Would you rather? Working pattern

[merlinpass]

30hours per week.

Would you rather

6 hours over 5 days

Or

7.5 hours over 4 days

Reasons for your choice gets bonus points.

If you say which day you'd choose to have off and why, you automatically win.

I have done both, much prefer having one full day off. However I can see the benefits of spreading the hours over 5 shorter days if you have school aged children.

I would actually have Thursdays now as there’s something I’d like to do but when I worked part time I had Fridays, lots of things are shut on a Monday.

7.5 x 4.

7.5 over 4 days definitely

6 hours will still take up a big chunk of the day

I would rather have a full day to myself, I wouldn’t get much benefit out of a working day being 1.5 hours shorter. I would pick Monday because a lot of BHs are on Mondays so I will get credit back for them and hence more flexibility on when to take my leave.

7.5 hours over 4 days and Fridays off.

Did the first - short days for school pick up reasons

Doing 4 days now for having a long weekend every week reasons

Practically - I worked less unpaid overtime in the first case mainly because I HAD to do the school run

7.5 over 4 days. An extra hour and a half a day to get a whole day off is better than doing the extra hour and a half on the final day.

5 shorter days with primary aged children

4 days and Monday off would be my preference and what I'm aiming for in a few years, I need 5 days now until mortgage is paid off.

My DD does the 6 hours over five days, her children are primary school aged. The extra day off would be very useful and doing an extra 1.5 hours wouldn't make much of a difference. She gets Monday/Tuesday off, which is great over the school holidays and in good weather. But is also great when they are in school to do decluttering and deep cleaning, but fit in time for herself.

As everyone else - school age children, five short days. Older/no children, full day off. Friday off is the common choice but actually I’d prefer Monday to avoid the Sunday blues or midweek to break up a work week.

However, having worked shorter days for a number of years, when I returned to full days I routinely lacked energy by 3pm

7 5 x 4. Lovely for 3 days off a week instead of 2. The ideal being a Monday or Friday off to make a long weekend. If not a Wednesday off so only ever in 2 days at a time.

Do I win? 🤣

I do 30hrs over 5 days but would prefer to do it over 4 days and have a Friday off.

only new in the job so bidding my time before asking to change work pattern.

my previous job offered me the 4 day week but I would have to have done 8-6 (36hrs) Monday to Friday whereas my new job pays more so I cut my hours to 30.

I've had this exact dilemma recently.

I would have preferred to do longer hours over 4 days and get Fridays off. However, I've chosen to do it over 5 days because I can't fit everything in otherwise.

By "everything" I mean some school runs, activities after school. I'm a single parent, and my kids are 8 and 5. In a dream world I'd like to have the Friday off, but in reality I'll probably have to work full time when both the kids hit secondary age.

Have done both.

I prefer 7.5 on 4 days, and Thursdays off. Thursdays because my job requires me to work Fridays, I like working Mondays as I feel more productive at the start of the week, and Thursdays is Pilates class!
But my ideal is totally flexible working- so having my day off when I want- as long as I do my hours.

I did 6x5 when my kids were primary school. I now do totally flex- so some days I work 10 hours, to free up time on another day.

Thanks for the tip, in case I'm ever able to renegotiate my hours Aprilx!

I do 27 hours a week and finish at 3pm every day. However, my kids are older and have left home, so I really hoped they would let me have a day off every week instead, but apparently they need me at work every day.

By 3pm I don't have much energy, but if I did a 4 day week, I would save on the cost of getting to work.

Option C: We have two primary-aged DC and I do 29 hours over four days, but do 8.5 hours on two days and 6 hours on two days. Have Mondays off.

On the days I do longer hours, DH does school hours (spreads rest of his 35-hour week over the other three days) so we don't need to use wrap around care.

Also means that we effectively get 'extra' holiday when taking it for childcare purposes in the school holidays as (apart from when we holiday together), we usually each take off our own six-hour days, so we only need to use six hours, rather than a full day.

Practical: 5 shorter days for the (bloody) school run.

Ideal: 4 longer days with Fridays off so I could sleep for the day in between the (bloody) school run and be recharged for weekend family time.

Reality: 5 longer days with no rest and fifty billion pounds spent on wraparound. Bleh.

I prefer shorter days so when I am in the office I don't have to hang around my desk until 5.30 even if I've nothing (urgent) to do.

Hence why a four day week wouldn't work for me, I don't want to work longer days.

If you have a long commute definitely 7.5 x 4 if you have kids 6 x 5 so you can do drop off and or pick up.
In a previous 4 day a week job I had a Wednesday off ( I didn’t pick it) I actually grew to like it, it breaks up the week and a good day to be able to get an appointment on say dentist or hairdresser. Also my kids were a bit older by then so handy in the holidays as other relatives could maybe take them on the odd Monday or Friday and I was always off on a Wednesday.

7.5 over 4 days for sure.

You can do much more with one day off than you can with an extra hour and a half per day.

Definitely 7.5x4, i don't think you'd notice much difference doing 6 hour days unless you were doing it so that you could fit in something like a school pick up or drop off to save on childcare and you can do much more with a full day off.

I do 30 hours over 4 days with Friday off. I love it. I've warned my boss that I'm never working a Friday again.

I think it's better because you get a solid break from work. If I worked shorter hours but also on a Friday, I know I'd work late (which I already do every other bloody day).

I'm not being funny @merlinpass but...WHERE ARE THE PRIZES??!!1``

Ahem.

7.5 x4 days as I’d rather have a full day off.
I work full time over 4 days but have a different day off each week. If I could choose any day to have off I’d probably choose Monday to relax after the weekend and get everything sorted.

Same