Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

Dropping to a 4 day week…any experiences?

53 replies

BigDahliaFan · 01/02/2025 07:11

I’m 56, in a senior professional role. I’m considering dropping Fridays. I think I’d walk the dog, go to the gym, do some gardening in summer. It’ll be nice to have more time to go away for weekends and visit friends .

Less sure about the winter, we live in the north west and winters are long and wet and cold. There isn’t a huge range of galleries or museums or indoor stuff.

im worried I’ll be bored or fritter fritter my time away especially in winter.

OP posts:
gettingolderbutcooler · 01/02/2025 08:24

Yes, take the time off.
Fritter the fuck out of that Friday.

AgnesX · 01/02/2025 08:27

It's wonderful, you do feel more relaxed. If you get paid for it even better.
If you don't the lack of 20% salary can hurt but you get used to it.

BellaVita · 01/02/2025 08:28

I have worked a 4 day week with Fridays off for a year now and I absolutely love it. I meet up with friends or go out for lunch with DH (who WFH) or just potter about.

Go for it!

wafflesmgee · 01/02/2025 08:30

This year I’ve had every Thursday off, it’s worked well as Fridays are less work so I didn’t want to miss them.
I’ve been ruthlessly disciplined about not checking emails at all on my days off, I’m in teaching so have ended up planning and resourcing my job share for my day off but it’s meant I can come in the following day and pick up knowing where she left off/retain complete control of the pace of curriculum.

rhe days themselves are bliss, I do a school run then amazing late brunch, go for a swim and pootle around shops doing random errands, then housework/reading/childcare. It’s made me feel like I see my children again and have headspace for them.
ive not found any cons to be honest

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 01/02/2025 08:33

Namechange1086 · 01/02/2025 07:42

Drop Mondays instead. You lose holiday entitlement for the bank holidays as you have to book these as holiday. As more fall on Mondays it's beneficial to not work a Monday. Example: 8 bank hols you will be given 6.5 days allowance for them (4/5) to book against bank hols. If you don't work Mondays you gain additional holiday. This year having booked the bank hols off you will have 2.5 days remaining to add to your normal holiday entitlement.

Exactly this.

I've done Tuesday-Friday for about 10 years. I do slightly longer days, which makes me a 0.86 FTE. On Mondays I sort out kids' dentists appts, boiler service, life admin, food for the week, drop in on my mum etc.

AlmostCutMyHairToday · 01/02/2025 08:35

I've been down to 4 day week for the last 2 yrs (I'm late 30s) and it is beautiful! You will find ways of filling time in the winter. Take up a hobby? Volunteer?

I take Thursdays off so I can wrap things up for the week on a Friday. You also get one or two extra days off in the year from the bank holis that land on a Friday. (Edit to say - if your contract is plus bank holis. Obvs is bank holis come out of your allowance then best to take the Fri off)

Original poster
BigDahliaFan · 01/02/2025 08:37

i wouldn’t be expected to do 5 days work in 4. But I would happily come in for stuff on my day off if it was important. And take the time off elsewhere. It’s a very flexible job already and I can work from home when I want. Mondays are our team day so I wouldn’t want to miss that.

I find the weekends too short to relax and get shit done too and see friends.

I would love to spend more time with the dog. My in laws have her in the day and they’d be glad of a bit of time back.

dh works from home on a Friday and is thinking of going 4 days too…not sure how I feel about that….

OP posts:
Sherararara · 01/02/2025 08:37

DH did this recently. Works compressed hours mon to thu so still gets full pay. Spends his Fridays renovating the house without the kids getting in the way, walking or sometimes just doing nothing at all. Overall though he’s found he is more productive than before if that makes sense.

Huskytrot · 01/02/2025 08:40

BigDahliaFan · 01/02/2025 08:37

i wouldn’t be expected to do 5 days work in 4. But I would happily come in for stuff on my day off if it was important. And take the time off elsewhere. It’s a very flexible job already and I can work from home when I want. Mondays are our team day so I wouldn’t want to miss that.

I find the weekends too short to relax and get shit done too and see friends.

I would love to spend more time with the dog. My in laws have her in the day and they’d be glad of a bit of time back.

dh works from home on a Friday and is thinking of going 4 days too…not sure how I feel about that….

I wouldn't pick Friday in that circumstance!

Wednesday off would be goood? Easier to not check emails etc as well when you know you'll be back the next day.

Iwouldratherbemuckingout · 01/02/2025 08:40

I am a senior leader and I went to 4 days about 4 years ago and it's marvellous! And during that time I've been promoted twice, and am currently CEO, as an organisation we are very supportive of flexible working. I do work long days, but I was before I dropped!

GameOfJones · 01/02/2025 08:56

I went part time years ago, DH also went part time but crucially we have different days off and I think that's important for each having our own time and space.

During my day off I go out for a coffee then do the food shopping and go swimming. Neither of those are weather dependent so I can do that all year round. It easily eats up a fair chunk of the day and feels productive. DH does housework or gardening on his day off and will also batch cook sometimes to make midweek meals easier. It means our weekends are free to just enjoy.

If I've exercised and done something to help with the household on my day off I feel no guilt about just enjoying the rest of my day. I sit in the garden in the summer or go on walks, I read a lot. In the winter I do crosswords and have long bubble baths in the mid afternoon. It's great!

DilemmaDelilah · 01/02/2025 08:57

I used my day off for all the appointments and things I usually had to do at the weekend, leaving the weekend free. Bliss!

ThePoshUns · 01/02/2025 08:57

4 days would be my dream

Antsinmypantsneedtodance · 01/02/2025 09:03

I've worked 4 day weeks for a long time. It keeps me sane. If you have the odd friday where all you do is go for a walk, put a load of washing on and catchup on some tv or reading, that's fine. You don't have to fill 52 fridays with something. It's just as important to have some down time.

I used to have fridays off. But much preferr mondays. Everyone else is going to work and you don't have to. Also most bank holidays fall on a monday so i get bank holiday hours as leave to take elsewhere (prorata).

Latenightreader · 01/02/2025 09:04

When I started my current post I dropped to a 30 hour week over four days. I love it. I get a day to do housework (or not...), do the shopping without my six year old in tow, go out for a solo lunch - I'd really miss it if I went back!

AsACloud · 01/02/2025 09:08

I’m 50 and have been considering this once my mortgage is paid in a years time. It would be a reduction in hours and not compressed so therefore reduced pay but as I’m in a senior role and well paid, the hit wouldn’t be so huge due to the tax paid on my 5th day anyway! Has anyone else felt this? My worry is how it would be perceived, like I’m winding down/slowly heading into retirement when I should still be considering work opportunities etc at that age. I work in a very male dominated industry so that may be impacting my thoughts.

TheFlyingHorse · 01/02/2025 09:13

I do a 0.9 contract over 4 days and never want to go back. I don't think you need to use the extra day for anything specific just have a longer weekend. I use my Fridays off for doing stuff that can't be done easily on weekends like doctor/dentist appointments or making phone calls that need to be in office hours.

I also run a part time business that takes up a big chunk of time most Saturdays so I wasn't really getting two days off per week so there was an extra incentive for me to drop my hours.

It's a joy to get to the end of Friday and realise I've still got two days off!

Mumofteenandtween · 01/02/2025 09:14

Candleabra · 01/02/2025 07:56

It doesn’t work like this. You’ll get pro rata holidays and bank holidays.

Show quote history

It depends on the firm. Ours used to have a “if you lose they pay you back but if you win you win” rule which meant that it was sensible to pick a non Monday as you then got all the Mondays bank holidays off (more than your share) and your pro data holiday allowance.

But they have now cottoned onto that wheeze and calculate our total leave in hours. So generally better to have a Monday off as effectively get extra flexible holiday to do what I like with.

However, Fridays always have Good Friday and for the next two years will have first Boxing Day and then Christmas Day and also New Year’s Day so will effectively be a Monday from a bank holiday point of view.

Excluding the bank holiday issue I would always choose to have Fridays off rather than Mondays if I could. (I currently have had Mondays off but used to have Fridays off.) Fridays off means that you get two lots of “Friday feeling” whilst Mondays off means that you have two lots of “Sunday night feeling”.

SoftPillow · 01/02/2025 09:17

Yes, and I enjoyed it but I did find that:

  • I probably did 90% of the work rather than 80%
  • I did end up checking emails and replying on my Friday off. I didn’t mind but just to note that it did happen
  • I did become a little frustrated at the 80% pay
  • I missed the fun Friday atmosphere at work and the socialising that tended to happen on a Friday evening.
Namechange1086 · 01/02/2025 09:25

MarieG10 · 01/02/2025 08:09

They are calculating leave incorrectly then. You should get your normal entitlement and if your non working day falls on a bank holiday, you just don’t take annual leave. That’s how it would be if part time as well.

i dropped to a four day week but the work wast reduced so at my directors suggestion he restored me to full time hours but compressed them ( I was still doing the hours). It does work for me and I love having the Friday but I’m flexible so if there is an important meeting I do connect in

Show quote history

Yes that's what I meant but didn't express it as well as you did! I get 20 days leave and 6.5 bank hols so 26.5 days. I had to allocate 4 to bank hols leaving 22.5 days so I "gained" 2.5 days holiday on top of the basic 20 days.😀

MaverickBoon · 01/02/2025 09:33

I also work 0.9FTE in 4 days, with a Friday off, and I LOVE IT. As others have said, you don't always need to be doing anything "useful" - it's the feeling of not being answerable to anyone on that one day that's worth it's weight in gold! Obviously you have to cut your cloth accordingly but for me it's worth it. (I try to make sure I do free things on a Friday so I'm not skewing the net benefit 😁)

However, I have an extreme mental block about the annual leave works, and always have. I'm in the CS, and our AL is calculated in hours. I'm not a complete idiot but for the life of me I can't work out whether it's better, leave-wise, for me to have Fridays or Mondays off, but I've come to accept that it's not something I'll ever get my head around. Such is life.

user2848502016 · 01/02/2025 09:53

I did 4 days when my DC were little and have always said I'd love to do that again when I'm closer to retirement age. I'd say go for it.

Original poster
BigDahliaFan · 01/02/2025 09:56

@MaverickBoon me too. They’ve recently changed it too. I need to collar someone in HR and ask…

OP posts:
Starlightstarbright4 · 01/02/2025 10:02

I have worked 4 days a week for many years .. I have a child / now teen with disabilities .. i honestly need it .

I love my job sometimes do overtime but it’s my choice .

Fordian · 01/02/2025 10:13

Doitrightnow · 01/02/2025 08:12

I dropped to 4 days when I was 30! It was brilliant. Ended up dropping to three days at 37 which was more of a problem in terms of feeling part of the work team and being given interesting stuff to do. I went back up to 4 days at 40.

Never got bored or ran out of things to do.

I agree, there are a certain number of days that are optimal for keeping a finger on the pulse in some jobs. Which is one reason why my frontline NHS team fell apart when both Band 7 managers were permitted to do their hours over 3 long days, not five 9-5s; so there were at least 1, sometime 2 weekdays with no shop-floor management present. Chaos ensued...

In my present team of 4 (I'm additional, as casual 'bank') one woman was doing PT 3 days with us, and 1 at another related job, 5th day off; but she dropped the one day and came to us 4 days instead for the very reason that she couldn't effectively manage her particular area of responsibility (liaising with professional sports teams we provide a service for) on 3 days, and she was playing catch-up to find out what had been agreed, by whom, in her absence.