Compressed working

[TheChosenTwo]

Just wondering if anyone works compressed hours at work.
I’m considering requesting it soon, not for any particular reason (as in, not for studying or caring responsibilities or volunteering opportunities etc) but just because I’d really appreciate a day freed up in the week.
I feel like I’m close to having some kind of breakdown due to a horribly stressful year personally, work stuff is absolutely fine, I enjoy my job and am good at it, always have excellent feedback.
Wfh 4 days a week which gives me some flexibility re midday gym classes/walks/swims but it’s still understandably a bit of a rush.
I have heard my big boss is not keen on approving compressed hours so it’s doubtful I’d actually get it, I have a few colleagues who do a 9 day fortnight but it was approved by the previous boss.
I suppose what I’m asking is if you work compressed hours is it worth it to you? Do you have a reason for it other than just wanting a better life/work balance?

Depends on the role and whether it's customer facing. Who would pick up your queries if you weren't there? Impact on ratios relating to people on a/l if you have a day absent every week, despite putting in the hours. Whilst you might work 8-6, can you be contacted between 8 and 9 and 5 and 6? Will your unavailability for a day a week make external/internal meetings difficult to book. Impact on system calculated annual leave and sickness absence. What happens if everyone in the team wants it.

If you already can wfh 4 days a week how much work/life balance do you need?

As you can tell no doubt, I'm not a fan but my team is customer facing and it impacts on customers and colleagues alike.

Good questions.
It’s not a customer facing role, I work in a team and we have cover arrangements when we on A/L - most internal meetings occur tues-thurs as generally when people are taking odd days off it will be either a Monday or Friday to extend the weekend.
Obviously not always but someone in HR has crunched the numbers and fed this back to management.
Everyone wanting it is something that might happen but it’s not a concern of mine and it doesn’t affect my decision to request it.
While I have a few colleagues who do the same role as me doing compressed there are a few more across the organisation in our region who do a 4 day week.
And as for how much more of a work life balance do I need working 4 days from home, well I’d like as much as possible! While I like my job and find it varied, interesting and engaging, my family are my priority, I’ve got a rather poorly daughter and it’s taking a lot out of me. I’d rather have an extra day in the week to do my personal stuff and be around more at the weekends for her.
That’s what it boils down to really.
It’s not a deal breaker but I’d just quite like to give it a go and see how I feel (hopefully a bit better than I do at the moment!).

My line manager is considering this and my concerns are..

Will it take her longer to approve things for the rest of the team if she’s away from the office for an extra day?
Will she always be ‘catching up’?
Will her absence one day a week impact on her direct reports?
Who will cover any incoming queries
in her absence?
Will it actually benefit the company, or is it purely for her gain?

I think it’s important to look at the bigger picture. There are lots of things to consider and it can impact colleagues at every level.

She says she’ll use the time to go to the gym and catch up on housework, so it could be worth it for her… I don’t think it would be worth it for me!

Many companies are not approving compressed hours as colleagues who were also working longer hours without the day off were claiming discrimination. The fact is that most companies expect discretionary effort and that makes it an uneven playing field.
I can see it’s more straightforward if it’s shift based work, e.g. a new pharmacist where you are paid for the shift you work with no unpaid hours expected. it doesn’t sound like this is your situation though.

Valid concerns @ClandestineAdulation and I suppose there will be different situations to consider for myself too.
I don’t manage anyone, hardly anything is ‘urgent and must be done today’ and even if it is we have cover arrangements in place for this just for regular annual leave/sickness already so it would be picked up. Mostly I work on long term projects so while there are always deadlines I’m efficient about the way I work and don’t leave things until the last minute ever!
It’s definitely for my personal gain, there is no benefit to the organisation other than hopefully a member of staff who won’t end up having a breakdown and being off sick for a while. Obviously I don’t know if this will be enough to prevent that and if I can’t get a grip on myself soon it may well just happen anyway.
As I said though, it’s not a deal breaker and I do enjoy my job, it’s not work that is troubling me at the minute it’s definitely home stuff.
i wouldn’t be doing housework 😂😂

I work for a union and I have to say they are an excellent employer (as you might hope!), everyone is treated equally and fairly and generally there’s a good positive work culture. They are strict on people working their hours and no more than they are paid to do, we get a generous amount of leave and are well paid for what we do.

Can you elaborate on the bit about the people working longer hours without the day off claiming discrimination?! And the discretionary effort? I think I’ve missed the point! It’s late…

I have worked compress hours for years in an office based job. It was me that requested when I joined the team and mist followed.

i now lead a team myself. There is one day we have no-one who has a day off except annual leave so we can have team meetings. Anyone who joins has to have whatever day is free as a static day so we can still manage annual leave. also have an understanding that days off are flexible and can change adhoc if required.

we work by ensuring we have cross cover and realistic timeframes. if urgent decisions are needed we can delegate. Communication is key. I do find that a static day works better so we can schedule meetings.

It really only works places where people only work their contracted hours

NHS here
I do compressed hours. 7-5 four days a week. It's flipping brilliant !
I used to do the same but five days a week and I argued that if it continued they'd have to pay me on the bank for the extra hours , so guess what?!

Sorry if I wasn’t clear and it sounds like it doesn’t apply if you work for a union where only the contracted work is allowed.
But in most companies I have seen, there are no “set hours” really for professionals. Some work 8-6, other 9-5, others even more like 8-4 but work from home in the evenings. This is because the work is project and outcomes driven and largely at the employee’s discretion.
Say you have Jane who works compressed hours 8-6.00 four days a week as compressed hours with no lunch and then has Friday off (40 hours) . Jane works alongside Peter who works 8-6 four days a week and 9-5 on the fifth. Both technically paid full time but Peter is working many more hours without being allowed to avail of a day off on a Friday.

Thanks @Savoury I’m following now, think I’m in a food coma and not fully concentrating 😂 but yes, everyone works their contracted hours although certain roles need to be more flexible with the times due to the nature of their job, essentially though everyone works a 7 hour day,
generally the core hours are 8:45-4:45 with an hour for lunch but we can flex within reason to suit ourselves.

Well I’m going to request it although I think it’s unlikely to be authorised, got nothing to lose by asking!

I've been working compressed hours for about 2 months, and it’s the best move I’ve made. I requested it as I felt like I was suffering from burn out, I was in constant Teams calls and never had any time for myself. I now have Wednesdays off which is brilliant for me, but also my working time is more productive as I do my extra time early morning which effectively gives me 3 hours a day where I don’t have any meetings and can actually get some work done! For me it’s been life changing, I’m happier, healthier, more productive at work, and on top of life admin. I’ve agreed with my boss that I’ll be flexible, so if there’s a meeting I need to attend on a Wednesday then I will, but I haven’t needed to yet. Let me know if you have any questions, I’m happy to share my experience!

I do compressed hours 8-5. I get one extra free day off every two weeks. It works very well for me. I would like to have one extra free day every week but a ten-hour day would be too much for me. My job is very full on. However, quite a few colleagues do it.

I would go in with your 4 day week but then say you'll also be fine with 9 day fortnight or even 4.5 day week if they can't accept 4 day week.

I’m a huge advocate. I’ve done it previously (not currently as I now work shifts but I do work 9 hour days so it’s similar to a 9 day fortnight in terms of number of days off)

I don’t find 2 days off enough to sufficiently recharge. It feels like a roundabout that I never get off.

My partner works compressed hours and loves it.

I have moved to doing this. Slightly reduced hours but not much. However, I'm a senior manager so my attitude is that is I need to pick up a very pressing urgent meeting on my non working day I will do.

Reason for me was work life balance, having previously been a contractor etc I had that. Was it welcomed...yes they were ok but the real reason is that they knew my intention was to leave and my skill set and experience is extremely difficult to replace and they didn't want to entertain risking that happening

Our big organisation decided to get rid of compressed hours for new requestsearlier this year. I think many places will be saying no to them these days.

I do slightly compressed hours, I'm glad I'm not trying to do more than an extra half hour per day as it would make the working days very long.

If you are refused could you afford to reduce your hours to an actual 9 day fortnight.

Good to know that for those of you working compressed hours you feel like it’s worth the slightly longer days.
I think I’d rather a 9 day fortnight than a 4 day week as I think a 4 day week would add 1 hour 45 minutes to my working day.
I could afford to work a 4 day week and just drop the 5th day.

The company I work for actively wants people to do compressed hours.

I do a nine day fortnight and it is fantastic. My work days aren't too long and I really look forward to my short week, the extra day to get things done just makes all the difference. I'm quite flexible with it so my day off is normally the Friday but am happy to swap to another day if it works better for the team that week. I work in a large office and most of my full time colleagues compress their hours in various ways, as long as the work gets done and there's cover when needed, it all works well.

NHS here and do a nine day fortnight which is brilliant - it’s quite common here and is supported under our policy. It doesn’t make my day too long and means that I’m getting paid for all the hours I do for the first time in years. In return I get one day off every two weeks and by taking a day of my annual leave on the same day one week per month I only work one full week per month. I can swap my days if needed but so far haven’t had to.

@SirChenjins i know a lot of NHS workers and they mostly work compressed - seems to work well for them.

I've worked compressed hours for about five years now (public sector, non customer-facing). I'm ND and it meant that I had to spend one less day in an office environment and so could socially decompress on that extra day off. Since covid it's been WFH apart from one day a week but I've still kept up the four days. I work 7am-5pm, im an early riser anyway though so still manage to get to the office 30 mins away by 7.

I love it, one of the best decisions I've ever made! And doesn't impact my workload/time management in any way

There are a few of you doing a 9 day fortnight and I think that would work out best for me, I might speak to a couple of colleagues who do it about the application process and then raise it informally in my 1:1, see what my line manager thinks about it.