4 ms·

I work a four day week, 10 hours a day (which I am thinking is different from the article's example) and love it. However, I've seen a dozen plus others try it

by duck 16y ago

I work a four day week, 10 hours a day (which I am thinking is different from the article's example) and love it. However, I've seen a dozen plus others try it and all switch back so it obviously isn't for everyone.

wccrawford 16y ago
Actually, it does talk about squeezing a whole week's work into 4 days, so it's probably 4 10-hour days as well. I've considered it, but I know my productivity sags at the 8 hour mark as it is, so I don't think it's a good fit for me or the company.
- shashank261 16y ago
  I spend about 11 hours in office, 5 days a week. So I would rather prefer 4 working days,10 hours each anyway!
- wkornewald 16y ago
  Actually, I wonder at which point you guys notice that your productivity drops. Very often my productivity drops noticeably after 7 hours, already, but it can come back in the evening. Also, it often drops after lunch, but this also depends on when we have lunch. It's significantly worse if we have lunch around 12:00 than around 13:30-14:00. Our research group loves to go at 11:30 (!!!) which destroys the whole day for me, so a few of us have just stopped eating together with them. Update: I've added a poll: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2052007 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2052007
  - duck 16y ago
    I telecommute as well and basically have the first six hours of everyday by myself, so I feel very productive during that time. After lunch it drops some, but luckily that is also when meetings are so I feel it doesn't matter as much. If I still have time left and don't feel very productive (which happens maybe one day a week, sometimes more though) I usually have some work that doesn't require much mental effort (like administrative or light maintenance) and work on that. If I couldn't define my schedule like this it would probably be harder.
- thomie 16y ago
  "Seventy-five percent of Dutch women now work part time, compared to 41 percent in other European Union countries and 23 percent in the United States" "Twenty-three percent of Dutch men have reduced hours, compared to 10 percent across the European Union and in the United States; another nine percent work a full week in four days."
- jpr 16y ago
  There is no reason to believe that the work done per time unit remains the same when the length of work day varies.
- dochtman 16y ago
  Well, I think a 36-hour work week is the norm in NL, so it's 4 9-hour days.
cstross 16y ago
Years ago, I had a job where I had a four day week. (Actually four days a week every week, and an extra half day one week in three.) The trouble was, the extra couple of hours per day wore me down; after four days on, I needed an extra day just to get over the cumulative fatigue before I could enjoy the weekend. The best single thing you can do to reduce working fatigue is to minimize your commuting time. If you commute an hour each way to work, then over a five day week, you've racked up an extra 10 hours -- not to mention the extra expense, and the aggravation periodically inflicted by traffic jams or public transport problems -- and the worst part of it is that it's mostly dead time. (I'll make an exception for commuting to work on foot or by bicycle, as part of an exercise regime.)
- jth213 16y ago
  I've found the same thing with my 4/40 schedule. By Thursday night, I'm wiped out, and I can't imagine having to go to work on Friday. But it is nice having 3 day weekends. I may switch back to a 5/40 schedule when DST begins. As it is now, I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark.
- dochtman 16y ago
  I think I have to recuperate on Saturdays now, too. But yeah, I commute for 3h a day and it sucks. Haven't thought up a good solution yet, since I really don't like the city where I work.
  - artmageddon 16y ago
    I'm in the same situation. I'd kill for a four-day week. My commute is approximately 2 hours door-to-door each way, assuming that the mass transit system doesn't suffer any delays.

by duck 16y ago

wccrawford 16y ago

Actually, it does talk about squeezing a whole week's work into 4 days, so it's probably 4 10-hour days as well. I've considered it, but I know my productivity sags at the 8 hour mark as it is, so I don't think it's a good fit for me or the company.

shashank261 16y ago
I spend about 11 hours in office, 5 days a week. So I would rather prefer 4 working days,10 hours each anyway!
wkornewald 16y ago
Actually, I wonder at which point you guys notice that your productivity drops. Very often my productivity drops noticeably after 7 hours, already, but it can come back in the evening. Also, it often drops after lunch, but this also depends on when we have lunch. It's significantly worse if we have lunch around 12:00 than around 13:30-14:00. Our research group loves to go at 11:30 (!!!) which destroys the whole day for me, so a few of us have just stopped eating together with them. Update: I've added a poll: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2052007 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2052007
- duck 16y ago
  I telecommute as well and basically have the first six hours of everyday by myself, so I feel very productive during that time. After lunch it drops some, but luckily that is also when meetings are so I feel it doesn't matter as much. If I still have time left and don't feel very productive (which happens maybe one day a week, sometimes more though) I usually have some work that doesn't require much mental effort (like administrative or light maintenance) and work on that. If I couldn't define my schedule like this it would probably be harder.
thomie 16y ago
"Seventy-five percent of Dutch women now work part time, compared to 41 percent in other European Union countries and 23 percent in the United States" "Twenty-three percent of Dutch men have reduced hours, compared to 10 percent across the European Union and in the United States; another nine percent work a full week in four days."
jpr 16y ago
There is no reason to believe that the work done per time unit remains the same when the length of work day varies.
dochtman 16y ago
Well, I think a 36-hour work week is the norm in NL, so it's 4 9-hour days.

cstross 16y ago

Years ago, I had a job where I had a four day week. (Actually four days a week every week, and an extra half day one week in three.) The trouble was, the extra couple of hours per day wore me down; after four days on, I needed an extra day just to get over the cumulative fatigue before I could enjoy the weekend. The best single thing you can do to reduce working fatigue is to minimize your commuting time. If you commute an hour each way to work, then over a five day week, you've racked up an extra 10 hours -- not to mention the extra expense, and the aggravation periodically inflicted by traffic jams or public transport problems -- and the worst part of it is that it's mostly dead time. (I'll make an exception for commuting to work on foot or by bicycle, as part of an exercise regime.)

jth213 16y ago
I've found the same thing with my 4/40 schedule. By Thursday night, I'm wiped out, and I can't imagine having to go to work on Friday. But it is nice having 3 day weekends. I may switch back to a 5/40 schedule when DST begins. As it is now, I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark.
dochtman 16y ago
I think I have to recuperate on Saturdays now, too. But yeah, I commute for 3h a day and it sucks. Haven't thought up a good solution yet, since I really don't like the city where I work.
- artmageddon 16y ago
  I'm in the same situation. I'd kill for a four-day week. My commute is approximately 2 hours door-to-door each way, assuming that the mass transit system doesn't suffer any delays.