Would you like to have a 4-day workweek? And how would you compensate the extra day off?

Jason Andries
96 replies
The 4-day workweek is a big debate in many countries, and research claims it boosts productivity and overall employee happiness. Would you like to work 4 days instead of 5? And if so, would you work longer days or have fewer vacation hours in return?

Replies

Jyoti Kanabar
I think a 4-day work week with longer working hours will be something that is fair for all parties. But can only be sure after testing on how the longer hours are working for me. Reading so much about the researches has increased my curiosity to try it out πŸ˜€
Jason Andries
@jyoti_kanabar It's a very interesting topic indeed, I'm curious to see what running more tests will conclude and if it will ever be the 'new normal'
Aaron O'Leary
I worked a 4 day work week and I'd be lying if I said I didn't love it, I did, I'll always appreciate reclaiming a day but it has to be done right, there needs to be either a strategy in place which prevents loss of productivity or just accept that a day is missing in the week and readjust expectations around that
Jason Andries
@aaronoleary There definitely needs to be some kind of strategy or change of expectations indeed, thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Matt Harbord
I have worked 4 days before and did it at 0.8 salary. It was awesome, and the salary loss was massively offset by the fact my marginal tax rate on that extra day was around 50% anyway. I mean, vacation is a funny one, it should be pro-rated down anyway to account for the fact you're only working 4 days a week. So if you used to get 25 days, you should now only get 20. That's not really trading in vacation time, it's more like you're working less so you don't "earn" as much PTO. It depends on the type of work you do, but certainly for coding, my view is that productivity doesn't scale linearly with time spent. At a guess I'd say you get 90% or more productivity in 4 days rather than 5 without cutting pay or working longer hours. A friend of mine works 5 days in 3 - to me that seems untenable; I can't imagine hour 12 on day 3 has any value to the employer at all - at that point it just seems like a charade from both the employer and employee, with neither happy. But my key point is the more senior someone is the less of their salary you're paying for them to be at the coalface, and the more you're paying them for their prior experience. Knowing how to solve a problem / what mistakes to avoid is value you can extract whether they're available 3, 4 or 5 days. Obviously the less they're in the more of a lag you have getting access to that info - but I'd happily keep a senior dev on 4 days for 90%, 3 days for 75% and 2 days for 50% of their full salary - I think I would be ahead on that deal.
Jason Andries
@matt_harbord Thanks for your detailed comment, Matt. I agree that working 5 days a week doesn't always equal more work getting done, and longer days can be counterproductive as well indeed. It probably depends on the job as well, as you mentioned.
Jenkins Joseph
i love the idea of a 4-day workweek, the extra day will be a good way for me to relax and that'll increase my productivity and creativity and purpose to my work
Jason Andries
@amjosephjenkins I believe having an extra day off would boost my productivity/creativity as well. I just don't know if the longer days would be beneficial for me
Jason Andries
@marek_mardosewicz I'd love to test it out as well!
LisaKim
@marek_mardosewicz Hey Marek, wow I'm also a Scriptwriting fan / AI enjoyer. Nice to meet you!!!
Martina Hackbartt
I'd love to try a 4-day workweek! And I think it wouldn't really make sense to "recover" that time with more hours throughout the week or vacation days since more time does not necessarily mean more done. I'd say companies and individuals would just need to readjust the way hours are distributed throughout the day, so as to increase efficiency without doing extra hours (to me, there is not a lot of difference in results in working 11 hours in contrast to 8, and I actually think it's detrimental!)
Alexis Khvatov
I would love to have a four-day workweek! Working five days a week can sometimes become quite monotonous and draining, therefore having an extra day for relaxation or whatever else one needs would be such a nice change. As for compensating the extra day off, I think employers should still take into consideration what is fair according to the regular 5-day workload; working an additional hour or two during those other four days can create a considerable balance. In addition, persons who choose to take on additional tasks or responsibilities during this time may even be able to earn something extra in exchange. Ultimately, no matter how it’s done, having a 4-day workweek would be exciting and refreshing.
Luis Gustavo
Actually, in our startup we're working on this new model. Some of our team members are making some test. I think we will have information to take decision in a couple of months.. In my personal experience, it depends on the role that you have and the way that you work. For some positions will be easier than others... For me, running marketing was easy work in 4 days, but when I was running sales, the 5 day is super useful to close more MRR
Jason Andries
@luisgustavo It definitely depends on the role indeed. However, if the 4-day workweek would be the new norm, sales wouldn't need to work an extra day either I guess. Good luck with the test, I'm curious about the results :)
Luis Gustavo
@jason_andries1 We are also curious for the results. Although it is true that it would be a norm for the sales department, the crazy salesman will prefer not "lose" the MRR that they could close on that day. We will the results once we'll have ready:)
Anoir Houmou
Would love test out a 4 day week, productivity would definitely improve
Rebecca Tany
If I can choose, definitely yes!
Peyt Spencer Dewar
πŸ€” How would this system work with discretionary time off?
Sherry Xena
I think working four days a week will make me happier
Jason Andries
@sherryxena I think it would make a lot of people happier because you get to spend more time with family, on hobbies, seeing friends etc.
Simon
I would compensate by being more relaxed and happy.... except I work for myself and I would never buy that line......so it's back to seven days a week for me!
Jason Andries
@simon_s_j Damn Oh wow, 7 days a week? Good luck!
Simon
@jason_andries1 Isn't 7 days a week common for bootstrap makers and creators? πŸ™‚
Olatz Urrutia
Research suggests that a 4-day workweek can improve work-life balance, productivity, and job satisfaction for employees, so I'd be up to research it. However, I am concerned if this would affect our vacation days at all. I for one like to take 2 weeks in the summer to travel, but if it can I would love to try it.
Jason Andries
@olatz_urrutia I don't think I would like to trade in vacation days either, or it depends on how many of them.
Olatz Urrutia
@jason_andries1 Agree! But super interesting topic. In fact there are companies in France (not sure if anywhere else) that they put it into practice. Will it be the method of the future? Do you think we will soon start testing it? At least once a month and then we'll see...
Jason Andries
@olatz_urrutia I think it's gaining a lot of attention in the EU in general. If I'm correct, Sweden also ran/is running tests. We have 4-day work weeks here in Belgium, but it comes with a pay-cut because you're not working 38h/week.
EmperorNecro
A day's worth of work on Friday is 8 hours, and we work for 4 days. So based on calculations, 8 Γ· 4 = 2 extra hours per day from Monday-Thursday, which would be quite manageable.
Jason Andries
@emperornecro I don't know if 2 extra hours a day would prove to be productive for me though, but an extra day off to compensate might change that
Ballu Tiwari
I believe in a 4 hour workweek!
David Hershell
Yes, I think that would improve productivity and give the worker a sense of freedom.
Ksenia Khriptovich
I could definitely use an extra day off! I don't mind working longer hours. With flexible working hours I end up working more during weekdays anyways (I really enjoy my tasks, but also sometimes it's hard to prioritize, so I try to do all at once). That would be great to have one more day to be able to take mind off things :)
Jason Andries
@ksenia_khriptovich The extra time pressure might be beneficial to prioritize stuff and work more efficiently, it works for me at least haha
Dmitry Sytsevich
Definitely yes. The weekend is closer, the speed of the tasks is higher πŸ˜ƒ
Jason Andries
@dmitry_sytsevich Exactly, I also perform better under time pressure
Aliaksei Saskevich
@dmitry_sytsevich @jason_andries1 are there any risks of burning out? I think so..