Going back to work 4 days a week - which day to have off?

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I am returning to work in March for 4 days a week and am lucky enough to be able to choose which day I have off. DD will be going to nursery and will be aged 8 months. I am thinking that a Wednesday would be nice for me, as it would break the week in half, but was wondering if this might be confusing for DD i.e. weekend at home, 2 days at nursery, one day with me, 2 days at nursery, weekend etc. Woudl she benefit more from 3 days in a row at home with me taking a Monday or Friday off?

Just wondered what other people's experiences are with 4 days a week. Thanks .

I have temporarily reduced to 3 days and have Monday and Friday off. Friday because I go to Toddlers that day and Monday for the BH aspect..

Like others have said, if I worked Mondays I would only be entitled to a proportion of the day on a BH so would end up owing them time. By not working Mondays, any BH entitlement gets added to my Annual Leave.

I'm a full timer but if I was working 4 days I'd definitely choose Wednesdays off. Never have to work more than 2 days in a row . I'm a teacher, so I suppose Fridays would also be a pretty good choice - sadly in teaching Fridays are NOT wind down time; in fact Friday afternoons are notorious for being the time when things kick off!! We have a sprinkling of part timers on our staff - most of them want Weds as they know it's the easiest option!

Fridays. Definitely.

I have just gone back to working on Fridays for the first time in seven years (DD2 started school) and yes, Fridays off are quite fabulous.

When I go back I am having a wednesday - plus side being 2 days work, day off, 2 days work, weekend and so on.

I have Mondays and Tuesdays off - and it is great for the following reasons:

1. you never have that awful 'Sunday evening' feeling and I don't even get it on Tuesdays as I know I will only have 3 days to work
2. As others have said, if your company does pro-rata the bank holidays, you get more leave to use when you want to use it - always a handy thing when your child starts nursery as they seem to pick every bug going!
3. Makes the weekend nice and long - and also, you don't begrudge doing things on weekends as you know you can always chill out on the Monday when everyone is back at work!
4. In most places, Fridays are fairly quiet (particularly afternoons) so it is an 'easy' day to work.

Go for Monday!

I take Weds off. I find it important to be in the office on Mondays to make sure things get started off OK (and we have a weekly staff meeting then).

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if you take friday, you could always travel then for a long w/e.

I take fRIDAYS feels like a long weekend. and get the BHs too, pro rata.

I used to take Fridays. Lovely long weekends

Also it depends what your role is and whether the work is covered in your absence. Mine wasn't so by taking Friday I missed less as many people have commneted Friday is an easy day - no-one ever calls an important meeting on Friday afternoon

Vote for Wednesday here - I love it. It means on any day you know you've only got one more day in the office and then you get a break - great for sanity but also good for:

• if lo is sleeping badly you won't have to get up and rush to nursery more than 2 days in a row ever
• my ds doesn't nap as well at nursery and so is pretty worn out after 2 days so he enjoys having a lazy day
• means you can catch up on washing/shopping etc mid-week rather than having to do it all in the evenings after day in office
• people in the office 'notice less' as its half-way through the week and they may be out seeing customers etc (depends what you do) so you feel less out of the loop

Another Monday vote. I get all the bank holidays added to my annual leave so its fab. Nobody seems to schedule meetings on a Monday so you don't miss out on anything, and Fridays are a skive so why would you want not to be in for those.

I work for an insurance broking house where the work is very client orientated and the accounts are not really shared. I agree that a lot happens on a Monday after the weekend, but (I feel terrible for saying this) because I don't really want to go back and have never really loved my job, that seems like a good reason not to be there on a Monday . Think I am going to propose a Monday (after my initial bias towards Wednesdays) and see how it goes. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions/advice .

In October I went back to work 4 days per week, initially I started with Wednesday off (as dd's nursery was full in the baby room that day so I had no choice). I found Wednesdays more difficult to be honest. Harder to maintain the routine of getting ready in the morning (THE most difficult part of going back to work so far!) and harder to keep momentum at work too. Luckily I could change to Fridays off after a month or so and it is much better.

Have you checked with your nursery that they can accommodate your dd all days of the week?

I have Mondays and Fridays off to get the long weekend.

Upside is I get the bank hols pro-rata so I get more annual leave and I dont have to worry about school inset days which tend to fall on Mondays and the occasional Friday.

bumping thread as I am just trying to make this decision too. Any more opinons?