4 on 4 off workers. How do you work it out?

Posted by rosstoferwho@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 31 comments

Hi all. I'm looking to move jobs. I'm a warehouse manager applying for warehouse supervisor/manager roles.

I have an interview coming up for a 4 on 4 off role that's offering 40k.

I also have a pretty good shot at another role which is mon-fri that's only 36k.

4 on 4 off is not a work schedule I've done before. The extra money is very tempting.

For more context I have a soon to be 7 year old. I could parent and the current agreement is that I have him every weekend and half of all holidays.

Want to know the thoughts of anyone who currently works that model. And how the lifestyle works for you.

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Diligent_Self_112@reddit

4 on 4 off 10 hour days only is the better option, as a previous post said you can plan everything around your days off till you retire and believe me being able to plan months in advance and as huge positive as I'm currently working 4 on 4 off days so I can book appointments well in advance and not have to worry about getting time off, plus book 4 off get 12 off absolutely fantastic

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rosstoferwho@reddit (OP)

And do you have family and how does that work for you and the rest of your family and the schedules there?

I know personally it's a much better option. However, for the most part, I have my son's and a co-parenting schedule to think about too. So that's what I'm really trying to consider.

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Diligent_Self_112@reddit

Wife works full time and we have 2 kids, the first few months where a challenge due to the schedule change and we were both close to burning out until we worked it all out, essentially what I miss on the 4 on I would make up for on the 4 off, but my employers are flexible with shift swapping if its an emergency

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Wonderful_Use_9207@reddit

4 on / 4 off is either the best schedule or the worst, no in-between. The upside is you get long chunks of time off (great for hobbies or even starting a side hustle), but the downside is your weekends don’t always line up which could be tricky with a 7-year-old. £4k more is tempting, but the real trade-off is consistent time with your kid, bigger pay + mini-vacations every week

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rosstoferwho@reddit (OP)

That's my thing right now.

I really enjoyed the time I had with my son this summer. And having him weekends is great. I also do some side work karaoke/singing work on weekends which does top me up.

Just thinking other opportunities with the 4 on job like career progression

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Wonderful_Use_9207@reddit

That sounds like a good balance already if you want another side hustle that fits around a 4-on schedule, I’d look at dropshipping. Super low risk since you don’t need stock, and you can work on it in your off days. I’ve been trying it myself and getting some small wins, so I know it works if you take it seriously.

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A_Plastic_Tree@reddit

I did 4 on 4 off, were it was job and knock for about three years. The pay was for 12 hours, but we were working an exact process and once it was completed we could go (averaging around 10 hours or so at work). I'd hate the idea of being trapped and being bored for that long.

Holiday worked out at about 16 days per year, which when factored against it being 4 on, 4 off meant we were only working 5.5 months of the year, and the money at the time was very good. So I had loads of time for my hobbies etc.

However getting a weekend fully off was rare, and this did effect my ability to do things. This meant it was hard to arrange things with Family and Friends. So with that, my 50p says you should put your Child first. The extra money is worth fuck all compared to the time you'd lose while their growing up.

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rosstoferwho@reddit (OP)

Thanks this was really insightful.

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ScumBucket33@reddit

I alternate between 4 on 5 off and 5 on 4 off. The days off are great and you feel rested going back to work.

My wife works shifts as well which isn’t ideal for childcare but thankfully with the help of grandparents we’re able to cover any overlap between our shifts.

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rosstoferwho@reddit (OP)

It's very helpful when you have a great support network also.

Mine is on but I don't want to rely on them too much anymore. My dad is going blind and my mum has cancer. My sister helps and is great. But she also is disabled. She's very capable but more than a few days can be a lot for her plus she has her own life to live.

His mother's support network is non existent. Help on that side is rare. The extra care normally came from my parents but as I said. In their conditions, it's unfair to put so much on them

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parkscon@reddit

I do 4 on 4 off alternating between days and nights. Apart from the nights I love it. It works out well for child care as my wife works full time. It works out about 80 days off a year more than a mon-fri job.

Obviously working weekends isn't great but you can work out your shifts to the day you retire and plan your social stuff to fit in.

You can get loads done in 4 days off that you wouldn't have a chance to otherwise. A friend recently had to book a week off work to decorate. I would do that in my 4 off.

For 4 days annual leave you get 12 off in a row. For 8 days leave, 20 off.

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rosstoferwho@reddit (OP)

These are huge plus's. Thanks for this. All things that I need to consider.

The troubles I have is....I will have less time to do gigs. Or at least I can only book them on certain weekends that I'm definitely off.

It heavily changes the care schedule for my son. Not just doing some weekends but over the holidays too.

This is my main concern. But the extra 4k would really help in saving for my own place next year. This will be my last year flat sharing

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parkscon@reddit

If your job is going to be days only then I would say it's a no brainer. I used to play in bands and tried again recently. This shift pattern makes it difficult to do rehearsals and gigs.

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Pancovnik@reddit

How many hours is the 4on/off?

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rosstoferwho@reddit (OP)

10 hour days

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Pancovnik@reddit

Then it might be better in my opinion

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rosstoferwho@reddit (OP)

Care to elaborate why? When I was younger I actually generally preferred working longer hours for less days. But that was also when I was paid hourly and had to travel into London from Essex. Longer days seemed more worth it.

Now I have lots of other factors to think about

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Pancovnik@reddit

As this job will be warehouse manager you will most likely become "irreplaceable" meaning no doctors appointments without taking a day off. (if you take the Mon-Fri) I would kill for having a day off for myself. For most people the schedule would be 4 days in and 3 days out if you think about weekly rotation and worked hours, so technically you get more time off than "normal". Of course discuss this with your spouse, but this seems a lot better deal than Mon-Fri to me

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rosstoferwho@reddit (OP)

I see your reasoning. I do often long for that day off just to actually chill.

To main issue I'm contending with is having to change my son's schedule constantly. He's already here, there and everywhere with the co-parenting situation. I've been working on making things more stable for him. This would turn it the other way.

The lucky thing is currently his mother doesn't work. The tricky thing is. She's a bad word and won't help in making it work.

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Pancovnik@reddit

That is a factor only you know if you can make it work. You can potentially agree to have him 3-4 days per week, mimicking your schedule. But only you know what your ex will do or not.

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Thread-Hunter@reddit

If it's day shifts that's cool. If it's night shifts then personally wouldn't do it as longterm it's not sustainable and negatively impacts your health.

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rosstoferwho@reddit (OP)

It is days. I was on nights at UPS a few years ago now. It was only part time but it wasn't doing me any good. So managed to find a day job to get me out of it then have built from there.

It would take a hefty wage to get me back on nights.

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Traditional-Idea-39@reddit

After income tax, NI, min pension and student loan, an extra £4k is only ~£200 per month extra. Certainly nothing to turn your nose up at, but try not to let it sway the decision too much — the schedules are the main thing!

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rosstoferwho@reddit (OP)

Thanks! Like you say after the relevant deductions it doesn't seem much. But I already channel 10 percent of my wage into pension. So more for my pension couldn't hurt. Plus I've recently paid my car off so I've got a little bit more money to actually save. So I have more of a saving goal now.

That plus the potential for better career progression at the higher wage role

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GuybrushFunkwood@reddit

I’ve worked both and I much preferred the 4 on 4 off. Yeh it was weekends now and again (never bothered me) and yes they are longer days but you really felt like you’d had a rest! Weekends were always free from the bollocks you got during the ‘normal’ hours … it was busy and you just cracked on you didn’t have to attend a 3 hour ‘blue sky’ meeting about saving 5% a year on pencil costs.

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rosstoferwho@reddit (OP)

And not to be too intrusive but do you have a family? Does it fit in with your social life well?

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GuybrushFunkwood@reddit

At the time I had step kids with my ex wife, social life was fine (I did a 6am to 5pm so could do Saturday drinks etc after a quick shower) I’m going back a fair few years when I did them but yeh …. I’d be happy to do them again as a preference if I needed to.

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rosstoferwho@reddit (OP)

Thanks for sharing! Appreciate the input

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