The 9/80 Work Week: Salvation from High Gas Prices Or Screwball Hippie Idea?
Author: Nick
Category: Money
Topics: work
There have been rumors spreading where I work that we may soon be switching to a 9/80 work schedule. If you don’t know what that is, consider that most professional adults work a 5/40 work week: 40 hours a week over five days a week (usually eight hours a day). With a 9/80 work schedule, one must look at a two-week work calendar. During an “A” week, one works nine-hour days for five days. During the subsequent “B” week, one works nine-hour days for three days, an eight-hour day the fourth day, and zero hours the fifth day. In short, you work more hours the other days to take every other Friday off.
9/80 work weeks are certainly not a new idea; small parts of my business have been doing it for years. But most workplaces hadn’t given the alternate schedule much thought since it ran counter to a decades-old tradition of 40 hours a week, every week. Today, as gas prices continue to soar and people look for ways to cut down on their commutes, the prospect of saving a round-trip every other week is forcing some employers to give 9/80 a second look.
The 9/80 plan has its clear benefits and drawbacks compared to the traditional 5/40 schedule as the table below summarizes.
| 9/80 Benefits | 9/80 Drawbacks |
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Personally, I don’t have a preference for a 9/80 or 5/40 work schedule. I usually work a 9-9-9-8-5 work week anyway, so a 9/80 schedule would just mean I’d do a 9-9-9-8-0 every other week instead.
A few places are also trying out 4/40 schedules—10-hour days, every Friday off. While I do work 10 hours a day fairly often anyway, if I had to do that every day, I would probably be rather grumpy by mid-Wednesday. Then again, I’m usually grumpy by mid-Wednesday anyway.
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50 Responses »
1.
s. jennifer rose
June 10th, 2008 at 1:35 am
good thing I’m a grad student and I just get to work 12 hrs a day, everyday, 7 days a week.
but at least I work from home and only have to go to campus once a week…
2.
Frugal Dad
June 10th, 2008 at 8:01 am
I’m for a 9/80 work schedule, but my employer has concerns about coverage, holiday scheduling, etc, so to this point it has been scuttled. I wouldn’t mind working that 9-9-9-8-5 schedule you referred to – that way I could knock out lawn mowing on Friday afternoon and enjoy the rest of the weekend! As it is I spend half the day in the yard on Saturday and the other half recovering!
3.
Clever Dude
June 10th, 2008 at 8:30 am
Stacie is meeting with her boss this week to ask to switch to a 4/40 schedule (or maybe 9/80, not sure) since she already puts in 9-10 hour days on most days. Heck, some weeks she’s put in all her hours by the end of Wednesday!
Anyway, she’s also maxed out on vacation, and as of this month, unless she takes time off, she won’t accrue any more PTO. That’s 24 days of saved vacation! She’s in a situation that she can get a legitimate day off each week, but then what do she do about her PTO? Those 4 other days become more critical to get work done.
4.
Kyle
June 10th, 2008 at 10:09 am
I’d actually prefer a 4/40 schedule. An extra 2 hours per day is a small price to pay for a 3-day weekend every week. Besides, working 10 hours will help you avoid rush hour if you just come in an hour early and leave an hour late, so that should counteract the frustration somewhat.
5.
Megan
June 10th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
I’m on a 9/80 schedule. I admit, it is rough. I frequently end up working through lunch as well, making it more like a 10 hour day. And yes, there are days when I hate it, but then I think about the fact that just one more hour means that I get a whole day off to do whatever I want. Sometimes I use it for errands, or to take a 3 day trip, and sometimes I just use it to be lazy. It’s a nice perk.
6.
401k Annuity
June 10th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
The 9/80 sounds interesting, but I think I would prefer the 4/40 week. My only fear is that I’d still be called in on Fridays to solve those little emergencies which happen every day. What I would really prefer is to be able to work from home one day a week, but apparently we aren’t trusted enough.
7.
A1 Medical Supplies
June 11th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
I know a few people who are nurses and work 3 12 hour shifts every week. It is very cool to have 4 days off every week.
I don’t see a 9 hour workday having too much of an impact, but I think if it were 10 hours that would make a big difference.
8.
Payroll worker
June 11th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
The employer must define the work week as say, Friday 12:30 to Friday 12:30. Also anything over 40 in that time period will be paid as overtime. You cannot take the two weeks and pay anything over 80 at OT. Each week must stand alone. This works because the 4 hours in the morning on Friday go with the first week and the 4 hours in the afternoon, go with the second week, so that the Friday of the second week can be zero (a day off!). Does anyone know if there are any Federal regulations on this schedule? Thanks.
9.
Patrick
June 13th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
I wouldn’t mind working either a 9/80 or 4/40 week. The extra day at home would be great to take care of errands, appointments, blogging, etc. My new company is much more flexible than my previous company, and it is getting to the point where I can have a similar schedule as your current schedule – 9,9,9,8,5. It won’t always work like that, but I can do it if I plan it right. That’s much nicer than before (rigid 8-5 with an hour lunch; few exceptions).
10.
James
June 14th, 2008 at 8:53 am
On the plus side, it\’s Friday
11.
Agatha
June 14th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
I work 7/12 and am always told, “Oh, how wonderful! Getting all that extra time off!” Yeah, right. Add one hour for commuting every day (private or public, it makes no difference) then two hours for household chores (like showering, cooking and eating a meal, brushing teeth, and maybe stroking a cat). Oh, and did I mention I rarely get off work after 12 hours. Oh,no. Add another hour just wrapping up things so I can leave. That’s up to a grand total of 16. Yes, I have eight hours to sleep in then the cycle begins again but I’m exhausted and wired at the same time. Six hours is more normal. I spend that “extra” day off paying off sleep debt. A nine to five job sounds pretty good to me.
12.
Mike
June 16th, 2008 at 5:35 am
My Dad’s company has been working 4/40 for a few years now. The place he works (a shipyard) is huge, but in a unsavory town so almost everyone commutes there, about a half hour one way – when there is light traffic. Everyone on the 4/40 (not everyone is the shipyard is since they are ran by different companies) loves being on it. It allows them to avoid regular traffic peak times (they actually get in at 5 or 6 and leave at 4) and avoid one extra day of commute. Plus my dad is able to get a lot of extra yard/house work (his favorite kind) done on the 3 day weekend.
People who live even further away love the 4/40 too because they rent an apartment in town and share it with a few guys. They stay in town for the 4 days and get to go back home for 3. 4/40 seems to work out really well for long commuters.
13.
James
June 16th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
yah i agree with most of you guys, an extra day off is an extra day off, and there is so much you can do with that much time… and if i worked that kind of schedule, id definitely spend that time for myself and my family… nothing beats spending time with your family, it is something that i value a lot..
14.
Maria @ Frugal Homesteading
June 17th, 2008 at 6:42 am
I have no idea what schedule I work. But since it’s all from home, my commuting costs are nill. Though I suppose it does cost a little in energy to get from my room to the office. Hmmm. Wonder if I can deduct the food cost as a work expense?
15.
DebtKid
July 1st, 2008 at 2:45 pm
I also work from home and so often measuring my hours each week is very difficult. When I respond to a work e-mail at 2am, does that count? Of course it does.
Sometimes I long for a typical 9-5, but then I think, “what the heck would I do with all my time?” No, I’d probably be tired like most of my friends, Lame.
I like the idea of Friday’s off. I may try and incorporate that into my own business if possible.
16.
Cecil
July 2nd, 2008 at 9:23 am
10 hours isn’t that long. Stop whining.
17.
David - Merchant Cash Advance
July 8th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
10 hours isn’t that long. Stop whining.
Ditto that!
when I was 17, I had a 12 hrs/day job as a store manager… lol, talking about slavery!
18.
Kim
August 12th, 2008 at 2:37 pm
I work as an artist for a newspaper. We work in teams with 2 artists per team to cover accounts for a dozen people. I think it would be great to work 9/80 and just switch off every other Friday with my teammate. That way there are still enough people to cover the work that comes up or didn’t get done ahead of time with the extra hours. There’s no reason why we couldn’t meet deadlines a little early for most of our work anyway provided the clients cooperate. :/
19.
Jennifer R
November 6th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
My company is considering offering our employees a compressed work week (9/80′s). I am helping to develop the policy and am curious how other companies that offer this deal with vacations and holidays. What is the employee was on vacation for the 2 weeks prior to their Monday off. Since they didn’t actually work 9 hour days because they were on vacation, do they get their free Monday off? What if their free day off falls on a Holiday? Do they swap days? Just curious how other companies handle this. Thanks
20.
Cip
December 16th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Jennifer-
We handle holidays as 8 hours of paid work. If the holiday lands on one of their days off they can arrange to use the 8 hours any of the days during that pay period. If the holiday lands on a day they work a 9 hour day they must claim vacation for the additional hour. As far as vacation for 2 weeks, the vacation hours claimed must follow their normal scheduled days as if they were there and if the following Monday land would have been off it still should be. By doing so it keeps the schedule normalized and it wouldn’t impact other steps taken to manage the alternate schedules.
21.
medical supplies
July 5th, 2009 at 11:54 am
i am working more than 13 hours per day actually its nonstop so there is no any day off some time.
22.
No Spam
October 24th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Yeah. That’s the spirit, CIP. Force them to use vacation time for the company’s convenience. God forbid you should let them use the vacation time THEY EARNED when THEY want or need it.
That is the nonsense of these alternative scheduling schemes. The patter about ‘saving gas’ or ‘utilizing resources better’ is just management nonsense for, “We control you whoever you are and this ‘new’ program will get us a bonus so snap to or get the h**l out so someone more desperate can sign on.”
The only time these alternate scheduling schemes [the initials say it all] are actually needed is in 24-7-365 positions (eg, nursing, Microsoft tech support, CEO/politician call-girl service, etc.). These kinds of positions used to pay a premium for the abuse of the human body that they are … until it became stylish as the consultants/experts all pronounced that this kind of schedule is the ‘new’ way to go. Not many more steps until we’re back in the Dark Ages with royalty in the castles and serfs scratchin’ in the dirt. Kind of reminds ya of ‘Blade Runner’ don’t it.
The real miracle will be if the comment moderator-de-jour actually posts this comment! Hopefully he’ll be coming off a 9/90 shift and won’t notice it, eh?
23.
Wyomissing Lawncare
June 1st, 2010 at 10:22 am
9/80 sounds a little complicated, I like the same scedule every week. As a landscaper I try for 4/40, this gives me some flexibility with the weather and a 3 day weekend most of the time.
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September 25th, 2010 at 11:48 pm
Wow. I don’t know what to say. I fled the corporate rat race two years ago. I really got tired of labor cost cuts and demanding increased production. It seemed like every week or so they would cut hours and have fewer employees working but expect everything to still run smoothly. Now, I work for myself. I make tie dyes and could not be happier. Later tater to the corporate crater. Peace…
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