Anyone work compressed hours?

[Mutationstation]

I am currently looking to move roles and I have the option to either go down to 0.8 or do my full time hours over four days.

I have a toddler in nursery so looking to reduce their days so a 9 day fortnight wouldn’t work. This would be a WFH role, so no commute.

If you have compressed your hours, how have you found it, any particular pros and cons that you have found?

I do it. I like it, have a Monday off. I recommend a Monday as bank holidays work in your favour.

I don't find the days too long especially if you're wfh. Try to start early rather than finish late as that works better with small children!

I work reduced hours and also have Mondays off. Respected in a way I doubt would be if I had chosen Friday.

Colleague on compressed hours starts early and children are teenagers, so not the same as your situation.

Yep, I have a toddler and a Wednesday off with her (which I love).

Officially my contract says I work something like 8.30 - 6, which wouldn’t be easy for nursery drop offs and just seeing her on my working days.

Thankfully my job is the ‘work what you need to get the job done’ sort, so I log on late/ work very hard when I’m traveling for business/ put DD in extra nursery occasionally so I can work on my day ‘off’. But then I do more normal hours when things aren’t busy.

I don’t track it, but I suspect it evens out over the year.

Yeah I work 8 -4.45 Mon - Thu and 8-12 on a Friday. DS is 10 so I don't need to but it allows me a few hours to myself and I love it. A few colleagues work longer hours to get a full day off once a week but that's usually to help with childcare costs.

I‘ve done a few variations on this.

Compressed hours, Fri off, worked 8-5.30. I had to be very very focused on time-keeping because I didn’t have much flex for getting my hours back up if I was late. I wasn’t wfh, though, which would have made a huge difference. DH was also doing compressed hours and had Mondays off, so DC were in nursery for 3 days. I needed a nursery that opened at 7.30 and closed at 6 to make this work - shorter nursery hours wouldn’t have worked.

When DC started school I relaxed to compressed hours over 4.5 days. Schools in my area close at 12.30 on a Fri, so I did 3 hours wfh on a Fri and the other days in the office.

Now I do 31.5 hours over 4 days and have Tues and Fri afternoons off, so I can work as a consultant on those days.