Going back 3 days a week - should I spread my days out or do them consecutively?

[SkaterGrrrrl]

Would love to hear from you if you have gone back to work part time. My maternity leave is up and work have offered me a 3 day week. 1 year old DD will go to nursery 2 days a week and DH will care for her for 1 day. Should I go back eg Mon, Weds & Fri to spread out her days in nursery? Or should I do my 3 days at work in a row so she has a big chunk of the week at home?

[theITgirl]

If it was me I would choose Tues, Weds, Thurs.
You can have nice long weekend, if you are going away gives you a chance to pack & get sorted. Also if there are late nights over the weekend or buzy days, you can have a gentle Monday to catch up on sleep or get back into a routine.

[OfflineFor30Years]

I'd go for 3 full days - less petrol costs and 2 full days to get stuff done at home/go for days out with DC. Oh, I'd love to be working PT right now!

[CharlotteBronteSaurus]

I do Tues, Thurs, Fri
I like working a split week, as it feels like i'm never away for long. when i did weds-fri i think other people had to cover my clients more frequently. i like working on fridays as everyone's jovial and the traffic's much lighter.

[2gorgeousboys]

When I worked a 3 day week, I worked Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. This meant I did not have to spend Sundays getting organised for the week and Friday's we would do jobs, shopping etc so that we could enjoy the weekend together.

For me this also worked in with DS1's after school activities and meant if we wanted to go away for weekends we had more flexibility.

Am jealous as I'd love to be doing a 3 day week now

[OfflineFor30Years]

Oops, misread the title and thought you meant work 5 mornings vs full days.

When I worked PT I did Tues, Wed, Thurs - long weekends and no Monday morning/Friday night traffic worries.

[smellyeli]

Depends what you do. If continuity is important, (I job share in a health care job) then consecutive days preferably with an overlap is good. If it's a client-based job then maybe splitting it might make people feel you were slightly more 'available' although you may end up getting calls on your day off. If I could choose I would do Tues - Thurs and have long weekends and no Monday rush. Having Friday's off is good as you are always there for the last day of term type things that tend to crop up at school.

[MovingAndScared]

I did tues wed and thurs - worked well
however agree if it a client based job might be different
for DC which is what you asked I think its slightly better to have them altogether ie have the 2 days at nursery together -as they get more used to it but that just my view
I assume the nursery have said they can do any days as that has an impact of course

[MrsJamin]

Another vote for Tues, Weds, Thurs, as you can have Friday as a catch up on washing / cleaning (pah!) and shopping so you can have a nice weekend altogether.

[LakeFlyPie]

I work 3 days and used to do mon, thurs, fri and now do weds, thurs, fri.

Much prefer the 3 days together and the 4 days off it gives for short breaks away etc.
I think it gives DS better continuity too, he has a day with his GP and then 2 days in nursery.

Not sure which ones will be your nursery days, but I would consider bank holidays, as at DS's nursery you pay for them but they are closed (not sure if this is usual practice).
If he went on monday and friday that would be a few hundred pounds a year

Good luck with your return to work

[MatLeaveForever]

I have just agreed to work Mon, Tues and Thurs but haven't started back yet so don't know how I'll find it! I agree with the others that it will depend on what kind of work you have, as for me it's better to be in on the busiest days as the beginning of the week, but still around nearer the end of the week too so that there's not a big gap for me being away (from a work perspective). Good luck!

[DilysPrice]

From a home POV it's better to do all three together - from a work POV it's better to spread them out - 4 days is quite a long break after which to get yourself back into the work vibe each week, and it's a long time for people to wait if something crops up that only you can deal with.

[scarlettsmummy2]

I used to do Monday, Wednesday, Thursday- it was fab, long weekend and even though it was a bit crap working on a Monday I knew I was off the next day so it was fine.

[trixymalixy]

Definitely all consecutively. It's easier from a work perspective as you have continuity and better from a family perspective as you get a long weekend. IMHO anyway.

[ginmakesitallok]

Matleaveforever - I now do Mon, Tues and Thurs and love it - it's like having 2 Fridays AND a long weekend every week.

One other thing to consider is public hols - most fall on a Monday, and I have to take them. But because I only get phs pro rata it means I effectively have to use some of my annual leave to cover it.

Wish I'd gone part-time years ago

[ally2006]

I have done 3 days since DS was 6 months old (now 5 yrs!) - full days MOn/Tues/Thurs. I like the split pattern, it has worked well for me from both home and work point of view. It's really nice to not ever have to do more than 2 days in a row! Also by doing Mondays you get to benefit from most bank holidays. I am able to do quite a few things on Wednesdays with DS's school, for example being a helper on school trips etc which has been great.
I know other Mums who do consecutive days though and like that pattern - so clearly it depends on your circumstances etc
Good luck with returning to work!
A xx

[bigTillyMint]

I've done Wed, Thurs Fri for 10 years and it took a bit of getting used to not working on a Monday. I like it all in one go and working the end of the week - more on a wind down, etc. It's also good having 2 days to sort stuff after the weekend, particularly if we have been away or had people staying

[Soups]

What's the policy for bank holidays?

I used to do Tues, Wed, Thurs. In my team if I'd done Mon, Tues, Wed, I'd have got all my bank hols! I kicked myself when it dawned on me.

[CharlotteBronteSaurus]

it's the other way round in my office, soups. BHs are pro-rated, so my colleague who works MTW ends up using some of her a/l to cover BHs. I work Tues, Thurs and Friday pm, and effectively end up with extra annual leave.

[NightLark]

Yep, if you work PT including Mondays you are effectively forced to use some AL to cover BH days in many jobs. So your employer is telling you when to use your leave. You get pro-rata holiday allowance and pro-rata BH allowance, but have to 'take' all the BHs.

I agree that consecutive days are best for home life, and split days best for work. I used to do T,W,Th but switched to M,W,Th as four days out of the office was just too many to keep on top of things - projects got weeks behind very easily that way.

[GwendolineMaryLacey]

Don't work Mondays if you can help it, you get screwed by the bank holiday system of having to use part of your annual leave to cover it. I work Mon, Tues, Weds and if I'd known what I know now I would have signed up for Tues, Weds, Thurs.

[crazycarol]

After mat leave I did 3 days, mon, tue & wed. It was great as it meant 4 consecutive days at home.

[Mumwithadragontattoo]

I would agree not to do Mondays. You get bank hols off effectively anyway (as it's a non working day) but you don't have to take leave or make time up. I used to do Tues, Weds and Fri. I didn't like the break in the week from a work point of view as meant you were in the swing of things and then had to break off. Although it did mean DD could catch up on sleep on a Thurs before going back to nursery on Fri. Also enjoy working Fridays as other workers in a good mood. Think I would go for Wed to Fri if I had the choice.

[theidsalright]

when I did three days I worked tues-thurs. It was fab. I'm envious of you! You can go away for ten days and only have to take three annual leave days.
Fantastic for the work life balance. Well, actually, work probably loses out. You just get into the swing of things and then it's time to be off again-yay!

DS has always been happy with this arrangement (he's still there those three days and DH takes him on my now 4th day), well as far as I know. I'm a big fan of routine, so putting everything together suited me. I would not split ALL the days up (eg Mon, Wed, Fri), as I do think you would never feel connected at work at all, and working part time, that sense of connectedness can be a problem (I feel too damn connected now I work an extra day!).

[Icoulddoitbetter]

I work tue wed and fri, I have to work tue and fri so I had no option for three consecutive days or four day weekeds. But, it's not too bad. From a work perspective split weeks are good as it feels less stressfull to have less of a gap.
I also based my decision on activities that we like to go to, as it's nice to be able to continue some of the things you take for granted when on mat leave.
Downside of working fridays, I miss my mum friends who have tended to take fridays off if they are part time. Also, long weekends away tend to start on friday so you need to take leave.
Bank holidays are pro-rata so I don't lose out on those.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

I used to do Tues/Thurs/Fri in an office based job, which was a service department for a large corporation, so sort of customer based. It was fine for my personal life but hopeless for work life. I spent (it seemed) the whole of Tuesday and Thursday mornings catching up with email and my in tray, so Friday felt like the only whole day of proper work. It never really seemed worth starting anything on Tuesday in case I had to hand it over to someone else for Wednesday (most of our deadlines were very short ones). Also apart from my immediate colleagues no one in the entire company seemed to be able to remember which days I was and wasn't in, despite it all being on my email calendar and a message on my VM, I know it caused quite a lot of irritation for other people. I now work in a different job Tues/Weds/Thurs and it is much smoother and easier, all catching up is done on the first morning the rest is free to get on with things.