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Original poster

Working 4 days a week

9 replies

Sunglassesweather · 08/09/2023 08:46

I have an 18 month old and have been at my job 6 months (got made redundant on mat leave), and want to put in a flexible working request to reduce my hours.

I'd love to do 3 days a week, but I think that might be pushing my luck when I'm so new. So I'm thinking of proposing 4 days a week. Just wanted to hear from others doing 4 days, how you find it? Do you find one day a week to do things with your little one is enough to feel like you're getting some sort of work/life balance?

Sure it will be a case of trying to squeeze a full time job in to 4 days, but the job isn't overly demanding so I'm not too worried about that. More concerned that I'll still feel like I don't get much time with my DD.

OP posts:
Youonlygetonelife19 · 08/09/2023 08:57

I did 30 hours in 4 days when my children were little. Loved it. Kept Friday a fun day every week and did things with them. Still have very good memories of our Fridays and both are now adults.

BananaPalm · 08/09/2023 09:16

I considered this when I came back from mat leave. Didn't do it as squeezing 5 days into 4 means very long days, which then means that you effectively don't see your child for 4 days for the sake of one full day. I prefer to finish early every day and have a bit of an afternoon and evening with my DS.

It would obviously be different if you just went PT to 4 days a week.

Original poster
Sunglassesweather · 08/09/2023 09:24

BananaPalm · 08/09/2023 09:16

I considered this when I came back from mat leave. Didn't do it as squeezing 5 days into 4 means very long days, which then means that you effectively don't see your child for 4 days for the sake of one full day. I prefer to finish early every day and have a bit of an afternoon and evening with my DS.

It would obviously be different if you just went PT to 4 days a week.

This is what would put me off condensed hours too. I'd be looking to go 4 days part-time (So 30 hours)

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Shergill15 · 08/09/2023 09:31

I do 30 hours over 4 days with Friday as my non working day. DD is in school now so I use school hours to do stuff round the house, grab a coffee with a friend etc. And its nice that she has a day where I can do both school runs as she's in wraparound the rest of the week. It works for us for now and if finances permit I'm going to try and hold off going back 5 days til she's in secondary (or at least late primary)

PickleDig · 08/09/2023 11:48

I love working 4 days. I went from working 5+ days a week, exhausted. I have less money now but the improvement to my quality of life is huge.

MimiSunshine · 08/09/2023 12:07

Why not put the request in for 3 days and be prepared to be negotiated into a 4 day week?

a flexible working request is your opportunity to show how the work will be managed and for a discussion around adjustments.
if you think the job is low demand enough that you can still do all of it 3 days, without killing your self, then that’s a win for the business.
if you’d need to reduce workload then it’s for the business to decide if it can moved elsewhere or job shared.

IMO on a 4 day week, you do all of the work of full time but less pay so again a win for the business.
also bare in mind that you lose some bank
holiday entitlement which is then often taken off your holiday entitlement so I’d suggest having Monday as your non-working day as you’re already off then and your leave will be pro-rated accordingly.

ShimmyingThroughTheChaos · 08/09/2023 12:10

I do 4 days and I love it. It's not 4 days in 5 so I'm not pulling crazy hours on my working days. Admittedly I often have one day a week where I stay a bit late and make sure I'm on top of everything if we are in a busy period, and DH does bath and bed with DS that day.
I feel like my career is moving ahead and no-one treats me any differently or takes me less seriously because I don't work Fridays.
I am loving having that extra full day with DS to do fun stuff and get on top of a few chores at home, which in turn makes the weekends less hectic. I love the balance.
Cambridge University is actually working on a massive study at the moment on the benefits of 4-day weeks, not just for parents but for anyone. Apparently it is resulting in improvements in both productivity and employee health in a lot of cases. I think 4 day weeks will become an increasingly common working pattern, it's the way the world is going. I say go for it!

StaySpicy · 08/09/2023 12:12

I did 4 days a week for two years and had my day off as a day to spend with my son doing fun stuff that wasn't as busy as it wasn't a weekend. We both really loved it. I'm now still 4 days a week but my son has started school so I get a lovely day off to myself!

I think it's the best of both worlds!

mindutopia · 08/09/2023 12:32

I quite like 4 days a week and actually it's what I work now (though mine are primary school age). It means flexibly, in theory, to work 5 shorter days or 4 normal days with a day off, assuming your organisation might support this. I often tend to work 5 9-3 days during term time and 4 longer days during school holidays (as my holiday childcare does longer hours), which means I get that extra day off. I think 3 days can me quite a lot of juggling and working evenings to get caught up (because there is always more work to do than will fit in 3 days), but 4 days is nice. You get a break both ways - from childcare and from work.

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