Working 3 days a week - better in a block or spread out?

[oysterpots]

I'm in a relatively fortunate position in that I'm going back to work 3 days a week so for childcare DS will be in nursery one day a week, with DH one day and with MIL one day. So it's possible that I can choose which days I go back.

But am struggling to work out whether it's better to do work in a block, eg M-Tu-W and then have a lovely long 4 days off, or whether it's quite nice to break it up and that 3 days without DS is too much. Have had conflicting accounts from different people, usually along the lines of being more positive about their own decisions unsurprisingly.

Anyone else work 3 days a week and what are your arrangements? Do you find it works and if so why? If your work days are spread through the week do you feel that your employers 'own' you more than if you were in three days in a block and then free for the rest of the week?

If you spread it out then you are never 'free' of work and will always be thinking, 'work tomorrow.'

I would work Mon, Tues, Wed so that you get BHolidays paid for and it gets it out of the way so that you have 4 days off and could go away for a long weekend if you wanted to.

Mon, Wed, Fri would be a pain as you would never really get a break and as I said, be constantly thinking about work.

I work mon, tues, thur, as that was when work needed me. I did think it would be nicer to have mon/tues/wed, but actually it is nice to have just two days work, then a day off, then know I only have to do one day and it's a long weekend...

I think that three days will be quite nice for you however you work it.

I work the same - mon, tues and thurs. Perfect for me. I get a day "off" in the middle of the week to catch up with things, and always have a long weekend. Works perfectly for me, but each to their own.

I think the 3 days together is better.

Agree with collision that you will be thinking of work tomorrow.

From a work point of view it depends on the type of work. I used to work a 5 day fortnight and it was better if I could work one day and come in the next day to finish things off and return phone calls iyswim.

I work Mon, Tues, Weds as a teacher and it suits me/us perfectly. I feel that I can give my all to my job on these 3 days and really spend quality time with my family on the other 4 days. My job is v stressful, so spreading it through the week would mean that I never got time to unwind. I'm a much nicer person with these working arrangements: Much more chilled than when I worked FT and it means I can make a difference to the family financially too. Good luck with whatever you decide. xx

I do a 4 from 7 day block and get it all over and done with at once leaving a bigger gap inbetween, means I work 4 and have 5 or 6 off so can do things inbetween

very personal choice though and heavily dependent on the type of work you do

I work Tuesday to Thursday and love it. I get pro-rat bank holidays so dont lose out and it means I can take them when I choose.

Handy now with school as I am always home on inset days so dont have to worry re childcare.

Bulk of housework gets done Monday morning and Friday morning with just bits in between and it seems to work ok.

3 days would be better together I think , so you can block out your time mentally . I do 4 , MTTF, and soemtimes on Wednesday I'm still thinking about the day before/ahead

I used to do Monday Tuesday Wednesday and it was perfect. I got the benefit of bank holiday Mondays, and enjoyed a long weekend every week.

I now do Monday Wednesday Friday and hate it, every day I think "work tomorrow" and as school inset days are always Mondays or Fridays I am stuck for childcare.

So I prefer to do my days together!

I think it depends if your work is going to be covered in your absence or if its stand alone.

My friend works Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and as she is a manager it works well because she is not unavailable for long blocks of time. I do 4 days Tuesday to Friday and am glad I do it in a block as it gives me a nice long weekend with DS.

From a personal level I guess Tuesday to Friday would be best because then you can take as many long weekends as you want.

I used to work Mon, Wed Fri but only because I did very long days and beieng out of the house from 7.30am until 8.30pm would have killed me if I had to do it in one go.

However, if you work normalish hours then I would go with Mrsmalumbas suggestion of Mon, Tue and Thurs. It gets broken up a bit and you can still do long weekends if you want to go away

I work Tues, Weds and Thurs. That means I still have a long weekend, ie Fri - Mon off. workss well for me, though have to admit that working on a Wed is hardest for me, because when I wake up, I just cant seem to shake that "oh no, work again!" feeling.

I think it really depends on your job and your personality. I work Mon, Wed and Fri which suits me and my employer at the moment. I love the fact that I am only away from my DD for one day at a time. My work isn't covered in my absence so from the point of view of colleagues and clients it is good not to be unavailable for a two-day block - I think I might be disturbed on my days off if it wasn't for the fact that I'll be back in the next day so most things can wait till then. However, I am fortunate that I find it easy to switch off from work the moment I walk out of the building!

I used to do Tues to Thurs and loved it and got extra for having no BHs - now I do Mon - Wed and is ok but not as good as having a long weekend and not doing Mondays!

I prefer to do it all in a block. I work Tuesday to Thursday and have done for the past 5 years or so. Works really well for me.

Due to go down to 2 das a week in September and planning to do Tues-Wed.

When I was working two days I was subject to work requirements and childcare commitments. I did long stretches of two days together and also two days apart. I found the two separate days more pleasant for me. Sorry. Lots of different answers...

I do 2 days, not 3, but what I have found is that because they are split Monday and Thursday I have had to work in a very different way to how I did when I was full-time.

Because of the gap I have to make sure that I have done things that day because I can't come in the next morning and do them first thing.

I feel like I'm constantly working to deadlines (I book beds for an in patient unit) and have to constantly check the calendar to make sure I am working far enough ahead to make sure our occupancy is as full as possible. Every time I leave work I am handing over to someone else things that aren't done - if I was in next morning I wouldn't have to.

But I wouldn't change it, I love working a day, having 2 off, then working another. It's like having 2 weekends! I find I tackle the cleaning on one weekday and the other I can have to myself (snort, more like do more cleaning as I wasted time on here). But that's the theory.

I liked the fact that I only had to get my act together 2 mornings a week and didn't have to do it 2 in a row . I'm so not a morning person . It's different now that dd is at school and I have to be up every morning.

Interesting opinions all, and no real shared ones. Thanks everyone. Well, the decision has been made for me - nursery has come back and offered me Mondays.

So nursery Monday, MIL Thursday, DH can take DS either Weds or Fri. Would it be better to work a. M-W-Th or M-Th-F.

I'm thinking the first, so that I wouldn't have to work Mondays and Fridays, but would be open to opinions on having the two days together (Tu-W) with DS rather than have days split.

Internet, what do you think?

I would do Mon Wed Thurs if I were you. Like you said that way you don't have to work Mondays and Fridays. That way if your DH ever managed to get a Friday off you can all have a weekend away somewhere.

Having done both I prefer to work one end of the week or t'other, not both!

I'd look at how you may have to owe/accrue holidays on bank holidays. For me working part time on Mons & Fris meant I ended up owing work time.

M-W-Th definitely. You get the bank holidays and have chance to get weekends away with Fridays off. If you did Mon, Th, Fri I don't think the two days in the middle would feel as beneficial as the long weekend and you would probably be thinking about work.

Sorry to throw spanner in works but I always did Monday, Thursday, Friday and loved it.

I enjoyed my blocks of days off.