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DO IT!!!
I worked a 3 on / 9 off pattern for a few years, currently work 37/52 weeks. No regrets.
One of the common regrets amongst the dying is having worked too much.
To update...
Unfortunately, my work said "no"!
It's back to the drawing board for me.
Very few people actually deserve to work 5 day a week. It's a system I just cannot comprehend and something I will not entertain. I don't make a lot of money, but I have a lot of freetime to go cycling, to see friends, to go camping and to go on bikepacking trips; basically, things that matter.
Sorry to hear that Ben! This is a toxic system we live in but one which is so well greased it's difficult to stop.
Sorry to hear it didn't work out, in a lot of ways it sounded like an ideal compromise.
My one concern when I looked at a similar change was a disproportionate effect on annual leave, the longer days I would have been working meant that to get a 'day' off I was using more hours. I was getting the right amount of hours but that added up to fewer whole days.
It wasn't the deciding factor for me, but it was a consideration.
Matt
Well I went down to a 4 day week at the start of the year, took Wednesday off to go cycling with a group in Cambridge. However I've now gone down to a 0 day week as everyone was made redundant yesterday afternoon (it has been on the cards for ages, so no big surprise). I'll see if I can stay on a 4 day week with my next job.....
Whilst I'm not on a 4 day week, having flexi time and working with a lot of colleagues in the US has been fantastic for my work/family/health balance over the last few years. I work from home twice a week so immediately that's 4 hours of commuting I've got back for other things. The days I have calls later in the evening (i.e 6-7pm) I'll go for a ride or swim in the morning and start work a bit later. Makes a huge difference to being stuck in the office or battling thousands of others on a commute.
I'd definitely recommend going to 4DW if you can!
ah, I just saw your update 🙁
Maybe worth asking for some WFH or flexi time?
To be fair, I could work from home about 2-3 days per week if I wanted (balanced with some horrendous travel) and I do generally have a slow day on Mondays to drop off and pick up kids from school. But it would be nice to avoid work altogether on a day, to do those things that take up more than just those snippets of time you get when you WFH!
I work full time. I love my job. However, when on my death bed, I expect I would regret it if I didn't go part time given the choice. And maybe in 5 or so years time, the mortgage will be paid off, and I can do without the top end of income that mostly goes on tax anyway. Work just carries on and whatever big roles and responsibilities we have around work, in the grand scheme of things all don't really matter. Unless your family is going to be massively hard up from going part time, I definitely would.
Even though your work have said no, perhaps find some other company that would say yes? At minimum that would focus the mind of your current company. You perhaps could even call their bluff in this regard.. although that would be risky.