TE
TechEcho
Home24h TopNewestBestAskShowJobs
GitHubTwitter
Home

TechEcho

A tech news platform built with Next.js, providing global tech news and discussions.

GitHubTwitter

Home

HomeNewestBestAskShowJobs

Resources

HackerNews APIOriginal HackerNewsNext.js

© 2025 TechEcho. All rights reserved.

This company shifted to a four-day workweek–and it’s going great

3 pointsby garrettdimonover 6 years ago

1 comment

ethiclubover 6 years ago
&gt;the company shifted to a four-day week, with Fridays off. At first, Nagele says, it went smoothly, since summers are slower. By the fall, they realized they needed to make some adjustments; some members of the support team now work on Fridays but have Mondays off, and vice versa, so that there’s consistent coverage throughout the week<p>(Treating flex-hours &amp; 3-day weekend models as a dichotomy) We posit that flex-hours and working week caps are more feasible and beneficial than fixed or rotating 3 day weekends.<p>- If the company takes Friday off, it is essentially asking a favor from its partners and customers. Those parties are now obligated to wait an extra 24 hrs for service. Flex-time offers better coverage for external parties, and it is easier to operate Incident Management &#x2F; Customer Support functions.<p>- (Rotating or fixed) 3 day weekends make individual staff unavailable for &gt;72 hrs. Especially for those staff members that have &#x27;workaholic&#x27; traits, this can make it difficult to truly relax&#x2F;unwind on the weekend. &#x27;Flex-time&#x27; workers anecdotally are perceived as more &#x27;available&#x27; than 4-day-weekers.<p>- Fixed&#x2F;rotating 3 day weekends appear to require similar levels of forecasting&#x2F;rostering as flex-time models do. Flex-time offers more value to staff.<p>- A single flex-time model is perceived as fairer, and results in fewer caveats (for parents, carers and those with other obligations).<p>- A flex-time model + a working week cap has a neater roadmap than 4 day weeks. A graceful reduction in hours over time allows staff and operations to adjust. Further, the gradual reduction arguably allows the same productivity-output to be &#x27;fit into the same hours&#x27; more easily than jarring steps toward a 4 day week do.<p>- A flex-time model is arguably more compatible with weekend &amp; overnight coverage initiatives.<p>- 3 day weekends don&#x27;t aid (relative to flex-models): Commuter time, city traffic, life&gt;work priority, improved customer support, life emergencies, inter-time-zone communications.