Every Other Friday Off

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jester14
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Every Other Friday Off

Post by jester14 »

Howdy, fellow bogleheads.

My employer is most likely switching to a 9/80 schedule, in which we work 80 hours in aggregate every two weeks, but get every other Friday off. I am extremely excited for this for a multitude of reasons.

Has anyone else had this schedule before? How did you like it?

If you were me, what would you do on those free Fridays? SO should have a similar schedule as well. Should I/we:
-Do something fun
-Do something productive
-Do something side business related

The overwhelmed me says I need to take it easy and catch up on a few things, as I will be working significantly more hours than 80 in that time period and may even have to log in from home on those Fridays. To do list, sleep in, work out, food prep.

The productive me says to stay aggressive, make up for lost time and be productive. Any advancement in my career or money from a side hustle can still compound nicely. Side business, personal development, etc.

In all reality I will probably do a balance of both, but wanted to see if others had any specific thoughts or experience with this. I love the different perspectives and advice here.

Additional details:
-Currently maxing 401k, IRA, HSA, rest taxable
-SO currently working on maxing all 3

Jester
AlohaJoe
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by AlohaJoe »

I had this schedule once, many years ago (like....20 years ago).

I think "being productive" is overrated. It was nice to be able to run errands during the day (when government offices are open and crowds are a bit thinner) but nowadays so many jobs offer flex time for running errands during the day, this part is less useful. All of my friends back then had normal 9-5 M-F jobs so I didn't really have any extra opportunities to socialize. I think I caught a few more cheap matinees and played more video games.

Anyway: I'd do something fun.
eddot98
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by eddot98 »

There were a few years at my employer when due to construction on a major bridge they encouraged us to work alternate hours. I chose to put in my 37.5 hours in a week in 4 days, taking every Monday off. Having an old, large house with the requisite chores, I mostly spent my extra day off doing them. The longer hours coupled with my hour long commute each way made me quite tired when Saturday rolled around. So, Saturday was for sleeping in. One positive was that I had one less day commuting.
taurabora
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by taurabora »

I am currently on 9/80, and have been for 6 years.

When I was traveling for work, I found it to be great, but now that I work at a plant, I would prefer a traditional schedule or something like 4 10s. The reason for this is that the 9 hour day puts you in heavy rush hour traffic on one or both sides of a commute (in my city, anyway). I generally end up working 10-11 hours to avoid the horrendous traffic that is Houston rush hour.

I generally try to use my Fridays off to get a haircut, see a movie, have a nice lunch etc. while the foot traffic is reduced on a Friday compared to the weekend.
averagedude
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by averagedude »

I believe it depends upon your goals. I think everyone should have goals in life, but it doesn't have to be big. They can be very small goals, but the goals should be yours and not someone's else. Dont follow the herd. Me personally, my goals arent huge, so i would use that Friday to do something fun, such as pursuing the several hobbies that i enjoy.
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One Ping
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by One Ping »

jester14 wrote: Thu Jul 05, 2018 10:42 pm My employer is most likely switching to a 9/80 schedule, in which we work 80 hours in aggregate every two weeks, but get every other Friday off. I am extremely excited for this for a multitude of reasons.

Has anyone else had this schedule before? How did you like it?

If you were me, what would you do on those free Fridays?
I worked that schedule for the last 15 years before retirement. Loved it! I did what ever I wanted on the extra day off: 3-day weekend trips, sometimes catch-up of things around the house, etc. Sometimes I changed the following 2 week period to have the first Monday off instead of the last Friday then I'd end up with a 4'day weekend.
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bogglizer
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by bogglizer »

I hate working 9 hours a day. I choose to do it anyway, because almost no one comes into work on those Fridays, and it is boring. I did used to work at a company that switched timecard weeks on those on-Fridays at noon, so we could flex and charge the whole day to either week. That was really cool - working for half a day on the weekends would give all Fridays off, for example.

I usually don't do anything interesting on my Fridays off. Get stuff done that needs businesses to be open, I guess.
IowaFarmBoy
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by IowaFarmBoy »

I've been working a 9x80 for almost 20 years and have really liked it. I have mine set up so I only work 7.5 hours on the Fridays I do work so even that feels like a short day. I am generally able to move my off day around if I need to for activities. It has saved me a lot of vacation days over the years- especially when the kids were young and we were traveling for sports events.

Now it is nice to have the day off to catch up on other things like projects and just spending time with my spouse. It was nice to have a day off to be together when the kids were in school. We frequently go garage saling (in season) go out to breakfast, etc. I'm off today and we are heading out on a group bike ride with a bunch of retirees who can do this every day.
f35phixer
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by f35phixer »

yes love it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

do what i want, golf, catchup at home, look at this site, whatever i want because DW works i get a free day :D

Still get up at 0440 though :twisted: :oops:
Topic Author
jester14
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by jester14 »

Thanks for the replies so far, I'm curious to see if any others respond. I'm glad to hear that it's a helpful schedule for most.

It sounds like most use it for fun or for catching up on a few things. I guess I shouldn't feel guilty doing the same!

After thinking about this some more, I think what will happen is this over time:
-Use it to catch up at first, I've got a massive to do list
-Then use it for fun stuff in the spring/summer/fall (quick national park trips especially, we live in Utah)
-And more productive stuff in the winter, coupled with some snowshoeing

Jester
LawEgr1
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by LawEgr1 »

Had it for 6 months then went back to a normal 5x-8 or > schedule closer to home. It had it's pros and cons:

Pros

1) Unlike some, I was super productive on those Fridays most of the time. Whether it was a long workout, mowing grass, doing chores around the house, groceries, etc. It made the normal weekend feel longer because I didn't need to commit to those types of activities I would normally spend on Saturday or Sunday and could spend bothering my spouse.

2) I could schedule all Dr. appointments or car appointments on those Fridays without concern to disrupt my work schedule. Loved this part.

3) I could schedule job interviews easier and not waste PTO (it's true)

4) Coupled with a Holiday or PTO, and boom you have a 4 day weekend even though you utilize an extra hour per day. I don't use much PTO, so that was a great benefit

5) For me, no expectation of OT, just gather the billable hours and go (Defense)

6) I work 9 hours a day anyway

7) Sometimes if we took a trip somewhere, my spouse has 'unlimited PTO' and we could just take off early on that Friday without disrupting my PTO time and have a nice long weekend away / travelling to family.

Cons

1) At the time, we didn't have a kid. We will in 2 months and given the spouse work schedule and what mine would've been it would've wreaked complete havoc on the daycare situation. Fortunately, we don't have do deal with this, but it would've been a major stressor for us. This may not apply to your situation, I realize.

2) As someone else mentioned, I got nailed on both ends of the commute and it went to about and hour total. I realize that isn't much for some, but I went from about 25 minutes total to 1 hour for that job. I didn't truly mind it so much when it wasn't winter, really, but couple that with the daycare item above and the miles / gas / weather situation it was more expensive and an added stressor in retrospect. I'm not back to 25 minutes and don't have to "think" about when to time to get home. Again, this also depended on where I lived, if I lived close to that job it wouldn't have been an issue, so this also may not apply to your situation.

3) Interestingly, I found that sometimes a long weekend of 4 days or sometimes even the normal 3 would disengage me from work or it'd take me a while to get back in to the swing again. Also may not apply to you.


Overall

In retrospect, I liked it quite a bit, especially since I work long days anyway except 5x a week now. If I could, I would have that schedule but close to home and it would be a dream, but I didn't leave that job due to the schedule.

As you can see, YMMV. If I was 50 without the daycare item and my soon to be kid(s) weren't so dependent, I'd jump on it in a heartbeat.
Dude2
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by Dude2 »

Absolutely hate it.
Even worse was when I worked in western NY and they had "summer hours" which was four 10 hour days per week.
I look at it that we are all only humans, and we need those extra days to accomplish what we need to and not get crushed by ergonomic issues. You can only sit in a chair so much. You can only stare at a monitor so much. Days need to pass for progress to be made. People need to rest and recover. I call BS on the idea that everybody can accomplish all their personal business on the off Friday. Doesn't happen.
Don't even get me started on trying to get support while you are on travel and the entire office is shutdown for what seems like half a week.

Also, people have widely varying definitions on what constitutes "work". All you are doing is getting one day less of that person per week, regardless of the fact that they might have been physically in plant talking about sports for an extra hour per day.

Also, it causes you to avoid any sort of lunchtime activity and greatly reduces social interaction in the effort to save every minute you can.
Last edited by Dude2 on Fri Jul 06, 2018 7:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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midareff
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by midareff »

80 hours in two weeks would be the least amount of work time I ever put in and I worked 46 years before retiring 7 years ago.
Bob-a-job
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by Bob-a-job »

midareff wrote: Fri Jul 06, 2018 7:26 am 80 hours in two weeks would be the least amount of work time I ever put in and I worked 46 years before retiring 7 years ago.
Whatever work schedule works for you - I remember in former working life that there was no correlation between productivity and number of hours spent at work.
mw1739
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by mw1739 »

I work that schedule currently and can’t imagine not doing it. It’s great for long weekend trips, getting things around the house done or just spending time with the spouse/kids. Medical appointments are a little harder since (at least around me) many doctors, dentists etc. are closed on Fridays.
youngpleb
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by youngpleb »

Pretty much everybody in my area at work (there's like 10 of us) does something like that schedule. A couple of us like me basically do that but take a half-day every Friday instead of every other Friday off. Sometimes I wonder about transitioning back to a 5x8 workweek instead because I think it would make me slightly more productive. When that 9th hour rolls around, especially on Wednesday/Thursday, I question how productive I really am during that time. Plus with my commute and my desire to get a full 8 hours of sleep each night, 9 hour workdays really cut into free time so Monday-Thursday are kind of a blur most weeks. Been doing it about 10 months.
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jadd806
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by jadd806 »

After working the 9/80 schedule for a few years I ulimately don't think that it was worth it. I find the extra hour per day of free time far more valuable than the day off every 2 weeks. The days felt a lot more rushed and stressful when I was on 9/80 and it kind of forces you to "live for the weekends." That's not how I like to live my life. Another downfall of the 9/80 included more traffic at the later leave time adding ~15 minutes to my commute most days.

I'm now back on 8 hour days, odd-shifting such that I get to leave the office at 2:30. It's pretty much the holy grail of work schedules for me personally. I beat the traffic and I have plenty of time to work out, take a nap, and/or start dinner before my SO gets home.
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jadd806
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by jadd806 »

youngpleb wrote: Fri Jul 06, 2018 8:52 am Pretty much everybody in my area at work (there's like 10 of us) does something like that schedule. A couple of us like me basically do that but take a half-day every Friday instead of every other Friday off. Sometimes I wonder about transitioning back to a 5x8 workweek instead because I think it would make me slightly more productive. When that 9th hour rolls around, especially on Wednesday/Thursday, I question how productive I really am during that time. Plus with my commute and my desire to get a full 8 hours of sleep each night, 9 hour workdays really cut into free time so Monday-Thursday are kind of a blur most weeks. Been doing it about 10 months.
I definitely agree and as I noted in my other post it feels like you're "living for the weekend." The weekdays sped by in a blur on that schedule. If you have a moderate to long commute, it just makes it that much worse because the 1 hour is a larger percentage of your free time. The only benefit is that you knock down your mileage and commuting expenses by 10%.

I made it 3 years on that schedule. I recently moved 30 minutes closer to work each way, went back to 8 hour days, and I'm dodging traffic by leaving work earlier. All told I've reclaimed ~2.5 hours of free time each day and it feels great.

I'm still working on the getting 8 hours of sleep per day thing... I'm probably 80% functional on the 5-6 hours that I get during the week which has thus far been "good enough," although it does feel great to get a full night's sleep.
stan1
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by stan1 »

I've been on a 9/80 schedule for the last 30 years. For the first 10 years everyone including executives took the same Friday off every two week pay period -- the place shut down with the rationale of saving money on electricity. For the last 20 years its been in a situation where the 9/80 schedule is optional and about half of the people who are in the 9/80 program take each Friday off.

My anecdotal observation is that some parents with children too young to be left alone (especially single parents) prefer the standard 8 hour/5 day schedule. People with kids past the age of needing child care, those who have flexible child care providers such as relatives, or those who do not have kids choose the 9/80 schedule more frequently. People with very long commutes seem to like the 9/80 schedule. My employer does not offer a "First 40" schedule with 4 x 10 hour days each week.

One of the best aspects of the 9/80 schedule is the possibility of a three day work week or a 4 day weekend when there is a holiday. For 9x3=27 hours of time off I get 9 days (Saturday-following Sunday) if I take the holiday and day off in the same week. That's nice for vacations. Four day weekends are nice for doing things around the house and family gatherings around Thanksgiving and Christmas.
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DanMahowny
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by DanMahowny »

Retired now, but when I was a working stiff, my "work week" was Mon-Thur.

I have not worked a Fri, Sat, or Sun since around 1989.
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blgaarder
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by blgaarder »

Co-workers with 9/80 schedules sometimes find that "important" meetings are scheduled on their day off and they have to come in without getting another day off.

If the entire company is on the same schedule with the same day off, that's a different matter.

I worked at a college where the schedule was 4 1/2 days a week, with Friday afternoon off. They still do it.
Carl53
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by Carl53 »

Worked 4 10s for a year when my employer decided to try it out. 4 day weekends every other week. Loved it. With an hour+ commute, it saved me 2 hours on the road per week. Unfortunately they discontinued it the next year.
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by mrc »

I worked 4 10s for years, and was available remotely on Fridays. Over an hour one-way commute, so this helped a lot.

I ended up going into the office (cube) only two days a week, so it worked well for me.

Not all jobs are good for that though.
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Random Poster
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by Random Poster »

youngpleb wrote: Fri Jul 06, 2018 8:52 am Pretty much everybody in my area at work (there's like 10 of us) does something like that schedule. A couple of us like me basically do that but take a half-day every Friday instead of every other Friday off. Sometimes I wonder about transitioning back to a 5x8 workweek instead because I think it would make me slightly more productive. When that 9th hour rolls around, especially on Wednesday/Thursday, I question how productive I really am during that time. Plus with my commute and my desire to get a full 8 hours of sleep each night, 9 hour workdays really cut into free time so Monday-Thursday are kind of a blur most weeks. Been doing it about 10 months.
My employer does half-day Fridays every week, with the official office hours being 7:30 to 5:30 Monday through Thursday and 7:30 to 11:30 on Friday.

I have mixed opinions about the arrangement.

By Wednesday, I'm usually very tired and getting up on Thursday can be difficult. For those who have long(ish) commutes, I can only imagine what their weekdays are like. Additionally, coming into the office on Friday for a 4 hour stint is largely a waste of time: very little gets done (most people are just working on their to-do lists for the next week) and it does rather cut into your "free weekend" time (in that having the whole day off would be better than just having the afternoon off). It also strikes me as a particularly inefficient way to staff.

The benefit of the arrangement are that it can make it somewhat easier to get some chores done on Friday afternoon (instead of waiting until Saturday or Sunday to do them), provided that you aren't so exhausted from the work week's schedule that you still have some energy to do said chores. Nowadays, I tend to take naps every Friday afternoon.

When I first started here, I loved the office hours, but the longer I'm here, the less I really like them. What I'd prefer is to have every Friday off and make up the 4 hours elsewhere M-Thur, or just drop the whole idea of having official office hours and just let people do their work as the professionals that they are when and where they want to do it.
123
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by 123 »

I've had a 9/80 schedule for a few years. It's main benefit is giving you that extra day free and cutting down your commute time. The main potential argument against it is likely that if you have young children it may not work depending on the kid's schedule as well as the availability of a spouse to handle some of the kid's school/transportation/activities.

You get the best use of that extra day if you carefully schedule the other work days. I try to avoid "losing" that extra day to mundane activities like grocery shopping when I could do it on the way home from work on another day. If you're home alone on that extra day you can get a lot of housework done when no one else is around to interrupt or interfere.
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Earl Lemongrab
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by Earl Lemongrab »

When Megacorp first started looking at flex time, the first stab was "four 9s and a 4". Meaning you working 9 hours Mon-Thu, and had a half-day on Friday. The management guy that presented it to us was very surprised when some of us didn't like it. He acknowledged that we didn't have to it. I didn't get into the office until 9am anyway, and I didn't want to extend the day much.

Later they made schedules more flexible. Some people did the alternate Fridays off, some "four 10s". Friday became a pretty low attendance day. I kept up the regular schedule right up until I decided to go part time and started having every Friday off.
IRT
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by IRT »

9/80s are optional where I work. 85% of the workforce uses them. Some folks with young kids do prefer the 5/40-- gives you that extra hour to drop off/pick up.

As you're finding, there's no accounting for taste, but when offered an alternative schedule, most will prefer it.
For me, I tend to use my Friday off to avoid crowds-- popular fishing places, hiking routes, post-office, etc. Friday tends to be my 'doing stuff day' and then Saturday or Sunday is more of a rest and recharge day. It'd be hard for me to switch back to 5/40-- I'm very used to to the extra 23 days off :)
MtnTraveler
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by MtnTraveler »

So I was on a 9x80 schedule and absolutely hated it. The funny thing was the job I had before would work 4-9's and only work 4 hrs on Friday. That worked great as I would do all the grocery shopping, errands, etc and still be able to pick up my daughter from school and have a fun afternoon with her. On the 9x80 my off Friday would be so full of all the errands, etc that hadn't gotten done in 2 weeks I was always stressed and the carefree Friday afternoon with my daughter wasn't so carefree anymore. As time went on it got worse as my Friday off never feel on weeks my daughter was off so if we went on vacation I had to use more vacation time. As my daughter's extra-curricular activities (volleyball) got more demanding with practices,etc I was having to work on the weekends to get all the hours I needed in as I couldn't drop her off at school, work 9 hrs, and still get her to practice on time. At that point I'd pleaded to go back to a normal schedule or I was going to have to go part-time. I've been back on a normal schedule for 10 yrs now and there is no way I'd go back to a 9x80 even though my daughter is in college now.
IRT
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by IRT »

MtnTraveler wrote: Fri Jul 06, 2018 11:56 am As time went on it got worse as my Friday off never feel on weeks my daughter was off so if we went on vacation I had to use more vacation time.
This is an important detail. MegaCorp here always Friday 'switching'-- temporarily moving an off-Friday to an on-Friday to accommodate your schedule. Without that, I can imagine a few problems.
GT99
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by GT99 »

Interesting that so many people have experienced these schedules. My current employer gives the option of working 4-10s, Mon-Thurs, or normal 5 days with Fridays working from home. They do it because of a very inconvenient office location (I commute 40 miles). What I've found is that it doesn't matter much which schedule I work - I officially do the 4 10s, but I'm writing this on a Friday from the office (hard to work from home with 2 little ones and DW there). When I tried the normal 5 days, I found was working similar hours M-Th because the majority of folks work that schedule.

If I didn't have 2 young kids, I'd love the 4-10s. As it is, I rarely see them for more than 30 minutes a day Mon-Th, if that. I'd also like the 4-10s a lot more in a different environment - my company is meeting obsessed, and I typically spend 30+ hours per week in meetings. And those meetings are all M-Th. If I have to spend so much time in meetings, I'd much rather do it spread over 5 days.
Outside of lost time with the kids, the biggest drawback to 4 10s is I pretty much never find the time to workout M-Th.
If I tried to work 8-5, I'd spend an extra 30+ minutes a day in the car. If I leave before 7 am, and head home after 6:30 pm, my commute is rarely more than 45 minutes each way.

Despite working on Fridays, it is nice to have the flexibility. Most Fridays, I only work a half day and it doesn't matter when I do it. I can sleep in (which means getting up by 7 am :annoyed ) go workout, log in for a while, take a break to do stuff around the house, log back in, and so on.
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by midareff »

Bob-a-job wrote: Fri Jul 06, 2018 7:45 am
midareff wrote: Fri Jul 06, 2018 7:26 am 80 hours in two weeks would be the least amount of work time I ever put in and I worked 46 years before retiring 7 years ago.
Whatever work schedule works for you - I remember in former working life that there was no correlation between productivity and number of hours spent at work.
Bob, in the environment I was in there was no correlation between the work load and the amount of staff you were permitted.
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Earl Lemongrab
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by Earl Lemongrab »

blgaarder wrote: Fri Jul 06, 2018 10:04 am Co-workers with 9/80 schedules sometimes find that "important" meetings are scheduled on their day off and they have to come in without getting another day off.
At Megacorp, you had your "permanent schedule" but you were allowed to alter it on a temporary basis for flex purposes. You just had to get your hours in over the two-week pay period. So in a case like you mention, a person affected would just adjust their schedule to make up the hours.

When I was on part-time, I made it clear that if they really needed me to come in on a Friday, I would but I would take the following Monday off no exceptions. They only requested it a few times over the time I was doing that.
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by MJW »

jester14 wrote: Thu Jul 05, 2018 10:42 pm Howdy, fellow bogleheads.

My employer is most likely switching to a 9/80 schedule, in which we work 80 hours in aggregate every two weeks, but get every other Friday off. I am extremely excited for this for a multitude of reasons.

Has anyone else had this schedule before? How did you like it?

If you were me, what would you do on those free Fridays? SO should have a similar schedule as well. Should I/we:
-Do something fun
-Do something productive
-Do something side business related
Give yourself some time on the new schedule and you'll get a feel for how to spend the extra day. Not sure it is something that I would spend time planning in detail or overthinking at this stage. It also depends on how you're naturally wired. If you are someone who is always on the go, you'll find ways to fill the time. Perhaps sometimes you'll just want to relax. Again, see it how goes and adjust accordingly.
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by RickBoglehead »

GT99 wrote: Fri Jul 06, 2018 12:21 pm I'd also like the 4-10s a lot more in a different environment - my company is meeting obsessed, and I typically spend 30+ hours per week in meetings.
30+ hours in meetings per week is pretty dysfunctional.

Some companies have cut meeting time by having certain days, like Tuesday, "not meeting Tuesday".
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by lthenderson »

I did that once upon a time but it wasn't as great as I thought it would be going into it.

First, many of my friends were colleagues and because we all couldn't take off the same Fridays it really didn't create any more socialization opportunities and instead bred resentment among some if they had to work during the off Friday of others.

I found that many other places had similar schedules so trying to have things scheduled for my Friday off was really hit or miss among some businesses.

In my job, we were expected to get a job done on time and so if others not on my schedule made a Friday meeting or I had to be on site on my Friday off, I still had to come to work and since I was salary, I wasn't compensated for it other than staying in the good graces of upper management.

In the end, my boss just let me work normal hours and if I needed time off on any day I wanted and it didn't interfere with getting my job done, I took it off. I liked that better than being told to take every other Friday off providing a meeting or other work function wasn't scheduled for that day.
GT99
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by GT99 »

RickBoglehead wrote: Fri Jul 06, 2018 12:38 pm
GT99 wrote: Fri Jul 06, 2018 12:21 pm I'd also like the 4-10s a lot more in a different environment - my company is meeting obsessed, and I typically spend 30+ hours per week in meetings.
30+ hours in meetings per week is pretty dysfunctional.

Some companies have cut meeting time by having certain days, like Tuesday, "not meeting Tuesday".
Absolutely. I've only been at this job 7 months, but I'm certainly questioning my choice largely because of the meeting culture. I've set strict meeting rules with my team, but most of my meetings are with folks at my level or above, and while I've gotten positive responses to my suggestions to reduce meeting times, nothing has changed in practice.
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by LMBFlorida »

I have worked the 9-80 schedule for probably ten years of my career. Also worked 4-10 for a couple years. worked 4 9s and a 4 for a while and hated that. I currently work 1/2 days... 7a-7p

I prefer the 9-80 schedule out of all the schedules I have worked the last 35 years. Bring a salaried manager there were may "Off" Fridays that I came into the office or stopped by a client facility for a meeting. As a minimum I would send a couple hours checking emails. However many Friday's I could get in a round of golf and then do some work in the afternoon or work some in the morning and then get some errands done in the afternoon. I was never one to work only 40 hrs a week so a Friday off every once on a while was great. One of the nicest parts was extending the there day weekends to 4 day weekends.
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by nisiprius »

Here's the problem: will they stick with it?

I worked for a medium-sized company that instituted a 9-80 program. Well, at first, my wife was working a regular schedule, so we couldn't use the days to do anything together. Over time she explained the situation and they let her use vacation days to take some of those Fridays off, but of course that reduced our usable vacation time. For quite a while, it was just me by myself at home at loose ends. It took about a year to get used to the new schedule, adjusted, and able to take enough advantage of it for it to feel like an overall benefit. (Remember to buy tickets in advance for things, etc).

And then they discontinued it.

Meanwhile, I can tell you that no, it's not a free lunch. It's nice getting the Friday off, but, equally, it's quite noticeable working an every hour every day. It's not clear that you are actually any better off overall. In my case it not only made me just a bit more tired each night, and just a bit more of a strain to get to clubs and social events that started at 7:30, but it also pushed my commute home to a distinctly more congested time of day.

It also created some complicated issue with accounting for holidays and vacation days--I don't remember what it was.

And it also created an issue because, for some reason I don't remember, the plan created issues for the managers and people working on the factory floor. So the engineers were on the 9-80 plan, but the factory wasn't, and that created some issues.

As it worked out for me in that job at that time, it basically turned out to be more of a nuisance than it was worth.
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WestUniversity
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by WestUniversity »

We also do 9 80 at my MegaCorp. Love it. It’s a great day for scheduling doctor appointments, running errands, doing the yard a day early, or simply taking a 3 day weekend twice each month. It’s made the last few years at MegaCorp a little more bearable...
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by jester14 »

This thread received so many replies it would be inefficient for me to quote them all. A did notice a few reoccuring themes so I'll try to address them here. Thank you everyone for your perspectives!

We don't have kids, so that's not a worry for us right now. I can definitely see how that might complicate things for those that do.

My commute is 10-12 minutes, so I won't be too impacted there. My normal day is 7am-6pm anyway, so I get to miss the majority of the traffic as it is. This will also allow me an extra day off. We'll see if my output drops, I don't anticipate being able to get the same amount of work done in a 2 week span now, I also have a lot of meetings.

Several folks mentioned sleep - I know how you feel. I'm hoping that Fridays will allow me the chance at squeezing in a nap to help catch up.

I'm definitely looking forward to quick weekend trips. These will become a huge priority for us in the spring and fall. Camping just got a lot easier too - we can secure a spot on Thursday nights now ahead of the rush. It will also make visiting family easier as both of our parents live out of state.

Other fun things will include golf, fishing, cooking, going to costco, brunch, reading, hiking.

On the flip side, I don't see myself overthinking or planning too much. Trips will be a focus but everything else will come with time. I do want to knock out my to-do list though. I was surprised no one said to work more - meaning, side business, etc.. Maybe that's because folks here have better balance instead of do-everything-possible-to-move-up-your-FIRE-date mentality?

We will see if this schedule has staying power. My employer is offering the standard 5 days a week schedule as well, so hopefully folks can choose and be happy with what works for them. Some posted using the schedule back to back to create 4 day weekends - I would definitely do that but MegaCorp won't be quite that flexible.

In summary, I don't see it affecting me too much given by current routine and commute, but you never know.

My employer officially rolled this out today! :sharebeer We'll see how it goes.

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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by catdude »

I worked a 9/80 schedule many years ago. What I remember about it is that the 9-hour work days psychologically felt about 50 percent longer than 8-hour days. Nine hours was a real grind. I'm not sure I was all that productive during that 9th hour.

I also briefly tried out a 4x10 schedule. I gave it up after two or three months. I worked Monday thru Thursday, and had every Friday off. I found that I was so worn out by Thursday evening that I slept in till noon on Friday and got very little done the rest of the day. Kinda defeated the purpose of getting that day off from work...
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by jester14 »

catdude wrote: Sat Jul 07, 2018 1:51 am I found that I was so worn out by Thursday evening that I slept in till noon on Friday and got very little done the rest of the day. Kinda defeated the purpose of getting that day off from work...
I find the sleep portion to be tough too. I'm always permanently tired so I'm trying to fix that as well.

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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by LadyGeek »

Add my vote for the 9/80 schedule. I wouldn't have it any other way. Not only can I schedule my appointents on my "off Friday", but not having the aggravation and costs of a long 45 minute commute makes it all worthwhile.

My actual schedule is a "flex" 9/80. If I need to take a different day off for some reason, I just "flex" my off-Friday to that day.

I also work with a lot of part-timers who work Tuesday - Thursday. They've got me thinking to take every Friday off. Then, scale down to 3 days a week. Unfortunately, that won't happen for a while.
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by CRC301 »

I work at a megacorp that does 9/80 and I love it (it's all I've ever known really though). My direct manager is the person that approves my time (I'm salaried but enter all hours worked into the time-keeping system). At the specific location that I work at (smaller site), most of the managers are OK with the employees treating "9/80" as a "get 80 hours of work in a 2-week period of time" policy. Basically, as long as your work schedule doesn't interfere with the team you are working on, get the 80 hours in for the 2-week period however you like! This is not an official policy but the manager has discretion over all of this; you might discuss something like this with your direct manager. For me, this is a huge perk because I feel like I have great flexibility with my work schedule and also have an awesome work-life balance.

I use this flexibility in many different ways:
  • Use less PTO for vacations; I work extra hours and arrange the day(s) off so that I can use the least amount of my PTO as possible. I feel like this policy makes my PTO worth even more than I actually get
  • I schedule Dr. appointments whenever I want (within reason) and just make up the time on other days
  • I take the Friday off and do whatever I want (errands, chores, relax)
  • If I have nothing to do on the day off and don't feel like being bored at home, I'll go into work and get paid the OT $$
My wife and I are having our first child later this year so that may change some things but I still can't think of a reason why this schedule would ever be a negative for us.
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by Earl Lemongrab »

I never scheduled medical appointments on my own time. I used sick leave for those. Now it's all my own time, of course.
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jester14
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by jester14 »

CRC301 wrote: Sat Jul 07, 2018 2:22 pm
[*] If I have nothing to do on the day off and don't feel like being bored at home, I'll go into work and get paid the OT $$
[/list]
That is awesome. I would totally do that here and there for some extra cash. Unfortunately, that is not an option for me.
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tooluser
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by tooluser »

Plan something, anything. It makes it feel like the day was well and intentionally used.

I especially enjoy looking 3-9 months out and planning a few 3-day weekends of travel. Something to look forward to, and back on.
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by MSO4PRN »

reading this in the midst of a 36 hour shift as a hospitalist and reading that a 9 hour shift is mentally exhausting... should have stayed in business over healthcare...
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by LakesandRivers »

jadd806 wrote: Fri Jul 06, 2018 9:06 am I find the extra hour per day of free time far more valuable than the day off every 2 weeks.
This is exactly how I feel. My employer has offered 9/80 for the last 18 years and it was great for the first few years before I had kids. That extra hour can really be a grind once you do have kids and I’ve since switched back to a normal schedule. And if I feel like I need a Friday off I just use PTO.
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Re: Every Other Friday Off

Post by jester14 »

MSO4PRN wrote: Sat Jul 07, 2018 10:58 pm reading this in the midst of a 36 hour shift as a hospitalist and reading that a 9 hour shift is mentally exhausting... should have stayed in business over healthcare...
Even a 12 hour day is nothing compared to a 36 hour shift. The healthcare industry can be brutal. I hope you are able to get some sleep!
davehica wrote: Sun Jul 08, 2018 3:01 am
jadd806 wrote: Fri Jul 06, 2018 9:06 am I find the extra hour per day of free time far more valuable than the day off every 2 weeks.
This is exactly how I feel. My employer has offered 9/80 for the last 18 years and it was great for the first few years before I had kids. That extra hour can really be a grind once you do have kids and I’ve since switched back to a normal schedule. And if I feel like I need a Friday off I just use PTO.
I could definitely see that with kids. We currently do not have any, so I'm looking forward to trying out the 9/80.
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