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I worked 4x10s when I worked for the Army and it was awesome. 3 day weekends take off so much pressure, and come Sunday night I was starting to feel the itch to

by kody 7y ago

I worked 4x10s when I worked for the Army and it was awesome. 3 day weekends take off so much pressure, and come Sunday night I was starting to feel the itch to get back into work rather than the dreadful feeling that I 'wasted' my weekend. The only work experience that was better than this was 100% flexibility to work remotely and/or flex hours. So there's my anecdata for you :)

clSTophEjUdRanu 7y ago
I worked 9 hour days with every other Friday off and hated it.
- kody 7y ago
  Yeah that sounds way too inconsistent on a weekly basis for me
- sithlord 7y ago
  and still on average > 80 hours every 2 weeks.
  - nrp 7y ago
    The way these typically work (and how I am doing it) is that the first Friday is 8 hours, the second Friday is 0 hours, and all other days are 9 hours. I’ve found it to be extremely useful for the reasons mentioned in the article. It gives everyone a weekday off regularly to get weekday-requiring things done like personal appointments. It also makes it easy to take long weekend trips more often. Both of these are aligned in a way that lets the remaining weekdays more productive, since people have their time off aligned.
  - gpanders 7y ago
    This type of schedule is called a 9/80 and you work 80 hours every 2 work weeks. Your Fridays "on" you work 8 hours instead of 9. And you get every other Friday off. At my company, we have the option between the standard 5x8, the 9/80, and the 4x10 schedules. Surprisingly (at least to me), the 9/80 is by far the most popular (the 4x10 being the 2nd most popular and the standard schedule being the rarest option).
standardUser 7y ago
10 hours really seems extreme. I am certain that the vast majority of office workers could produce the same level of output at a 4x9 schedule as they do in a 5x8 or would in a 4x10. And most would be profoundly happier people.
- burnte 7y ago
  The vast majority of people I know who can do four 10s love it, and find the 10 hour days aren't really much different then the 8s. I'd love it if I could do four 10s, but in a company that does 24/7 healthcare, that's not an option for support staff like IT, not even at my level.
  - kody 7y ago
    Yeah, in my experience the difference between 8 and 10 hour workdays were negligible (except certain times of year where I'd get to my desk before sunrise and leave well after sunset). Anything I'd do with my "extra" 2 hours per day I'd happily batch into my free Friday.
    - davidjtighe 7y ago
      I completely see where you're coming from, but having kids changes the calculus completely.
      - kody 7y ago
        Great point. I hadn’t considered that at all.
      - burnte 7y ago
        Not necessarily. Most folks have kids, most folks I know that prefer four 10s have kids, and like having that fifth day off.
        duderific 7y ago
        I barely see/interact with my kids on an 8 hour day. On a 10 hour day, I'd probably miss them completely. I would like one day a week when I'm not working OR looking after the kids, however. That would be amazing. It would be great to give it a try and see how it worked out. Unfortunately my employer is a hardass and doesn't even allow work from home, let alone fewer days a week.
monknomo 7y ago
4x10s are tough for me, but the 5-4-9 plan (5 9 hour days one week, 3 nine hour days the next week followed by one 8 hour day - basically alternating 3 day weekends) are pretty nice in my book
stan_rogers 7y ago
My best schedule ever was also military, but it was 7-3-7-4: 7 8-hour "afternoon shift" days, then 3 days off, then 7 8-hour "day shift" days followed by 4 days off. The 3-day time off was Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday, and the 4-day was Friday through Monday - and because you were getting off the early shift and going onto the late shift, it seemed like a longer break. Of course, that implies shift work and three crews for 16-hour/7 day coverage. (The "graveyard shift" was a skeleton crew, and your turn would pop up every four months or so. Air force. It was basically for emergency landings for civil and allied aircraft and such, with some swabbing of the decks for busy work.) The work week was long, but there was plenty of time to get stuff done and to wind down. Hell, you could even cram in a weekend getaway without a lot of stress.

by kody 7y ago

clSTophEjUdRanu 7y ago

I worked 9 hour days with every other Friday off and hated it.

kody 7y ago
Yeah that sounds way too inconsistent on a weekly basis for me
sithlord 7y ago
and still on average > 80 hours every 2 weeks.
- nrp 7y ago
  The way these typically work (and how I am doing it) is that the first Friday is 8 hours, the second Friday is 0 hours, and all other days are 9 hours. I’ve found it to be extremely useful for the reasons mentioned in the article. It gives everyone a weekday off regularly to get weekday-requiring things done like personal appointments. It also makes it easy to take long weekend trips more often. Both of these are aligned in a way that lets the remaining weekdays more productive, since people have their time off aligned.
- gpanders 7y ago
  This type of schedule is called a 9/80 and you work 80 hours every 2 work weeks. Your Fridays "on" you work 8 hours instead of 9. And you get every other Friday off. At my company, we have the option between the standard 5x8, the 9/80, and the 4x10 schedules. Surprisingly (at least to me), the 9/80 is by far the most popular (the 4x10 being the 2nd most popular and the standard schedule being the rarest option).

standardUser 7y ago

10 hours really seems extreme. I am certain that the vast majority of office workers could produce the same level of output at a 4x9 schedule as they do in a 5x8 or would in a 4x10. And most would be profoundly happier people.

burnte 7y ago
The vast majority of people I know who can do four 10s love it, and find the 10 hour days aren't really much different then the 8s. I'd love it if I could do four 10s, but in a company that does 24/7 healthcare, that's not an option for support staff like IT, not even at my level.
- kody 7y ago
  Yeah, in my experience the difference between 8 and 10 hour workdays were negligible (except certain times of year where I'd get to my desk before sunrise and leave well after sunset). Anything I'd do with my "extra" 2 hours per day I'd happily batch into my free Friday.
  - davidjtighe 7y ago
    I completely see where you're coming from, but having kids changes the calculus completely.
    - kody 7y ago
      Great point. I hadn’t considered that at all.
    - burnte 7y ago
      Not necessarily. Most folks have kids, most folks I know that prefer four 10s have kids, and like having that fifth day off.
      - duderific 7y ago
        I barely see/interact with my kids on an 8 hour day. On a 10 hour day, I'd probably miss them completely. I would like one day a week when I'm not working OR looking after the kids, however. That would be amazing. It would be great to give it a try and see how it worked out. Unfortunately my employer is a hardass and doesn't even allow work from home, let alone fewer days a week.

monknomo 7y ago

4x10s are tough for me, but the 5-4-9 plan (5 9 hour days one week, 3 nine hour days the next week followed by one 8 hour day - basically alternating 3 day weekends) are pretty nice in my book

stan_rogers 7y ago

My best schedule ever was also military, but it was 7-3-7-4: 7 8-hour "afternoon shift" days, then 3 days off, then 7 8-hour "day shift" days followed by 4 days off. The 3-day time off was Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday, and the 4-day was Friday through Monday - and because you were getting off the early shift and going onto the late shift, it seemed like a longer break. Of course, that implies shift work and three crews for 16-hour/7 day coverage. (The "graveyard shift" was a skeleton crew, and your turn would pop up every four months or so. Air force. It was basically for emergency landings for civil and allied aircraft and such, with some swabbing of the decks for busy work.) The work week was long, but there was plenty of time to get stuff done and to wind down. Hell, you could even cram in a weekend getaway without a lot of stress.