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?

I've had Fridays off for 10 years now and it's great. I love having a long weekend, 3 days feels so long, and a few friends are off on Fridays so I can meet them if I want to. I don't find anything major tends to happen at work on a Friday, certainly not in the afternoon, so there's no horrendous backlog on Mon morning. The dc's inset days are usually Fridays, too. No downsides for me but it depends on your workplace and lifestyle.

I have Friday as my day off, and I've had this since 2012 when I went back to work when DS was a baby. It's great because so many people have this as their day off and you can meet up with friends.
Previously when I was 0.6 I had Tuesday off as well which meant I went back to work on Monday, had one day then a day off which was nice, then 2 further working days.

Lots of my colleagues WFH on a Friday and about 5 of us have Friday as a day off so getting anyone together for a meeting on a Friday is pointless.

I've just returned after mat leave and work Monday, Wednesday and Friday at its working well. In off in off in off off.

I was contemplating having Mondays and Fridays off but my eldest has just started school so we couldn't really made much use of long weekends away

I work on a Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday.
I love knowing that come Wednesday I'm done for four days. It feels like a real break.

I think non consecutive days off would be better for part time working but depends on the job and how easy it is get back into after time off.

Yeah I have Weds off. It breaks up my week nicely.

I hate taking Fridays off as it’s the quietest work day due to so many colleagues and clients being off. Friday afternoons are just a total non event.

We used to do four long days (FT) and had a revolving rota of days off (three in the team so one off Monday, one Wednesday, one Friday). I loved my Wednesday off so much that when the team restructured and I became the only one working that pattern, I went to a permanent Wednesday off. Bonus that lots of people had Fridays off so it was easy to work in peace on a Friday!

I liked having Fridays off as it was the most common one for my friends to have off so we could go and have nice picnics and go to the beach or wherever with the kids. Also good for trips.

I have Friday as a nwd, I like the feeling on Thursday that my working week is done. I think if it was a mid week day I'd just be thinking about what I had still to do on the day I have to go back in.

When my girls were little I used to have a Wednesday off and it broke the week up nicely. On Tuesday I'd be looking forward to my day off and when I got back on Thursday it seemed like it was almost the weekend (I wasn't the most dedicated or career minded in those days 😆)
Since our granddaughter came along I've had Fridays off, I look after her every Friday and it's the perfect start to the weekend. Every week has a long weekend. Would hate to ever have to go back to working full time.

When I first returned to work I tried a split week and hated it. This very much depends on your job but I found I couldn’t really get into complex things as easily when my week was split. I changed to having all working days in a row and it made work so much better. And by having Friday and Monday off, it meant we could go away for the weekend every so often and that was lovely too.

I've had a Friday off for years. Yes it's busier but more of my friends are likely to be off. I'm taking less annual leave when going away, and I'm not missed in the office. I did non consecutive days for a while and found I couldn't switch off in between and had that Monday feeling twice a week.

I work Tues/Weds/Thurs.
Apart from the benefit of the 'extra' leave you get from Bank Holiday entitlement, I love going to bed on a Sunday night knowing I don't have to get up for the dreaded Monday morning, plus you get two Friday nights - one on Thursday and then the real one on Friday.

I didn't like being off Tues -Thurs as there were fewer days time classes aimed at pre schoolers and fewer friends to see too so I felt lonelier.

As DC got older and were in school nursery a few hours a day , I found my Mondays or Fridays useful for sorting out our house, getting food in, setting us up for the week ahead very useful.

Lots of toddler groups etc run on Fridays. I found Wednesday to be the best day off when working 4 days - two blocks of work with a day off in the middle. People I know who had a single day with days off either side found it to be an unproductive day.

I don't work Thurs and Friday I like this as I do all the housework, jobs, food shop etc and feel can enjoy going into the weekend with everything up to date

I used to have Wednesday off, mid week weekend loved it!

Not true about less AL you get the same amount, just less choice about when you take it because if your employer does things properly, they add up your AL and share of BHs and take off all BHs that fall on your working days from your allowance, leaving you to choose when to take the rest.

Unconventional as it may seem, but I think if you work 3 days a week, Monday, Weds and Friday as working days with Tuesday and Thursday as NWDs is worth considering.

Obviously it would have to work for your role, but it could be welcomed by a lot of employers as it would improve cover levels when a lot of people default to Monday and/or Friday as NWDs.

Never working more than one day in a row could feel nice, plus you're never off more than one day in a row in the working week or have an extended weekend - it's often inconvenient to full timers to have to deal with the (aptly named) TWaTs because if you miss them by the end of Thursday, they're unavailable until Tuesday the following week.

But for a 4 day week, I'd go for Weds as a NWD as a first choice.

Mondays and Fridays aren't great as NWDs because Mondays are also busy for shopping centres, supermarkets etc, plus a lot of attractions etc are closed on Mondays. Also, somethings cost more to do on Friday than earlier in the week (eg I've noticed this about spas).

I like Mondays off. The week feels shorter.

This is why I like it off. Yes it's busier, but more people are about, more things are open etc.

On Mondays and often Tuesdays round here a lot of independent places are closed so I would find that very limiting.

Personally, I'd take Friday off and avoid taking Mondays off like the plague ... you get some bank holiday mondays anyway.

I work Tues, Weds and Fri and love it. Mondays off mean I don’t get the Sunday night dread and can chill if we’ve had a busy weekend. Friday is a quiet day at work because lots of people have Friday off, so there’s less meetings and I can get work done uninterrupted.

I used to do Mon/Tue/Thurs and it was fab having that extra day off in the middle of the week and then a longer weekend, but agree Fridays are busy so Mon/Tue/Fri would be ideal to work.

I don’t work on Fridays and I haven’t noticed places being especially busy, definitely not as busy as the weekend.

I meet up with a friend who also doesn’t work on Fridays, I get housework done so it doesn’t impact the weekend, and it’s good for long weekends.

I like it. I did get to choose and I’m happy with my choice.

I have a wednesday off and I love it. Nice break mid week.