To think Friday would be a rubbish NWD?

[newishmama]

I’m on mat leave considering which two days I’d like to ask for as NWDs. One thing I have consistently noticed is that everywhere seems busy on a Friday, almost as though it’s an extra weekend day. Cafes, the local country park, and don’t get me started on supermarkets! I don’t think Monday is too much different either although I see why people ask for this off as it’s advantageous for bank holidays for many.

I am considering working M/Tu/F, with a mini weekend in the middle of the week with Wednesday and Thursday off. Does anyone do this, or a split week?

Loved Mondays as a NWD - felt like a bonus day after the w/e and working Tues - Fri was a short week.
Had a 3 day job share Tuesday, Thursday & Friday when I first retunred after maternity leave - that worked well too.

I love Fridays in the office. Nice and quiet, hardly any meetings. I picked Thursday as a NWD but it does mean I miss more meetings than I would do on a Friday.

If you work Monday you will end up with less annual leave. And you really need as much annual leave as you can with kids. , especially when they start school.

i used to have Weds and Thurs off and it’s crap. I spent a lot of Friday trying to get up to speed with things after my ‘weekend’. ( remember, no one else has had a weekend so work piles up) If you work three days, it’s much better if they are consecutive.

I changed to working Tues to Thirs and it was much better.

Friday is better than a Monday for a day off I think. Long weekend and even better when it's a bank holiday.

I used to have Wednesdays off and switched to Fridays.

Work wise, Wednesdays were more of a challenge to have as a NWD as it was much harder to switch off from work, as I was out for one day and back in the next. With a Friday off it feels like a much cleaner seperation between work and home (but that's just me).

I guess it depends on your lifestyle - i live some distance from family and many close friends so i use a lot of my annual leave taking Fridays and Mondays off to visit them and usually 2 or 3 long weekends away through the year too. So I would struggle to do that with a part-time annual leave allowance if i took mid week days as NWD.
Fridays can be a good working day as I find people tend to schedule less meetings so it's often the day I can get my head down and properly stuck into tasks.
If you need childcare then you'll probably find it easier to get places mid-week because more people have Fri & Mon as their NWD.

I've just been through making this decision and i agree it is tricky. Our nursery has a policy that if you are 3 days a week, it must include a Mon or Fri, so that stopped me doing Tue, Weds, Thurs which was my previous working pattern. In a precious job, I used to get Wed or Thur off in lieu of working a Saturday, and I never really felt like it was a proper break - my mind didn't switch off from work. So I've gone for Thurs, Fri as NWD so that then every time there is a Mon bank hol, it rolls into 5days off. No idea how it's going to go as only a month or so in, but it's ok so far. I agree places are busier but still substantially less busy than a weekend so I think i can manage with that. And also has the benefit that most baby / toddler groups round us are Mon, Thurs or Fri so its working out quite well with getting to things.

My favourite part-time work pattern was Mon, Wed, Fri. I liked having every other day off. I also preferred working Fridays because everyone's in a "it's nearly the weekend" good mood. Easter was particularly good - I finished on the Wednesday and didn't go back until the following Wednesday.

When I first went part time most of my mum friends had Friday off and they all had their meet ups on a Friday. I don’t get to choose what my non working days are so initially got Tuesday and Thursday, which was nice that I was never in more than one day but really annoying as I felt like every day was a Monday with loads to catch up on. More recently I had Tuesday and Wednesdays off which was a nice little mid week weekend. If I got to pick I’d have Friday off to see all my friends and have an early weekend

I agree supermarkets on Friday are a nightmare. I used to work TWTh and always felt when I came back to work that I had missed so much with 4 days off together. I like the midweek break idea.

I would go Tuesday, Wednesday instead of Wednesday, Thursday if you get bank holidays off. You still have the middle of the week weekend but when it is a bank holiday you get the bonus Monday so are off 5 days in a row.

Places are busier but I found most other people had Friday off while I didn't so my LO missed out on a lot of socialisation with friends and people from NCT etc.

I work Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and love it.

I have Thursday/Friday with my little one and try to fit some housework round her naps if I can.

We then have Saturday and Sunday as a family x

I am a teacher and enjoy working Fridays becayse the full timers are winding down and so they never put anything awful on on a Friday.

I can't wind down though as in my job you can only really so that if you manage your whole week well enough, which is sometimes frustrating.

I do find at home household stuff falls to me on a Monday Tuesday becahse 'I'm off' and I think I'd prefer to have Friday off to get stuff done before the weekend rather than both of us being shattered by Friday. But really my other half should just pull his weight at the weekend and not leave everything to me! So basically look at the partner you have when picking your days 😂

I think it depends on your job. I would find anything other than a Friday too disruptive, I think. I'd also end up having to turn down lots of meetings (I know your part time pattern is supposed to be accommodated but in reality it's not possible in my job). Fridays are the 1 day when my diary is usually pretty clear, I assume because a lot of people are on NWDs or more likely to take A/L. So it's much easier for me to take off, but at the same time I'd miss the quiet day that I usually get things done.

Its generally slightly more favourable BH A/L wise to have a Monday as a NWD.

Coincidentally I actually had a random day off today. My local town was full of old people, especially in JL cafe (which was rammed). For all I know they go every day though!

In my job so many people have Friday or Monday as a nwd that I wasn't allowed them Tues and Wed suits me perfectly though, I prefer getting a break in the middle and never have to work more than 2 days at once! Also find a lot of school events are mid week.
As far as the annual leave goes- in my job you get more annual leave if you dont work Monday. Because you get a pro rata allowance for bank holidays- every time you take a bank holiday off it comes out of your allowance and when you run out of allowance you still have to take the bank holiday but it comes out of annual leave. If you don't work Mondays then you have that day off anyway so doesn't come out of the allowance so you never get to your annual leave......so check how it works for you.

Yes but I will be dropping a Friday after maternity leave in anticipation of the kids starting school in a couple of years because all schools finish at lunchtime on a Friday here 😩

Not working Fridays buys you long weekend breaks and going forward, most school assemblies.

Most of our school stuff was a Tuesday or Thursday morning weirdly. My managers kids' school does Wednesday afternoons.

No you will fall foul as if anything like our place you get hours added onto
leave card but you will have less flexible AL
due to most bh’s falling on a Mon also Fri is a popular day for AL so problems arise at our place due to Fri being the most preferred day to drop by PT’s and the most favoured day to book AL. Monday off is rubbish when the kids get older as trying to find a hairdressers or beauticians open on a Monday is a nightmare and many cafes and restaurants are also shut on Monday if you want to meet someone for a coffee or lunch etc.

If I had the choice I would have Mondays and Fridays off.

I work a compressed week with Thursdays off. To start off with, it was because I liked volunteering with the RDA and I also wanted a day off to occaisonally deal with medical appts etc. Plus going to the stables helped with my mental health which was a bit low at the time. The group only met on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, so not wanting to take up a weekend, I chose Thursday.
I've found that since working from home, I have the time to pop out any day, but Thursdays mid morning and mid afternoon are quiet depending on traffic and roadworks. Friday mornings are quiet too.

Thursdays are by far the most stretched for childcare if that's a consideration for you

Yes agree with having Monday off - I don't work Mondays and end up in "credit" with my bank hol entitlement as I am given more allowance for them than I ever need for any that land in my work pattern (only Good Friday and some at Christmas)

So extra annual leave for nothing! When I used to be off on a Friday I sometimes ended up owing work some hours back when they worked my bank hols out

I used to work Monday, Tuesday and Friday. I now work tues/wed/Thurs. The break mid week was nice and meant i could pace my energy levels. Bank holidays meant I now have an extra 2ish weeks to choose when I take leave rather than been forced to take a full dates leave on bank holiday when my bank holiday leave allowance was pro-rated. Lots of uk holiday parks (which we have found good for the kids) tend to be mon-mon or fri-fri, so working both those days meant booking holidays more tricky as it was a week and a day leave. For some reason Wednesday was really difficult to find baby/toddler groups z there didn't seem to be much running that particular day. Now the kids are at school, teacher training days tend to be Mondays and Fridays so being off those days helps with that.

Mondays tends to be the best day from the perspective of maximum holiday flexibility. I wouldn't take a mid week day off personally because it would be very stressful due to the number of meetings/calls etc I have mid week. Monday or Friday is easier for me to manage. I would find Fridays off very difficult because often deadlines are at the end of the week, so Fridays off would mean I have less time to get stuff done. Whereas if I deliver to a Friday deadline I don't tend to get a response until Tuesday the week after whilst people consider what I've done/said