Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Work

Chat with other users about all things related to working life on our Work forum.

Flip

Original poster

Anyone else have a mid week day off?

20 replies

mylittlemonkey · 28/10/2010 19:33

I am due to return to work in January and have requested to go back 4 days a week. My boos has said the only day off they give me is weds.

I am just wondering how well it works having a mid week day off and do you just spend the day not being able to cut off from work?

OP posts:

Rollercoasteryears · 28/10/2010 19:39

I think it's the best day off to have! I originally went back to work 4 days a week with Weds off - it broke up the week nicely and meant I never had to go for more than 2 days without spending a whole day with DS.

The switching off thing will obviously depend on you and the nature of your work - I've always been able to switch off when out of the office and DS is very good at holding my attention! Plus I found that my clients (I'm a solicitor) mostly didn't panic about having to wait from Tuesday to Thursday for something, whereas if it had been attached to a weekend and they'd had to wait for 3 days, I think I'd have been asked to deal with far more "urgent" things before the 3 days off!

Hope that helps...

ruddynorah · 28/10/2010 19:40

yes it's great. it means i never work more than two days in a row!

Original poster

mylittlemonkey · 28/10/2010 19:46

Thanks Roller and Ruddy, very encouraging to hear. I am a solicitor also and can find it a bit stressful and difficult to switch off but hopefully when i go back i will have my DS to take my mind off work. Was just a bit worried that i would be missing out on having a longer 3 day break but your comments have been really helpful - thank you.

OP posts:

Bearcat · 28/10/2010 20:03

I have a Thursday off and I love it.
Originally I wanted to have the Friday off but I gave in to a more junior collague who had offered to look after her granddaughter that day.
The weeks fly by, I feel like I have a mini weekend on a Thursday (although I do all my cleaning that day, but this never really takes me too much beyond lunchtime - never quite got round to getting a cleaner as I would have had to do too much tidying up after 2 boys it never seemed quite worth it) and then I am only back for one day and then its the weekend.

hotbot · 28/10/2010 20:30

one of the best days to have off, as you will get BHOL Mons and Good Fridays < assuming>
so you will gain 11 days overall as no nursery fees on those days

cat64 · 28/10/2010 20:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

doughnutty · 28/10/2010 20:39

I work in retail so have spent my working life having at least one mid week day off. I love it. You can get appointments for docs/hairdresser/dentist etc without any hassle. If you need to go shopping or want to go and do stuff with DCs it's much quieter than weekends. When you need to take holidays you can go midweek to midweek (cheaper) or do more long weekends by only taking 2 days off in the week (good if holidays cause issues with client communication). Lots of good things

Obviously, I'm not in as important a job and never really worried about switching off too much, but these are things to add to the pro list.

notcitrus · 28/10/2010 20:50

It's great - I do 3 days at the mo but want to go up to 4 and hope Weds off will be OK. I might have to have Fri off instead though.

I love being able to recuperate a bit mid-week and also time to think about work and digest and then be ready to plough ahead on Thurs.

RibenaBerry · 28/10/2010 20:58

I think a mid week day is brilliant and long weekends are pretty overrated.

Personally I feel it can work better for the children too. For small children, four days in a row at nursery, or with a childminder or whatever, can be quite a lot in one go. Two days, then a day recharging at home with mum/dad, then two days can be really positive for them.

I also found it made me feel less guilty if I didn't see much of them on the working days, because it wasn't too much of a run of those days.

GrendelsMum · 28/10/2010 21:36

It's wonderful - on Sunday night, you think 'only two days to go until my day off'.

wishiwerearichgirl · 28/10/2010 21:47

Another vote for wednesdays off, there are often cheap deals for things midweek, plus if the dcs are illon say mon, theyre usually better by say thurs so you kind of miss a little bit less work.

i used to do mon, tue weds and if the dcs were ill at the start of the week i would almost certainly have to take all 3 days off, i now do mon, tue, thur and it works out a lot better (and less stressful)

purplearmadillo · 28/10/2010 21:54

Also a solicitor. I had a Wedneday off for quite a while before changing my pattern to be more flexible.

In general I really liked it. I agree with the others that its easier re clients and its also really nice never to work more than 2 days in a row, Wednesday becomes more like a mini weekend.

My only negative is that I did end up feeling quite dislocated. Every day I woke up not knowing what day it was, whether I was working, weekend, week day off (which was different because I had DS with me and DD at school). I found it quite confusing and I did end up feeling like I never had a consistent run at anything, a bit like I had the Monday morning and Firday afternoon feeling twice in a week, if that makes sense.

Overall though, if you can agree it I would definitely go for it.

Original poster

mylittlemonkey · 29/10/2010 18:05

Really pleased at all the positive comments and has made me feel loads better about this as was worried i should not have agreed to it and pushed for a mon or fri off.

I agree that also will be better for DS as he does not have to do 4 days in a row at nursery and breaks up the week for him as well.

Many thanks all.

OP posts:

morleylass · 29/10/2010 20:33

I have Weds off too, works really well. It means that I have a chance to catch up on the jobs that slip on working days so never get too far behind! Best of luck

SweetKate · 02/11/2010 18:04

I had weds off when I went back to work following DS. It was great! DS only did 2 days at nursery then had a rest. Then another two days and then the weekend. My internal clients were all happy - they only ever had to wait a day before I was back in touch (although I did have a blackberry) and it worked well.

iwantavuvezela · 02/11/2010 18:09

I also have wed off and agree with comments posted! I used to work three days and had wed and fri off, now that i am back at work 4 days, i do enjoy the mid-week break, and that my dd gets a break as well from the routine of nursery. I had initially wanted a friday off (but nursery could only offer me friday as an extra day), but I am enjoying the wed

badfairy · 03/11/2010 11:20

Absolutely the best day to have off, means you only ever work 2 days in a row. You get soooo much more done on a Wednesday, freeing up time at weekends. I haven't worked Wednesdays for 5 years !

jamaisjedors · 03/11/2010 11:22

It's great. I usually have Wednesdays off, (am in work today) - a lot of people do in France because the children in primary don't go to school on a Wednesday.

It's a great feeling on a Tuesday night, and as other say, you can get lots done on a Wednesday (shopping, appts etc.).

jamaisjedors · 03/11/2010 11:24

Mind you, at really busy times I find it quite hard NOT to be available on a Wednesday, and end up doing work in the morning or taking work calls - it's quite hard to explain to UK contacts that I am not around on a Wednesday.

But I am full-time so it is quite hard to squeeze it all into 4 days which is probably why it over-runs.

Even when I do work at home, the DS still get to laze around in their pjs til noon and don't have to rush out the door anywhere, which they love.

slug · 03/11/2010 11:43

I used to have Tuesdays off. It was fabulous. You could go to the bank and get your haircut with no queues. You could always arrange a doctor's/dentists/optician's/school appointment. The best bit was the week went faster. The Monday morning dread was lightened by the knowledge that it was only one day then I had a day off. By Wednesday the week was already almost half over.

I miss my midweek day off intensely.

Flip