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How common is 4-10 schedule in US?

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Crusader911

Mechanical
Nov 22, 2006
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At our facility, we are allowed the option of working four 10-hour days and being off on Friday. Our company was sold to a much larger company that works a regular 5-8 schedule. We are continuing our schedule for now, but I was just wondering how common the 4-10 schedule is at other companies.
 
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It is slowly catching on. More companies are going to 4-10, except those that need to communicate with sales/customers on Fridays.
A lot of companies take every other Friday off. It depends on the company.
Also just as common are employees working virtual from home or some type of satellite office.

Chris
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We used to work 4x10's in the summers, but that was axed this year. The boss said that a customer complained about not being able to reach us on a Friday, but since we are an R&D facility, and don't really have customers, I'm not sure I buy it. I think she needed something and was annoyed that we weren't here. Either way, its her company and her choice. The three day weekends were really nice though.

Engineering is the art of modelling materials we do not wholly understand, into shapes we cannot precisely analyse so as to withstand forces we cannot properly assess, in such a way that the public has no reason to suspect the extent of our ignorance.
-A R Dykes
 
I work 4 X 10s, well more like 11+, 12+, 12+, 6+ and checking email on my Fridays, but it's a bit informal.

We did have 9/80's officially for a while but they scrapped that for many departments a while back.

In the UK we finished at lunch on Fridays so every week we got a 2.5 day weekend.

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4/10's and 44/36 are increasingly common in corporate offices for EPC companies. I sure wish the job site was like that! From an economic standpoint, it can reduce overhead costs quite a bit.
 
Not common for a lot of firms, although I have seen it catching on a bit.

Heck, I asked about doing it at my last job, during our winter slow time (ski days). I just wanted to do it a few weeks to get out more, and was immediately shot down. I think it was more to do with the fact that they wanted 45 hours out of you, while 4/10s limits you to a certain degree.
 
4-10 has been catching on with some manufacturing plants since gasoline prices started getting high.
However with work still being tight in So Cal some of these companies are currently working 3-8 with no idea when work is going to pick up.
B.E.
 
I have yet to work for a company that has considered it. It is usually frowned upon because of customer support.

I have heard internal complaints if someone isn't there to help someone from another department.

Personally I would not want 4 10's because of family. Sure, I would get an extra day off but then I would have no time during the week to spend with my son who is in bed by 7:30. And that extra day he would be in school anyways. If I didn't have a son I would probably try it out. But I am already here close to 10 hours a day anyways just to get out of here by 5. Would hate for them to tell me I have to stay until 7!

I would rather have flex time and be done at 3:30 or 4.
 
Not much in it for the business from what I can see, unless you only run the office 4 days per week- not very practical. Lots in it for the employee, especially if they have a bad commute.

Alternating staff on 4-10s, or 9-9s (alternating Fridays off) can be done but generates a fair bit of confusion as to who is going to be around on what day.

Personally I've never worked at a place that permitted it. Too much risk of the employees picking up a part-time job...not to mention all the lost uncompensated overtime. Working an extra couple hours isn't so attractive when it's on your day off, or after you've already put in 10...

Working one day per week from home suits me fine. No commute, fewer interruptions etc.

 
I think this 10-4 work schedule is more common with medium sized plants on the shop floor. Plant would work 5 am to 3 pm first shift, 3 pm to 1 am second shift. Plant would shut down completely lights out for 3 days. Office would be open 8 am to 4 pm or 9 am to 5 pm five days per week for customer support. Any overtime would be done on the Friday either a half day or full day depending on the load. I have worked for plants in Georgia and California using this schedule.
B.E.
 
At the last place I worked for it was generally 5-10s, more if they could convince you. I didn't get convinced a lot, which may have led to my current condition of 0-10's. They asked and I was honest.
 
I was told thet 4X 10 was fine, as long as I put in another 8 on Friday. ;-)

"Good to know you got shoes to wear when you find the floor." - [small]Robert Hunter[/small]
 
most civils work for both private and public clients. The clients call your cell phone on Saturdays and Sundays, so it is likely you will need to work at least 5 days per week plus OT. Laptops, Blackberries and VPN were made for this reason. Doors must remain unlocked on Fridays in case your client decides to pay you a visit. Perhaps some production staff such as drafters could work odd schedules as long as all the work gets done and somebody shows up on Friday to get the submittals out the door.
 
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