The Four-Day Workweek
The Four-Day Workweek
A four-day workweek is also termed a “compressed workweek.” I think it has several advantages for both the employer and employee.
– Save money on gas! Even though gas prices are low, I wouldn’t count on them staying low. You also save time commuting and sitting in boring traffic.
– More flexible work/life balance. If you have kids, you can spend more time with them. If you’re like me and are working on a MBA, it allows you more homework time. Maybe you can even fit in a second job or pour your soul into a weekend hobby.
– Higher engagement and employee satisfaction. Let’s face it; if you knew you had Friday off, would you not be happy? When I was allowed to work a compressed workweek, I gave 110% the days I was there and really enjoyed my 3 day weekend.
– This schedule could be used as a recruitment tool.
– Employers, have you thought about closing your office for a day? Depending on your industry, there might be a real cost benefit to closing one day out of the week.
Are there disadvantages? Well, yes. There are disadvantages to everything.
– The obvious: Work burnout and fatigue. Working 10-hour shifts is physically draining. Lack of rest leads to poor health and lower productivity. Decreased alertness can also lead to workplace accidents.
– For some industries, a compressed workweek just is not operationally feasible. Handle with caution if offering the compressed workweek to some positions, but not to others. This can create resentment among staff.
– Clients or customers can complain if staff is not available.
Do you have any additional thoughts? What does your employer allow? I personally love the idea of compressed workweeks. Unfortunately, this option is not afforded to me because of contractual agreements we have with our clients. Perhaps in the future that will change for me.
B’s employer gave employees options for a four day work week. One of the guys there took it to be more available for his family. The downside has been that employer has the wrong mindset about the compressed schedule – something the poor guy who chose it didn’t know until too late. Even though he works all the extra hours to have Friday off, essentially working just as much as his co-workers, the employer views him as having more time off and has has gotten nasty with him if he ever asks for time off during his workweek. A M-F employee isn’t given any heck if one of their kids gets sick, but the M-Th guys are given A LOT of heck if they ever ask to leave.
Jenn
December 2, 2008 at 1:06 am
I have gotten to enjoy a 4 day work week my entire professional career. There were times that Monday’s or Wednesday’s were the day off to accommodate customers and it was definitely considered a perk to me & all my coworkers.
No doubt, the days were long and hard but it usually didn’t hit until Wed & then you knew you only had one more day.
Hope things change for you to give it a try but be warned, Once I had a taste of it I never took a position again that didn’t offer a 4 day week.
Jackie Adame
December 2, 2008 at 1:50 pm
@Jenn – that is crazy. I didn’t think of that as a downside, though… sad there are some super old school managers out there that don’t go with the ideas of the company.
@Jackie – I used to work 4.5 day workweeks and I totally miss it.
I REALLY miss only working half days on Friday.
hrbabe
December 4, 2008 at 1:14 am
It is tricky as heck in an environment where folks are already working long hours. i.e. Just to get the job done, they are already working the longer days but not getting the Friday off. If they wanted to get a day off, they’d need to work horendous hours.
And, yes, that is just a whole other problem. But till we solve that one, I don’t see compressed work week being a practical solution. Regrettably.
HR Good_Witch
February 18, 2009 at 9:58 pm
@HR Good Witch – I agree with you to an extent. While I view the compressed workweek as more of a perceived flexibility on the employers part, it’s more dependent on availability and how well the company is doing. I too have seen your scenario many times (working long hours and then working more to get the job done so no Friday off) and I agree that it is not always a practical solution. However, I think it varies from industry to industry.
I’ve worked in Operations for years. One thing I’ve noticed is as the economy continues to slump, overtime for non-exempt employees is not usually approved unless there is a significant business need. Employees are forced to work a strict 40 hour week and increase their output with less time available. So the possibility of getting Friday off is there, but it’s certainly not without stress. In tight times, I think having the compressed workweek flexibility is something that a company can still offer it’s employees as a “perk”. It’s not as fantastic as a raise, but work/life balance is a top priority to many Millennial’s entering the workforce. And when the economy picks up, the employees who are being forced to work 65 hours a week will leave. Offering a compressed workweek might help either combat attrition (for some, not all) or be used as a recruitment tool to replace those who left.
hrbabe
February 23, 2009 at 12:28 am