30hours - day off or short days

[OnionBhajis]

I have just applied for a 30hour job. I haven't got it yet but if you do 30 hours how do you split it.

My kids will all be at secondary in September so could have a day off I. The week. Or could do 8-2.30!?

I tried both. I personally prefer short days but I'm good at sticking to my hours.

What's the travel time to get there?

I did short days when I was still needed for after school and then a whole day off later

I officially work 30 hours with Friday off. However, I'm always working longer than I should so it's better to not log in at all than try to log off at the right time.

I used to do 30 hours over 5 days and it was great as mornings weren’t a rush and I was free for after school taxiing about, preparing a meals etc. Now DC is older I do 37 hours over 4 days. The days do feel long but my family are less demanding of my time and I love having an extra day off.

I would do longer days with a day off as you aren’t having to balance childcare.

Yes can see both sides as you've suggested so far!

No real commute as mostly wfh so that doesn't influence it.

It might feel nice to have a day not logging on. But it might be nice to feel at work every day. There's lots of queries. Finishing early would be nice.

I do 830-1530 mon-thurs, and Friday I do 830-1230 (I do 32 hours) It means if I want a long weekend I only use 4hours annual leave on a Friday.
I am an early bird so would prefer to start 0630-7 but that doesn't work for my office. I notice from 1500 onwards my concentration starts to wane.

Yes I'm not sure they'd get the best from me after 3 tbh and if I needed to do school run I'd need to come home and carry on working. But maybe that works out better work life balance wise.

I do 30 hours. I currently do 4 days a week which is okay but I'm generally always online/available on my day off. I'm switching to 3 full days and 2 half days (with a bit of flexibility about how I take them) in Sept.

If you’d have your kids at home after 3 then I’d have the short days otherwise you’ll always be distracted and trying to do work while interrupted by kids. I do 4 full days as my 30 hours as my work don’t let me do short days and I struggle with the noise my teen makes when she is at home after a day of quiet. It will also make holidays easier as you can plan stuff for the afternoon with your kids

Day off every day of the week for me. It’s so nice to have that extra day to do things without it being busy at the weekends etc. I have Fridays off and love that I have a nice long weekend every week.

I have done both and prefer a day off. I found that doing 5 short days meant that I was getting paid less to do the same work as those working full time. We got the same workload, I just had to do mine quicker. I love having a day to myself, no work and the kids are at school.

Check the impact it has on leave.

I work full time over 4 days and my leave has been reduced from 31 days to 25 days.

A lady who works 20 ours but over 5 days gets the full allowance.

I’d at least check this before making decision in case it has an impact on you.

Leave wise it works out the same doesn't it? As full days are more hours than part days so if I worked part days I'd have more of them off... but I wouldn't have a whole day a week off.

I was wondering too what day to take. If I took Tuesday I could have some long weekends with bank holidays.

The leave works out the same
31 days over 5 days is 6 weeks + 1 day
25 days over 4 days is 6 weeks and 1 day

so if your college works 5 days a week regardless of the hours it’s the same

I work 30 over 4 days with Monday as my day off. When ever a bank holiday Monday falls i get that bank holiday in lieu so it feels like I get extra annual leave even though I don’t actually ifswim? Also one less day per week to figure childcare out in the holidays. And never get that sad sunday night feeling!

I prefer my day off. It means I can lie in during the holidays, take weekend breaks, go shopping/have appointments and be generally more relaxed than when I finish work.

Saying that, if I am in the office, working until 12.30pm means I am not home before 2.30pm, so it's a waste of time.

Can you do 2 long and 2 short?

I do 30 hours over 4 days. If you decide on that don’t take Friday off - other people will be slacking off and you’ll end up picking it all up on Monday anyway. Yes Sandra, if you’re reading this I do mean you.

Tuesday is a great day off. Or Wednesday or Thursday.

I’ve also tried shorter days - the problem there is that it can be hard to leave on time. People have no problem loading you up with urgent work when you’re trying to leave - it’s just after lunch for them.

I have Monday off. Even though I am strict about finishing on time.

I do 30 over 4 days.

I love having a day off to myself, even if it does contain house stuff. Nice to be not be at work.