6-day weeks. My employees get their choice during our slower seasons as long as they are there a minimum of 32 hours over at least 4 days. Most prefer to do 8-hour/4-day schedules but some like getting out of work early enough to pick up kids from school, so 6-hour/5-day gets some use. ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/51 "2015-11-21T00:26:08Z")
Without hesitation: 4 - 10hr days. Right now I work 32hrs/wk. 4 days in a row with one long 11 hour day, and then 3 off in a row. It suits me great. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/52 "2015-11-21T03:34:25Z")
I don’t really believe in scheduled hours. Since I choose to work 7 days a week, for the most part, I guess I would choose fewer hours per day spread over the maximum days for the hypothetical. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/53 "2015-11-21T03:39:14Z")
I actually work one of those. My current job is four 10-hour days. Have to say I like it a lot, after 20-odd years of 9-5. Some people have the Mon-Thursday shift and practically wet themselves with glee when we hit a Monday holiday. 🙂 the long days aren’t too much of a hassle, as I was Exempt at my last job and often got stuck working long days anyway, and I had a longer commute then as well. The downside is family assuming that extra time off is for _them_. ---
**Author:** ![SpyOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@SpyOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpyOne)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/54 "2015-11-21T13:56:20Z")
Well, first off those aren’t equal. In A (7 hours a day for 5 day), I’d be working 35 hours. In B (10 hours a day for 4 days) I’d be working 40. I would rather work 35 than 40. Back when I was 20, I switched to working 40 hours in 4 days, and I loved it. I didn’t actually work 4 ten-hour days: I did one 12 hour day, one 15 hour day, one 5 hour day, and one 8 hour day, then 3 days off. These days, I can barely make it through a 8-hour shift. After I’ve been standing for hours, my feet and ankles start to hurt. So, while I’d rather work 4 days than 5, I’d have to go with the 7 hour shifts, trading one day off for less pain each day. Normally, I am easily convinced to accept inconvenience for more money, but on this one I can’t really negotiate. I know my boss would gladly have me working 12 hour shifts, or working 6 days, or both, but I need the time off to recover , and I simply can’t work more than 8 hours a day. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/55 "2015-11-21T15:38:05Z")
DEFINITELY fewer days. “I hate going to work,” is more literal than most people realize. Going to work–getting up and doing all the stuff you got to do to get there–is more of a challenge than being at work. Once you’re there, it’s the same old thing. I’d rather work 4 12 hour days than work 7 8 hours days any week. ---
**Author:** ![albino\_manatee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/albino_manatee/32/2_2.png) [@albino\_manatee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/albino_manatee)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/56 "2015-11-21T23:04:53Z")
4/10 for me … on the premise eight-hour days are not long enough … and weekends are not long enough. there’s also the psychological and sociological stigmas. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/57 "2015-11-22T14:21:00Z")
I used to work 4 / 10 for a couple of years and loved it. I’m the kind of guy who is pretty spent after a normal 8-hour day, and had my reservations, but after the first week of actually doing it, I wouldn’t have changed it for anything. Yeah, those ten-hour days can get a bit tedious, but knowledge of the freedom right around the corner carries you through. Every weekend was an extra-long weekend! A great boon for any hobby, travel, shopping etc. Seems to me here the people who have done it agree it is great; the opposition comes from those who have not. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/58 "2015-11-22T14:26:25Z")
I used to work 4 / 10 for a couple of years and loved it. I’m the kind of guy who is pretty spent after a normal 8-hour day, and had my reservations, but after the first week of actually doing it, I wouldn’t have changed it for anything. Yeah, those ten-hour days can get a bit tedious, but knowledge of the freedom right around the corner carries you through. Every weekend was an extra-long weekend! A great boon for any hobby, travel, shopping etc. Seems to me here people who have done it agree it is great; the opposition comes from those who have not. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/59 "2015-11-22T14:34:29Z")
I pick the 4 day week, because having a 3 day weekend each week would help counter burnout. Plus you do not have to spend hours prepping for work, commuting to/from work and decompressing from work on a non-work day. Those activities can easily take 2-5 hours a day. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2015, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017/60 "2015-11-22T14:36:11Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > DEFINITELY fewer days. “I hate going to work,” is more literal than most people realize. Going to work–getting up and doing all the stuff you got to do to get there–is more of a challenge than being at work. Once you’re there, it’s the same old thing. > > I’d rather work 4 12 hour days than work 7 8 hours days any week. I’ve worked 6, 8, 10 and 12 hour days at various points. Going from 8 to 10 is not hard, however going from 10 to 12 is a little harder. With a 10 hour day you still have time to decompress from work, with a 12 hour day you are much more spent psychologically in my experience because work and work related activities take up all your waking hours. Doing 3-4 10 hour days a week is (much) easier than doing 3-4 12 hour days. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/full-timers-fewer-hours-or-fewer-days/738017.md?page=4)