Would you prefer a 4 day week?

[Miss Chicken]

This really only applies to people who work full-time and who work in industries/services where it is feasible.

The Gambia has shortened the work week, making Friday a day of rest. Is this the perfect pattern for a working week?

In the tiny African nation of The Gambia, public sector workers will now clock in at 8am and clock out at 6pm, Monday to Thursday. They'll still do a 40-hour week but have the luxury of Friday off.

and

In 2008, about 17,000 government officials in the US state of Utah started working four 10-hour days in a bid to cut costs. The experiment didn't last: the five-day week was reinstated in 2011.

Other US states have also toyed with the idea. Oregon and Texas legislators considered - but did not pass - four-day work week bills, while Georgia and Virginia have trialled it at a handful of agencies.

The four-day week is also popular in the Netherlands, where one in three men either works part-time or 40 hours in four days. In the UK, certain professions - journalists among them - have often worked a four-day week of longer shifts.

Rest of story here

In Australia the standard working week is 38 hours so the 4 day working day would only be 9 1/2 hours long not 10 hours long.

 

[TEACAKE'S PLEATHER DOME]

I wish there was a 4 day week for school. The school week being designed around babysitting for the work week means a lot of it s a waste of time.

 

[ManOnTheWave]

When I was in college, one semester I scheduled my classes so that I had a four day week. I found that it made me rather lazy.

 

[Spot's Meow]

Yes yes YES! I have been advocating a 4-day work week forever, though I'd prefer to have Wednesdays off instead of a 3-day weekend. I hate the 40 hour work week and think that it's just slightly more than we should all have to deal with. Instead of 10-hour days, I think that the world, or at least my country, should run on a 32 hour work week with four 8-hour days. Obviously this doesn't affect every type of job, but I just feel like a 40 hour work week is too much. It makes me sad that people can't spend more time with their children, families, hobbies, passions, etc. I think that Americans simply work too much and that we would all be happier and healthier this way.

 

[B.J.]

I wouldn't mind it if I could get used to it. I have a hard time going beyond the normal 8 hours and not get overly tired. My employer does make it an option to work 9 days/80 hours over a 2 week period, getting every other Friday off. But with kids in school and daycare, I really can't go past 8 hours in a day and still be able to drop them off and pick them up.

 

[Shatinator]

Actually, for over eight years I have been employed using a 4 day 10 hour day week, soon I will be moving to a 3 day 12 hour day week, to balance with my education pursuits. I have done this before, so it is not completely new, it works out well for me even factoring in a 45 minute commute, one way. Though, I am with out children, which would most likely not be achievable with this type of schedule or at least as easily.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

I used to work a four-10-hour-day work week when I was younger. I loved it.

You go in and get out slightly ahead of and behind the worst traffic, which is especially important in Southern California if you have to commute.

Your party night recovery time becomes Friday morning instead of Saturday, letting you have a full two days+ from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening to take a short driving trip if you want (which I did a lot, especially to Vegas, the mountains to camp out, and Tijuana before it became really cartel-ey), or a three-day trip if you head out Thursday evening after work.

You're physically and mentally more relaxed after the extra day off and return to work with a better mindset and are more productive as a result.

The extra hour before and hour afterward are not significantly more taxing than an eight-hour work day, especially with an hour lunch and two breaks.

 

[RoJoHen]

I have always thought that four 10-hour days would be a lot better than five 8-hour days. Hell, I'd even work three 12-hour days and take four days off!

My current schedule is obnoxious, but I used to work a standard 5-day week, and the 2-day weekend never seemed like enough. The first day is always wasted.

 

[Shazam!]

I'd rather just work one 37 1/2 hour shift and then have the rest of the week off.

 

[thestrangequark]

At my work we do summer hours, which is an optional 4/40 week during the summer months. I love it!

 

[JarodRussell]

I love 4 day weeks.

I also love working at home. Seems I'm not an office guy.

 

[RoJoHen]

I love 4 day weeks.

I also love working at home. Seems I'm not an office guy.

I miss having an office, but I don't actually like working in an office.

 

[Amaris]

When I worked at Dell, we had three 12 hour days, and then four days off. It was awesome.

 

[JarodRussell]

I find that I'm incredibly productive when I'm working at my own pace. Sometimes I can do in 4 hours at home what I would do in 10 hours at the office.
Worst thing is when you get sleepy and there's no chance of taking even a 15 minute nap. So you're wasted the entire rest of the day.

 

[Spot's Meow]

I love 4 day weeks.

I also love working at home. Seems I'm not an office guy.

Well, I doubt most folks are "office people." I would love to work from home, I think it would make me much more productive, but it just wouldn't be possible with the work I do.

 

[Melakon]

In one of the old Three Stooges shorts, Moe (maybe as Hitler) promises a 2-hour week.

 

[JoeZhang]

Working at home is fine but you can get cut out of the loop of the organisational politics which are often more important that your actual work.

 

[Warp Coil]

In my current job, with my current schedule? Probably not. I work 9a-5p, Thursday - Monday (with Tuesday-Wednesday off). In order to accommodate a four-day work week, I would theoretically work 8a-6p and I'd gain an extra day off (Monday or Thursday). That would severely limit my free time in the evenings. Plus, what the hell am I going to do with a day off on a Thursday or something? None of my friends are off. I'd probably be bored.

 

[RoJoHen]

In my current job, with my current schedule? Probably not. I work 9a-5p, Thursday - Monday (with Tuesday-Wednesday off). In order to accommodate a four-day work week, I would theoretically work 8a-6p and I'd gain an extra day off (Monday or Thursday). That would severely limit my free time in the evenings. Plus, what the hell am I going to do with a day off on a Thursday or something? None of my friends are off. I'd probably be bored.

What if you threw your extra day off into the middle of your work week? Just because you have 3 days off doesn't necessarily mean they need to be consecutive.

I rarely work more than 3 days in a row. I love it.

 

[Sakrysta]

Yes yes yes! I'm always exhausted at the end of a work day anyway. I don't see how 2 more hours would change that. And on weekends, I always end up using most of Saturday to recover, and spend most of Sunday in church-related activities. If I could have Mondays or Fridays, I might actually clean my house once in a while.