5 ms·

Is there a place to find a job with an employer who offers this kind of flexibility? I'm thinking particularly of software development jobs. Edit: I know many

by mmorris 11y ago

Is there a place to find a job with an employer who offers this kind of flexibility? I'm thinking particularly of software development jobs. Edit: I know many people working 4-day work weeks are self-employed, but I'm curious for those who are looking for employment.

metadude 11y ago
Good question. I am a software developer in Germany and on every interview now and then I ask for the 4-day-week. It was denied 11 times so far. Most employers consider this to be a joke and cannot believe I am serious. After half a year in a company you have a right to get into part time work, but there are some requirements that have to be met and every employer I talked to in my career so far was very... unhappy when asked about it.
- Tx3 11y ago
  Interesting! I tried to switch for 4-day work week earlier when I worked in consulting firm and the excuse was that it's harder to allocate me to a project. I asked that isn't four days easier to allocate than five days as it means less allocation? Would it be easier if I would work 6-days week? Never got answer. Most of the excuses are bullshit. The truth in consulting business is that they don't get as much money from you (even if you cut 1/5 from your salary).
  - ghaff 11y ago
    > The truth in consulting business is that they don't get as much money from you (even if you cut 1/5 from your salary). Well, that's true of most jobs. If your job is directly tied to revenue production, you're certainly counted on to bring in more money than your (fully-burdened) cost. But I can see it being a particular problem in consulting.
- Qantourisc 11y ago
  That just plain sucks and is narrow sighted of them !
wsc981 11y ago
In The Netherlands it's easy to get 4-day work weeks. I've done it pretty much all of my professional life (>10 years).
- mmorris 11y ago
  I've heard that, and now that I'm a parent I'm definitely jealous. Unfortunately (at least in this regard!), I'm in the US.
Tx3 11y ago
I know only one company that publicly has 4-day work week for all employees and that's Treehouse https://teamtreehouse.com/ https://teamtreehouse.com/ and the founder Ryan Carson has good blog posts about the topic such as http://ryancarson.com/post/21708810513/4-day-week http://ryancarson.com/post/21708810513/4-day-week
at-fates-hands 11y ago
I just started on a large project with a large health care company and found myself burning through the work I had. Just this week I spoke with my manager and he agreed to allow me a 4X10 week so I can take Fridays off. The only stipulation is I have to be on any calls or meetings on Fridays. I would be sure to ask in advance. Since there's a huge shortage of developers right now (at least in the midwest where I am) you might have a good argument to make if a company is in need and willing to negotiate. Always, always, always ask. You never know when an employer is willing to negotiate to get a good developer on their team.
Serow225 11y ago
MTS.com (where I work), which makes automotive/aerospace/materials/seismic test equipment and so does a lot of embedded and GUI software engineering, has a long-standing custom of shifting to a 4-day week every year between May and September so that employees can take advantage of the short Minnesota summer season.
rmc 11y ago
When starting a new job, everything in the contract is negotiable. Offer to take 80% of the salary for 80% of the time.
bkjelden 11y ago
I have seen a number of software jobs at US government contractors (mostly defense), where 9 hour days are standard, and then you get every other Friday off.
- stephengillie 11y ago
  Do some state laws allow you to move hours from one pay period to the other without paying overtime? Here in WA State, over 40 hours in 1 week is mandatory 1.5x overtime pay. So 9-hour days would give you 5 hours of overtime pay one week, and short you 4 hours the other week. Many workers would be OK with that, and I guess government contractors probably just pass on the overtime to the taxpayers. Which is probably why you rarely see that work schedule (alternating 4x9 & 5x9) outside of government.

by mmorris 11y ago

metadude 11y ago

Good question. I am a software developer in Germany and on every interview now and then I ask for the 4-day-week. It was denied 11 times so far. Most employers consider this to be a joke and cannot believe I am serious. After half a year in a company you have a right to get into part time work, but there are some requirements that have to be met and every employer I talked to in my career so far was very... unhappy when asked about it.

Tx3 11y ago
Interesting! I tried to switch for 4-day work week earlier when I worked in consulting firm and the excuse was that it's harder to allocate me to a project. I asked that isn't four days easier to allocate than five days as it means less allocation? Would it be easier if I would work 6-days week? Never got answer. Most of the excuses are bullshit. The truth in consulting business is that they don't get as much money from you (even if you cut 1/5 from your salary).
- ghaff 11y ago
  > The truth in consulting business is that they don't get as much money from you (even if you cut 1/5 from your salary). Well, that's true of most jobs. If your job is directly tied to revenue production, you're certainly counted on to bring in more money than your (fully-burdened) cost. But I can see it being a particular problem in consulting.
Qantourisc 11y ago
That just plain sucks and is narrow sighted of them !

wsc981 11y ago

In The Netherlands it's easy to get 4-day work weeks. I've done it pretty much all of my professional life (>10 years).

mmorris 11y ago
I've heard that, and now that I'm a parent I'm definitely jealous. Unfortunately (at least in this regard!), I'm in the US.

Tx3 11y ago

I know only one company that publicly has 4-day work week for all employees and that's Treehouse https://teamtreehouse.com/ https://teamtreehouse.com/ and the founder Ryan Carson has good blog posts about the topic such as http://ryancarson.com/post/21708810513/4-day-week http://ryancarson.com/post/21708810513/4-day-week

at-fates-hands 11y ago

I just started on a large project with a large health care company and found myself burning through the work I had. Just this week I spoke with my manager and he agreed to allow me a 4X10 week so I can take Fridays off. The only stipulation is I have to be on any calls or meetings on Fridays. I would be sure to ask in advance. Since there's a huge shortage of developers right now (at least in the midwest where I am) you might have a good argument to make if a company is in need and willing to negotiate. Always, always, always ask. You never know when an employer is willing to negotiate to get a good developer on their team.

Serow225 11y ago

MTS.com (where I work), which makes automotive/aerospace/materials/seismic test equipment and so does a lot of embedded and GUI software engineering, has a long-standing custom of shifting to a 4-day week every year between May and September so that employees can take advantage of the short Minnesota summer season.

rmc 11y ago

When starting a new job, everything in the contract is negotiable. Offer to take 80% of the salary for 80% of the time.

bkjelden 11y ago

I have seen a number of software jobs at US government contractors (mostly defense), where 9 hour days are standard, and then you get every other Friday off.

stephengillie 11y ago
Do some state laws allow you to move hours from one pay period to the other without paying overtime? Here in WA State, over 40 hours in 1 week is mandatory 1.5x overtime pay. So 9-hour days would give you 5 hours of overtime pay one week, and short you 4 hours the other week. Many workers would be OK with that, and I guess government contractors probably just pass on the overtime to the taxpayers. Which is probably why you rarely see that work schedule (alternating 4x9 & 5x9) outside of government.