Do you prefer fewer long work days or more short work days?

[debthaven]

I'm an adjunct professor at a business school. I am very well-paid per hour, but I only get paid per hour I teach. (I also get paid for meetings, but at a much lower "meeting rate", and meetings are only a few times a year).  

I have always worked 3-4 days per week. In recent years I have worked 3. But my days have been getting longer every year. This year they are really long, i.e. I teach about 7 hours a day, nearly every day that I teach. Sometimes less, sometimes more. 

I'm wondering about changing my schedule to work 4 shorter days. But then I think how lucky I am to only have to go into school 3 days. 

To be clear: I work a FT teaching load on those 3 days, about 21 hours/week. And my 2 days are not really "off", I do my prep and I have a LOT of marking. BUT, going into school only 3 days / week means I generally don't have to work much on weekends (sometimes I have to spend entire weekends marking, but it's pretty rare). I always do some prep / emails on weekends, and I don't mind that at all. I also tutor off and on on my "days off".

I've always preferred to go into school 3 days a week. But DS3 is a senior in HS, and he will be going off to college next year, so I'm thinking about changing my schedule. 

I used to be a 30-min commute from school, but they changed the train schedule in Dec. Now the trains are more frequent but they make more stops, so my commute is now 40 min each way. 

Thoughts? 

PS I can't change anything for this year, I'm considering changing for Sept. But I'm really torn, I constantly go back and forth. Hence this thread. :-)

[milee]

No right answer here since we all have different ideas on what's bearable and what's torture, but my personal preference is fewer long days.

I like my leisure time in larger chunks, not small pieces, so a whole day off is more valuable to me than two half days off.

[TheHaitian]

A friend of mine just left my former company to go work for Target at their distribution center. She has a shift that I would willingly Take a paycut for:

4 10 hour days on
3 days off (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).

Oh yes baby, I would love something like that!

[debthaven]

Even a half day still means I'd be going in a fourth day ...

[debthaven]

Carl, teaching for 10h a day is different than being in an office (I've done both, I worked in an office for 25 years before reincarnating as an adjunct).

Most schools like mine have a rule about not being allowed to teach more than 7.5h a day. :-) Mine doesn't have an official rule, but they do discourage it. They also accept it if you insist, but I can't handle more than that anyway. 

Another option that I just thought of is to lose one class/week, and get another private student. But private students come and go, especially since I will only take the older ones.

[Shooby]

I have always worked an erratic schedule so i take it either way. I would prefer to do long days but if there are a lot of those in a row it gets tiring.

[debthaven]

The responses so far confirm my idea that it's better to work 3 longer days than 4 shorter ones.

I come home really wiped out after those long teaching days. I still keep up with the house, laundry, and make dinner. I also help DS3 with anything he needs help with, and pick him up from activities once or twice a week. I do work emails in the evening, but I'm MUCH too tired to prep or mark. 

Since DS3 will be off to college next year, I guess I'll leave things as they are. 

Thanks! 

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

My issue is that I don't want to go to work until 10:00am. I would prefer to be able to go to the gym, do my daily and weekly chores, have a slow cup of coffee (as opposed to drinking it at work), and then go to work. No one seems to either agree with me or be able to make that happen. 

I work five 8 - 10 hour days, 190 days per year. If I could trade that for 5-6 hour days, 230 days per year, I think I would prefer that. 

[buystoys]

I always preferred fewer work days when possible.  When you add up the commute time, getting ready for work, and then trying to get into "home" mode after work, you've already spent 3-4 hours of your day.  (At the least for me anyway!) 

[Ava]

I work 5 days a week, 8 hours a day.

I would love to work 10 hours 4 days a week. Especially now that I have a long commute. That would be ideal for me. On the other hand, I would struggle with personal stuff during those 4 days. I do exercise every day but I also need to sleep a solid 8 or 9 hours, plus eating, personal hygiene, etc. I don't like to feel rushed.

[Cookies Galore]

I love my 35-hour work week. Yeah, three days off would be great, but not working long hours is greater. I'm home by 5 every day, so I have plenty of time to go for a run or whatever other exercise, shower, make dinner, and have time to veg in front of the tv.

[Knee Deep in Water Chloe]

I absolutely agree that commute time has a lot to do with it. I currently have a two minute commute. When I had a 40 minute commute, I cherished not having to drive that. 

[Deleted]

I loved 4th shift.  Friday through Sunday 12 hour days, paid for 40 hours.  Four day weekend ever week.  It was pretty sweet.

[wvugurl26]

I do nine hour days and have a day off every two weeks. It's like getting an extra 26 days of vacation. I love it. Getting home a hour earlier wouldn't help me much. 5 hours versus 4 hours before I need to be winding down and in bed.

Then again I came from tax season hours where we worked 8-8 minimum Monday through Thursday and 8-5 Friday and Saturday. Getting off at five felt like such a big deal. I was also sick and exhausted until June so I don't recommend it.

[Tiny]

I have always worked 3-4 days per week. In recent years I have worked 3. But my days have been getting longer every year. This year they are really long, i.e. I teach about 7 hours a day, nearly every day that I teach. Sometimes less, sometimes more.

I'm wondering about changing my schedule to work 4 shorter days. But then I think how lucky I am to only have to go into school 3 days.

I think this isn't so much a question of working longer or shorter days - but rather a question of how best to schedule your 'work life' around your "personal life". Which schedule gets you the blocks of time you need to do the 'non work' things you WANT to do?

[mroped]

If the commute was shorter, than yes, 4 days of work would be fine but as it is, 3 is better!
Is not just the commute since you are using the train, there is time to go to the station and from, have to allow a few minutes for "what if" and so on so your 40 minutes commute turns into at least one hour each way.
Granted, 7 hrs teaching, especially at college level, must be exhausting but it is preferable to the alternative.

When I have to travel for work- which is basicaly every time/day I work or almost- I'd rather stay longer hours and get it done than have to go extra days. It gives me more time for other things, even if I spend the extra free time doing nothing! But doing nothing is not realy an option.

[zibazinski]

Since you're not driving for the commute, can you work on paperwork or just relax and listen to
Music or something you'd like? Even a mindless tv show on the way home can de stress you

[debthaven]

Zip I usually look at my lessons on the way in, and zone out on the way back. The 40 min includes driving to the station, parking, 20m on the train, then walking to school. So only 20 min on the train. 

Tiny that's a really interesting way to look at it ... thank you! 

ETA: Zib it keeps changing your name to "Zip" lol. 

[zibazinski]

Feb 10, 2016 7:32:47 GMT -5 debthaven said:

Zip I usually look at my lessons on the way in, and zone out on the way back. 

Tiny that's a really interesting way to look at it ... thank you! 

Sounds very efficient both directions.

[steph08]

My DH works for the state, so like wvu, he gets every other Friday off - he works a 9/75 schedule (he only has to work 37.5 hours/week). I would love every other Friday off!

As it is, I work 3 days in the office, 2 at home. I commute 45 minutes each way, so that is a nice time savings on the days that I'm at home. But I'd prefer to be at home with no work to do!

[flamingo]

I work 5 days a week, 9-5 each day. I would like a 3 day weekend every week, but not sure I want to work 10 hour days to get that. However, I also don't have a job that really lends itself to working past 5, so I think part of my hesitation is that any hours after 5pm, I'd be really bored at my job!! 

Also, I only live a 5 minute walk from work. So I don't have to worry about a commute. If I had a long commute-more than 30 minutes, I'd definitely be on the 4 10 hour days bandwagon. 

[gs11rmb]

I have young children (7 and 3) so four long days wouldn't work with daycare and school. 

[souldoubt]

I'd love to do 4 10 hour days since I'm already here 9+ hours 5 days a week but it just isn't feasible for my line of work or more importantly with the company I work for and the industry we're in.

[chiver78]

Feb 9, 2016 17:57:39 GMT -5 TheHaitian said:

A friend of mine just left my former company to go work for Target at their distribution center. She has a shift that I would willingly Take a paycut for:

4 10 hour days on
3 days off (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).

Oh yes baby, I would love something like that!

this is exactly my schedule. my days are 9-730, so I end up missing most of the rush hour traffic in both directions. (for the highway I take, "rush hour" is pretty much over by 830 along the stretch I now take)

Tiny gave some great advice, debthaven. for example - my job is now at an active manufacturing plant. we have the M-F staff as well as two 4x10h schedules for the mfg crew and support staff. we run two shifts each day, and you can work either Sun-Wed or Wed-Sat. I was hired for the Sun-Wed, but various reasons have kept me Mon-Thurs. I've been asked if that's okay, if I really need to move to the shift I was hired for, etc - my counterpart needed to move to her assigned shift quickly after initial training for childcare reasons, so they figured I might be pushing for mine as well. the big thing for me? I live on Cape Cod. I do not want any part of having to leave the Cape on a Friday - that means I need to get BACK on Friday night. in the summer? oh, hell no! I would take a pay cut in order to have a job that allowed me to either work from home on Fridays or work 4x10h. thankfully, I didn't have to.

[Deleted]

Work?

[debthaven]

Yes, Digenes 23, that pesky thing called "work". Which I actually enjoy lol. 

I've been thinking a LOT about what Tiny said. Between her comment and the (slightly) longer commute, I do indeed to prefer to keep my current schedule. Tiny made a GREAT point ... my priority is definitely "people", either my kids or my close friends. So I've decided I'd rather be free those 2 days to mark my papers and / or meet one of my kids or a close friend for a cheap lunch, or enjoy one of the rare days DH decides to work from home. Or just enjoy the silence. :-)

But I'm ALSO thinking about ways to make my workload at school SLIGHTLY lighter, because this year HAS been rough ... i.e. switch a first-year class for a second-year class (because first-year classes meet twice a week and second-year classes meet once a week) and / or take on a private student or two instead of one slot or one class. I can't afford to cut back on my income but I'm always looking for ways to "work differently". 

With DS3 flying the coop in Sept, private tutoring will be less of an issue than it is now. I still happily pick him up after school once or twice a week (45 min round trip). My number one priority is being available for him. Most students require tutoring in the very late afternoons or early evenings. Over the years I kept up with the private students I had, but I didn't replace them when they didn't need me anymore. Next year I won't be needing to pick DS3 up anymore. 

I have also been thinking about my tutoring. At this point I won't take anybody younger than HS. But, I have a knack for young adults who are working on the ESL exams they need to study abroad, whether it be for a semester, a year, or their choice of university. I'm thinking about ways I can exploit that niche market. 

Thank you so much everybody! This thread has been extremely helpful to me! :-)