If you worked a four day week…

[SDS]

Would you go for the long weekend or split up the work week?

[teef]

i do work a 4 day week.  every week.  fridays are my day off.  there's a good chance i'm in my office at some point during the weekend, but i'll never go back to working a full 5 day week.   the plan is to hire someone else going forward and working 3.  i'm too young for that now, but that's the plan.

[Patrick Duffy]

Friday. I used to work a 4 day work week and had off every Friday. It was great. Actually had time to get ***** done.

[teef]

3 minutes ago, Patrick_Duffy said:

Friday. I used to work a 4 day work week and had off every Friday. It was great. Actually had time to get ***** done.

this is the key.  it's amazing what you can get done with that one extra day.  

[Patrick Duffy]

1 minute ago, teef said:

this is the key.  it's amazing what you can get done with that one extra day.  

Yup, the 2 days seem to go by too fast. Need Saturday to recover, Sunday you want to get stuff done but don't want to wear yourself out b/c you have to work the next day, so you try to chill a little on Sunday (especially during football season). Friday off was great.

 

However if one happens to be unemployed then the weekends and days off are meaningless.

[ExiledInIllinois]

What if you work a 3 day week? 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

Well, I already get every other Friday off.  

 

During football season (like this month) I'd make it Monday.  

[ExiledInIllinois]

26 minutes ago, SDS said:

Would you go for the long weekend or split up the work week?

Long weekend. Every time.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

1 minute ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

What if you work a 3 day week? 

 

They call that part time or Semi Retired. 

[Patrick Duffy]

Just now, ExiledInIllinois said:

What if you work a 3 day week? 

Then I'd prefer Friday and Monday. That's just me.

[May Day 10]

I worked M-Th 10 hours/day for awhile.  It was amazing.  I would do that forever if I could.  Honestly I believe I was way more productive.

[DrDawkinstein]

Friday is my first choice. Have done this in the past and it worked very well.

 

I could see going with Monday as well. Ease back into the week, not have to worry about football hangovers (and much easier to travel for the games).

 

I had tried mid-week days as well, but they were just momentum killers, and I found I was still working and answering emails on my day off. Much easier to draw that line and disconnect when it simply extends the weekend.

[ExiledInIllinois]

1 minute ago, Patrick_Duffy said:

Then I'd prefer Friday and Monday. That's just me.

I'd always choose to work the long week.  During COVID, worked 7 12s on, 7 12s off.  And still got 4 hours OT every 2 weeks.

1 minute ago, May Day 10 said:

I worked M-Th 10 hours/day for awhile.  It was amazing.  I would do that forever if I could.  Honestly I believe I was way more productive.

Drive less too.   Less fuel...  3 12s even better. Every 2 weeks take 8 vacation day earned.

[Greg S]

Voted Friday. Long weekend all year long.

[teef]

33 minutes ago, May Day 10 said:

I worked M-Th 10 hours/day for awhile.  It was amazing.  I would do that forever if I could.  Honestly I believe I was way more productive.

this is the other positive end of it.  i've found myself to by far more productive working the 4 days vs 5.  i've had friends who have had consultants come into their offices to work on their scheduling, and often they're told to shorten the days.  everyone is scared to do it due to a drop off in production, but production always goes up.

[SDS]

2 minutes ago, teef said:

this is the other positive end of it.  i've found myself to by far more productive working the 4 days vs 5.  i've had friends who have had consultants come into their offices to work on their scheduling, and often they're told to shorten the days.  everyone is scared to do it due to a drop off in production, but production always goes up.

as long as your schedule is filled in a dentist office, what does it mean to be productive?

[LewPort71]

I am retired. So y'all keep working and feeding into Social Security.

 

I wudda voted for Friday as the day off.

 

[teef]

1 hour ago, SDS said:

as long as your schedule is filled in a dentist office, what does it mean to be productive?

having a full schedule is part of it, but it can work against you.  one of the reasons we've become so busy is that we tell patients that if there's a problem, to call that day and get you in.  we're not sure what we can get done, but we can diagnose the problem, and likely take you out of discomfort.  some days get wildly busy due to it, but not productive.  i'll work 8-5 straight without a lunch putting out fires.  I'm not doing much in terms of billable procedures other than films and exams.  i'll be exhausted at the end of the day, with no real production to show for it.  

 

i break things down into hours.  for example, i can place an implant in less than an hour, and we charge $1700-1800 for the body of the implant.  since it usually take me less than an hour, a team member will ask me if it's ok to put a broken filling at the end of of that appointment.  i'll finish up in one room, jump to the other, and make another $200 on the filling.  when i was working 5-5 1/2 days a week, i would typically be too tired to sneak in that extra procedure.  working less motivates me to run a tighter schedule, and be more productive per hour, (if that makes any sense).  

Edited December 3, 2020 by teef

[SDS]

2 minutes ago, teef said:

have a full schedule is part of it, but it can work against you.  one of the reasons we've become so busy is that we tell patients that if there's a problem, to call that day and get you in.  we're not sure what we can get done, but we can diagnose the problem, and likely take you out of discomfort.  some days get wildly busy due to it, but not productive.  i'll work 8-5 straight without a lunch putting out fires.  I'm not doing much in terms of billable procedures other than films and exams.  i'll be exhausted at the end of the day, with no real production to show for it.  

 

i break things down into hours.  for example, i can place an implant in less than an hour, and we charge $1700-1800 for the body of the implant.  since it usually take me less than an hour, a team member will ask me if it's ok to put a broken filling at the end of of that appointment.  i'll finish up in one room, jump to the other, and make another $200 on the filling.  when i was working 5-5 1/2 days a week, i would typically be too tired to sneak in that extra procedure.  working less motivates me to run a tighter schedule, and be more productive per hour, (if that makes any sense).  

Great answer! I was truly wondering…

[Gugny]

I was torn between Wednesday and Friday.

 

I ended up choosing Wednesday, because I'd like the midweek break and it's just a good day to get non-work-related stuff done.  Ideally, my weekends are for fun/relaxation.  A day off during the week would allow me to go to appts., do yardwork, stuff around the house, etc., and Saturday/Sunday would be free and easy.

[The Jokeman]

4 minutes ago, Gugny said:

I was torn between Wednesday and Friday.

 

I ended up choosing Wednesday, because I'd like the midweek break and it's just a good day to get non-work-related stuff done.  Ideally, my weekends are for fun/relaxation.  A day off during the week would allow me to go to appts., do yardwork, stuff around the house, etc., and Saturday/Sunday would be free and easy.

I agree with the mid week day off is best for appointments and like the break up of never working 2 more days in a row.  

[Figster]

I liked Fridays off, then work on Friday when needed for overtime.

[ExiledInIllinois]

6 minutes ago, Gugny said:

I was torn between Wednesday and Friday.

 

I ended up choosing Wednesday, because I'd like the midweek break and it's just a good day to get non-work-related stuff done.  Ideally, my weekends are for fun/relaxation.  A day off during the week would allow me to go to appts., do yardwork, stuff around the house, etc., and Saturday/Sunday would be free and easy.

That reminds me, I gotta get up and shower... Go to work today...Since I have been regularly scheduled off since last week.  😜 

[Gugny]

Just now, ExiledInIllinois said:

That reminds me, I gotta get up and shower... Go to work today...Since I have been regularly scheduled off since last week.  😜 

 

You shouldn't even be allowed to post in this thread.

[ExiledInIllinois]

1 minute ago, Gugny said:

 

You shouldn't even be allowed to post in this thread.

I didn't vote.  I don't want to commit fraud.

[Figster]

4 minutes ago, The Jokeman said:

I agree with the mid week day off is best for appointments and like the break up of never working 2 more days in a row.  

3 days off together allows for travel and recreation better IMO.

Edited December 3, 2020 by Figster

[The Jokeman]

Just now, Figster said:

3 days off together allows for travel and recreation IMo.

True that's when you use PTO to get a 4 days off in a row lol

[Gugny]

1 minute ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

I didn't vote.  I don't want to commit fraud.

 

@BringBackFergy/Tipster/IceBowl67 is gonna vote three times!!!!!!!!!!

[Seasons1992]

1 hour ago, teef said:

i do work a 4 day week.  every week.  fridays are my day off.  there's a good chance i'm in my office at some point during the weekend, but i'll never go back to working a full 5 day week.   the plan is to hire someone else going forward and working 3.  i'm too young for that now, but that's the plan.

 

***actual footage of teef***

 

[GoBills808]

1 hour ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

What if you work a 3 day week? 

What if you work a 7 day week

[ExiledInIllinois]

1 minute ago, GoBills808 said:

What if you work a 7 day week

I do that too!  Figure this one out:

 

Work:

 

Sun, Mon, Tues, Sometimes Wed. 

 

Off to FOLLOWING Thurs, Fri, Sat.

 

Do the math,  that's 7 days in a row.  7 days off.  😆 

[Bill from NYC]

Mondays off are great. It feels like the rest of the world has to go back to work while you are just hanging out.

[ocemur]

I used to work four ten hour days, Wed, Thu, Fri and Sat. It was a really physical job, so Sunday was recover, Mon and Tues was for getting stuff done when all other businesses were open. It's definitely the way to go if you can. Most of the benefits have been covered by other posters but let me just add this one. I never called off on Saturday. Not once in ten years. Why? because I always felt like I could drag myself through one more day to get to the 3 day weekend. No matter how crappy the week was I always walked out of that place on Saturday trying not laugh because it felt like I was getting away with something.

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

A maintenance department I worked in went to straight dayshift 4 X 10 hrs. instead of 5 X 8 hrs.  Half that crew had Mondays off, the other half Fridays.  The afternoon skeleton crew stayed 5 X 8 hrs.

*
At the same employer, the long serving veteran in the truck weigh scale house claimed his supervisor dragged him into an office for a talk about his attendance.  "Why do you only work four days a week?!" thundered the foreman.  "Because I can't afford to live on three" was the scale man's reply.  He swore it happened, but in later years I've seen this published as an anecdote.

[DrDawkinstein]

Back in one of my first management jobs I had an employee on my team who had been with the company for almost 20 years, and therefore had something like 6 weeks (30 days) PTO every year.

 

It was a real eye-opening game changer when he submitted his request to schedule off every Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day. It's 15 days. Gave him a long weekend all summer to be with his family and plan trips, and he still had 2 weeks of PTO left over for the rest of the year.

 

I was a young buck and up until then it had never crossed my mind to do something like that with PTO. We had the coverage so I happily approved it. Really an ingenious move, imo.

[teef]

1 hour ago, Seasons1992 said:

 

***actual footage of teef***

 

i have better hair than that character!

 

 

one thing we didn't mention was out of work time that's work.  i spend probably another 5 hours a week doing paper work.  it's not a ton, but it adds onto the work week.

Edited December 3, 2020 by teef

[Nextmanup]

3 hours ago, SDS said:

Would you go for the long weekend or split up the work week?

Long weekend.

 

Adding the day off to the weekend gives you a solid 3 day period away from work; recharges the batteries and that makes a difference.

Also makes for a noticeably shorter work week.  "Friday" (Thursday) comes awfully quickly each week when you are used to a 5 day work week.

 

Using the day off on, say, a Wednesday, wastes it.

 

 

[The Jokeman]

1 hour ago, DrDawkinstein said:

Back in one of my first management jobs I had an employee on my team who had been with the company for almost 20 years, and therefore had something like 6 weeks (30 days) PTO every year.

 

It was a real eye-opening game changer when he submitted his request to schedule off every Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day. It's 15 days. Gave him a long weekend all summer to be with his family and plan trips, and he still had 2 weeks of PTO left over for the rest of the year.

 

I was a young buck and up until then it had never crossed my mind to do something like that with PTO. We had the coverage so I happily approved it. Really an ingenious move, imo.

I've been at my company for 15 plus years and get 25 vacation days off yearly and took off every Friday off in December this year.  

[ExiledInIllinois]

11 minutes ago, The Jokeman said:

I've been at my company for 15 plus years and get 25 vacation days off yearly and took off every Friday off in December this year.  

That's what I do to work 3 days a week.   6 days every fortnight pay period.  One day every two weeks I take off 8 hours.  6x12=72+8=80.  Every two weeks I earn 8 hours leave.  I keep 240 hours on the books every year too.  Can't carry more than 240 every leave year.

 

Comes out to be 26 days (8 hour days) I use a year, keep 30 days on books.  I get paid by the hour,  that goes up, my leave pay goes up.  They will cash that 240 hours out at retirement.  Straight up.

 

That 8 hours always "bridges" into the long string of regular days off... Even better when that 8 falls on a holiday I have to work.  I stock pile it against other full 12 hour days.

 

My last year before retirement,  I am NOT taking any leave, then retire one day before leave year ends.  That's another 208 hour $$$ + the 240 on books.

[The Jokeman]

1 hour ago, ExiledInIllinois said:

That's what I do to work 3 days a week.   6 days every fortnight pay period.  One day every two weeks I take off 8 hours.  6x12=72+8=80.  Every two weeks I earn 8 hours leave.  I keep 240 hours on the books every year too.  Can't carry more than 240 every leave year.

 

Comes out to be 26 days (8 hour days) I use a year, keep 30 days on books.  I get paid by the hour,  that goes up, my leave pay goes up.  They will cash that 240 hours out at retirement.  Straight up.

 

That 8 hours always "bridges" into the long string of regular days off... Even better when that 8 falls on a holiday I have to work.  I stock pile it against other full 12 hour days.

 

My last year before retirement,  I am NOT taking any leave, then retire one day before leave year ends.  That's another 208 hour $$$ + the 240 on books.

I'm 20 plus years before I retire yet that idea of retiring after acquiring more vacation makes sense since the company would have to pay me out 1000 hours worth of pay. As I'm now maxed out on vacation time off (not counting sick leave but unsure if they have to pay that off).

Edited December 3, 2020 by The Jokeman