How to get a 4 day week?

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Cautious_Refuse8465@reddit

4 day work week remote opportunity like can work anywhere?

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SeaIntelligent4504@reddit

Three days off a week is great, but as someone who does 37 hours across 4 days, it doesn't leave a huge amount for anything other than working, commuting and the necessities on work days.

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People that work 4 days weeks are more productive and happier. They have shown that the work gets done more efficiently in most tests of 4 day weeks. No one should have to work 5 days a week in 2026. It's so outdated. Good luck to you.

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SongsAboutGhosts@reddit

That's four day weeks rather than compressed hours I believe, and OP doesn't want to talk themself into a pay cut.

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Silly-Industry1527@reddit

That's what I did in my old job. I asked to reduce my hours after a bad mental health episode and went down to doing four days a week with Wednesdays off. 80% of the hours and 80% of the pay. I was a little busier on those days as some of my work got condensed but generally I was happier with that. Then suddenly my colleague who I worked in a team of two woth went on longterm sickness and the management expected 200% of the work to be done in 80% of the hours. I had another blowout, worse than the original one due to all the stress. Clawed my way out of that situation and have a much better job now but that was the most horrible experience of my working life.

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BlondePotatoBoi@reddit

If you're busier, chances are the time goes by quicker anyhow. I work in a quiet area and if I'm unlucky, glaciers shoot past the window in comparison.

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jacksbane@reddit

Some jobs have HSE mandated limits as to what can be done in a 24hr per period, so to take away 1 of those 24hr periods would actually lead to a 20% reduction in productivity, not every industry has this but the ones that do cannot go down to 4 day weeks and still be viable

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Old-Calendar-9912@reddit

Where are you getting your facts for this? I worked a 4 day 40hr week, 10hr shifts, by hour 8 most were knackered and productivity dropped significantly. We’d also spend our first day off recovering because once you factor in getting ready, travel etc you’re doing 12+ hr days which leaves barely any time to wind down or do much around your working day.

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LittleSadRufus@reddit

Everyone I know who has done compressed hours has hated it. Everyone i know who has done a four day week has loved it.

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Affectionate_Ad6864@reddit

Think they mean working 4 day weeks, not compressed hours. So you still get paid your usual amount but you drop a day essentially.

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Ok-Cake9431@reddit

To be fair, the research on this is quite patchy. Of course I’d love to work less and get paid the same, but the studies are not at all conclusive (source: Science Fictions podcast, so it’s not a bulletproof source but they did actually go and read the studies and discuss them at length)

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gofish125@reddit

It depends what you do, if you send 2 days a week, pretending to work, then yes, if your work involves, dedicated hours of focus, then working more hours in a day isn’t beneficial

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PippiShortStockings@reddit

You could try by broaching a 9 day working fortnight, it makes your working days not as long and means you get a three day weekend every-other week. Your employer might also not have such a knee-jerk no reaction that they do to a 4 day week. You can submit a flexible working application in writing (https://www.gov.uk/flexible-working/applying-for-flexible-working)

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ToadInTheHole7181@reddit

I used to work a schedule like this. We called it the 9/80 schedule. You work 80 hours in 9 days and get every other Friday off (or what ever day you negotiate). I worked 9 hour days - 5 one week, 4 the next. I miss it.

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PippiShortStockings@reddit

I’m lucky that we’re 70 hours over 2 weeks though so you barely notice the longer days.

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princesswings@reddit

Also you could offer to have the time as a trial period of a certain amount of months to see if it works. If it works for that time period they would have a harder time saying no for this to be permanent. It'll also let you see how the hours work for you as those hours in 4 days could be quite long.

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DonTones@reddit

I think realistically you've either got to A. Be a really strong performer that they couldn't afford to lose; B. Unionise with others and make a joint request (their main thought process would be, if we give it to this guy, everyone will be asking us) C. Accept a downgrade in pay to make it happen. Maybe not 80% but 90% and suggest some drop in your hours. Think about it from the company's POV, why would it be their interest to grant it? If they're going to save some money and get the same (or better) result then they'll consider it. If they're going to make the workforce happier with no drop in performance and little extra hassle, they might consider it too.

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DeCyantist@reddit

I approved that once to an employee. It was authorised by my manager since the employee in question was a mother returning from mat leave, where she needed to book her kid’s day care slot. We dragged our feet on the decision, so she said she’d raise a grievance with HR (big corporate) and she then caved. She left her role a few months later and so did I. Employee got what she needed for the time being.

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mattjessop70@reddit

Are you sure near 11 hour days are what you want to do ? I tried 5-in-4 a while back and I only have to do 35 hours a week, it was tough so I settled for a 10 in 9 (every other Friday off). Management will be concerned that you are actually working the 10.75 hours every day.

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louwyatt@reddit

I do 12 hour shifts four days a week and much rather than compared to working 9.6 hours five days a week. Honestly, I'd happily do 18-hour days if it meant I could have more full days off.

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ThereAndFapAgain2@reddit

I used work for the council and do 12 hour days for 7 days, then have the whole next week off and then do it again the following week. I basically worked 84 hours in one week, so two weeks worth of hours in a week and the site had two teams that would rotate one week on one week off. It was so good. Yeah it was tiring, but knowing that I had a whole week off at the end just made it not feel that bad, I'd even put in overtime after my shift when there were night events going on that needed more hands, or work overtime in my week off on a couple of the days to pad out my pay cheque. I probably wouldn't feel as good about it if I were doing 4 12 hourish days and then only getting 3 days off though.

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felix-the-human@reddit

Yeah, I tried 5-in-4 too and that extra day was just rest and recovery. At the start of this year I decided to just take the paycut and drop the day completely, it's luvverly!

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polyphuckin@reddit

My wife works for a big university and negotiated with HR for working compressed hours. She has every other Friday off by working which means she for 9 days out of ten she starts at 0840 and finishes 1730. Which also suits the commute by missing the worst bits around us. You could try negotiate something similar. So with 43 hours a week and one day in ten as a non-working day you'd only be looking to make up 57 minutes each day in a9 day block. That might be more palatable for them.

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Agreeable_Guard_7229@reddit

Academia is a completely different arena to manufacturing/retail as they can be a lot more flexible

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Boboshady@reddit

You have a right to request reasonable flexible working, and your employer is obliged to review that properly and give you valid reasons why they refuse it. They cannot just say 'no', though they can ultimately say it - you're not guaranteed to get it. As such, in your request, you need to outline what you are requesting and ideally, the impact on your employer. Basically, you're putting your case forward for why they should allow it. The stronger you do this, the harder it will be for your employer to refuse it, so it's worth thinking about. Your employer is then legally required to properly consult on that before giving its decision, and that decision must be based on valid counterpoints to your argument. So, they can't just go through the motions and then say no anyway, they have to demonstrate WHY you cannot do it. I'd recommend reading up on it to get the finer detail, a good starting point is here: [https://www.acas.org.uk/statutory-flexible-working-requests](https://www.acas.org.uk/statutory-flexible-working-requests) Note - it's still entirely possible that your employer can say no - you're required on-site and work strict shift patterns etc. that would require hiring more people to cover your request might be a good reason, for example...this is why demonstrating how it will not fundamentally impact your employer is important.

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luckeratron@reddit

Didn't the rules change recently or are changing soon so that the employer has to do the work on what the impact to the business is rather than the person requesting it. Your approach is still the best one however.

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Boboshady@reddit

Yeah, this is why I've said that they'll 'ideally' outline the impact - it's not required, and the employer should do it following recent changes, but the more you detail, the less wriggle room the employer has :) And to be honest, if you can't list out how it won't impact your job, it's somewhat telling that maybe it will! Given they've already flat-refused once, I would guess they will be looking for ways to say no again, so the harder you make it for them, the better.

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kevinmorice@reddit

As a manager, if I thought about something and made a decision based on how it would affect the business, and you came back and just tried to push me to change by making shit up about how it wont affect you. My next decision is about which candidates to interview for your vacancy.

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luckeratron@reddit

I suspect they will refuse again as well, which, could mean OP should allow the business to outline their arguments badly so that they can evidence they are doing it in bad faith.

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Boboshady@reddit

A valid consideration. I suppose I'm calling on my personal history a lot where I've tended to get what I wanted at work by presenting cases that my employers have had no option but to accept, because I've already pre-empted and shot down their objections...but that is not identical to this situation...and not everyone is as...constructively argumentative as I am :) I do also know someone who has been through this process, though it was a while ago and definitely before the rules changed, so my experience is not direct in any case.

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Agreeable_Guard_7229@reddit

There is nothing you can say that will “make them agree” If your requested pattern of working hours doesn’t suit their business/business needs then they can say no

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glasgowgeg@reddit

It depends entirely on the job you're working. If you work a reactive role that requires cover during certain times, a 4 day week is going to be more difficult than if you work a role where you have a set number of deliverables that can be done at any hour. You'd need to give more information about what your job actually is, and what it entails, for relevant answers on this.

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sowdowgg@reddit

I think it’s harder to get a compressed hour 4 day work week. If you’re willing to go on 0.8 fte you might have a better chance ?

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my-comp-tips@reddit

If they do it for you, they would need to do that for anyone else that wanted to do a 4 day week, but I also completely get your point.

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Flapparachi@reddit

As it’s not company policy, you’ll likely have a hard time getting your way - they will be viewing it as setting a precedent - if they allow you to work a compressed week, they will have to allow others the same courtesy. This opens up all sorts of other issues around scheduling, people complaining about which day off they get, etc. I would prepare some information and statistics on the benefits (to your employer as well as yourself) as to why they should consider it. I’d also start looking for another job that may offer more flexibility if you’ve had enough. Also to note that working long shifts over 4 days doesn’t suit everyone. I know a few who have tried it and were tired and found the longer days a slog, resulting in them being tired and ‘wasting’ that extra day off. I’ve worked a 4-day week for years (good, flexible employer) and my day of choice is a Wednesday and I personally love it. I wish you the best of luck.

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cgknight1@reddit

> if they allow you to work a compressed week, they will have to allow others the same courtesy. This simply is not true - unless the criteria relates to a protected characteristic.

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WhatWeHavingForTea@reddit

Which idiots are down voting you for giving correct advice 🤦🏻‍♂️

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Any_Crazy_500@reddit

Why’ve you jumped on this bandwagon? There’s no evidence that the OP has a protected characteristic, they’re just sick of working 5 days a week. So yes, there is very much a chance that this would set a precedent. Keep on subject.

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Flapparachi@reddit

Legally, yes. Realistically, you will find there will be colleagues who find it unfair that one employee has been afforded flexibility.

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shaneo632@reddit

Almost 11 hours a day of work sounds absolutely brutal. I do 35 hours compressed into 4 days and 9-ish hours a day can feel like a lot sometimes.

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cloudylemo@reddit

Submit it in writing and use the words “statutory flexible working request”. There’s a template on the gov.uk website.

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clickyclicky456@reddit

They still don't have to agree though - there is a whole list of valid business reasons why they can say no. Obviously it depends on the role but from a business perspective, I've turned down requests like this in the past on the basis that it would put more burden on the rest of the team (having to cover for the day you're not there), and that it would impact the employee's ability to do their own job (tasks that need doing within a certain time frame would have to wait longer).

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cloudylemo@reddit

Yes I know but it increases their chances. I assess plenty every year

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smay1989@reddit

Bingo, you have a right to request and it needs to be reviewed, but lots of reasons to be refused (ACAS reasons are very broad). The above are completely fair reasons to refuse (and the reality is no employer is going to open the door to a tonne of flexibility requests...)

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No-Photograph3463@reddit

You could instead maybe ask for half days on Friday. Still means your in every day, but from experience is a huge gain in terms of work life balance as you can get the stuff done of Friday afternoon that would usually take up part of the weekend meaning 2 days just for you. It also depends what your job is though, as for some you can't just extend it if for example you need to work with other colleagues.

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seaboscuits@reddit

They can’t have blanket policies around flexible working so it doesn’t matter if they ‘don’t offer a 4 day week’ You don’t need to say anything. They can only decline based on certain reasons as long as you’ve done this properly as a statutory request

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Efficient-Pepper-212@reddit

I currently work a 4 day week (5 in 4 so long days). If your employer says they don’t do compressed hours then you’ll need to give them a strong argument why they should consider it. Think hard about why you need to do it - if you say it’s just because you want a 3 day weekend then it’ll be a no. If it’s for child care purposes or something like that then explain why you need it and how you will make sure it doesn’t impact your work. You need ti make them see why you want it (for a good reason) and how you will make it work and not impact your work.

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BeneficialVariety171@reddit

I do compressed hours over 4 days but it’s only 37.5 and I work from home. There’s noooo way I could do anything more and not be fully remote, it is a long day. Is that really what you want?

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Suspicious-Ad5121@reddit

44y5y2 112

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a4991@reddit

I’d recommend phrasing it as compressed hours rather than a 4 day week - it makes it clear to your managers that you are not looking for a reduction in work. As others have said, request it formally as a flexible working request, there’s plenty of advice on ACAS for this and your company may have a policy for it already. It doesn’t guarantee you’ll get it, but if you do, it protects it in case a future manager doesn’t like it. In your letter, provide the details and then in the meeting, suggest openness to a trial period (this covers you in case you don’t like it).

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AlGunner@reddit

Employers generally make up excuses why it wont work and want people there every day just in case something comes up. Its rare they will grant a request for a 4 day week. I'd say start looking for a new job.

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RainbowPenguin1000@reddit

11 hour days won’t give you a better work life balance they will just exhaust you for your three days off. Also they said they don’t offer it so there’s nothing you can say to “make sure they agree to it”. You’re trying to change company policy.

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bowak@reddit

Have a good answer for how you would make time back if you had to leave early one day as it is a lot harder to make that time back when working compressed hours.

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JoeDaStudd@reddit

It really depends on the business, your department, sector and management. If it's a department which needs someone to be contactable 5 days a week 9-5 and your the only person in that department then you'll have no luck without you can convince the rest of the company and any clients/suppliers to agree to it. Your best starting pushing for flexitime then cutting down the hours your working on Friday. Start with a an hour or so early finish on the Friday then down to half day then a later start before finally asking about making it an option to not work Friday.\ However honestly I'd be pushing to get it down to 40 or less hours a week as part of the process too. 4 day weeks are great but working 10+ hour days cns be very draining as it leaves you very little free time then you factor in commuting, sleeping basic hygiene, cooking, cleaning, etc.

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DEADB33F@reddit

Can't help you on how to bring them around if they're not on board, but when it comes to how to organise your four days I'd 100% recommend alternating fridays & mondays off every other week. That gives you a four day weekend every other weekend. This means you can go on a four night camping trip, city break, visit family/friends the other end of the country 20+ times a year without ever using a single days holiday pay. --- Where I used to work this came about as the company owner only ever worked four days and played golf on Fridays. When we argued for the same he (rightly) pointed out he was in the office at least an hour before everyone else and normally left an hour later. Some of us offered to work those same hours in return for a four day week where we could pick our days off (in advance). He agreed to our terms with the only stipulation that our chosen days off ensured that at least two people remained in the office every weekday ....and that we worked all that out ourselves so he didn't have to get embroiled in any arguments & disputes over who took which days off when (again, fair enough). The extra hours and extra days off were entirely optional and it ended up working out great for all.

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ProfessorYaffle1@reddit

Have you requested it as a formal flexible working arrangment? Check out the guidance on the [Gov.Uk](http://Gov.Uk) website and tailor what you say to that - i.e. look at why it can be reufused adn go prepared with responses as to why those things don't apply

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Defiant_Practice5260@reddit

My guy, ignore these comment which seem to focus on the benefits to you as an employee, and ask yourself what's in it for them? What do they gain to win from implementing a wider 4-day working week option (and if this is even feasible, many things could impact that, including supplier or client availability, all the way through to if it's even feasible for the office to be open at the times you wish). So forget the benefits to you and focus on the benefits to them. There have been a lot of studies offering quantitative and qualitative data on this. Testing has shown: **Improving employee wellbeing** * more than two thirds reported lower levels of ‘burnout’ * 39% said they were less stressed * 40% reported fewer sleep difficulties These are all beneficial to the business because it resulted in: * 65% reduction in sick days * 57% fall in the number of staff leaving the organisations **Talent Attraction & Retention**: A four-day week is a rare, desirable benefit that acts as a competitive advantage for recruiting and retaining staff, reducing turnover costs. **Environmental & Brand Benefits:** Fewer commutes reduce the carbon footprint, improving company reputation. Another benefit, but this one is more for companies that enforce a 4-day working week: **Reduced Overhead Costs:** Operating with the office closed an extra day can lower expenses on electricity, water, and maintenance. Source: [https://www.ukri.org/who-we-are/how-we-are-doing/research-outcomes-and-impact/esrc/making-the-case-for-a-four-day-working-week/](https://www.ukri.org/who-we-are/how-we-are-doing/research-outcomes-and-impact/esrc/making-the-case-for-a-four-day-working-week/)

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UnCommonSense99@reddit

Ask if you can do it as a trial for 3 months to see how it goes. Say that if they have an emergency and do need you to work on a Friday then you would be flexible, swap with another day.

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gagagagaNope@reddit

You working 4 days instead of 5 is not an advantage, or a good thing for them. You need to demonstrate that it's not a bad thing, or at least not too bad (vs replacing you if you leave, but don't mention leaving). Think through the implications- 1. Fridays - busy day in your company? Busy only some Fridays? How flexible would you be to shift the day off if they need you to? 2. How dependent on others are you for your output (how productive are those extra hours?), how depenent on you are others (are you going to kill productivity on Friday?) 3. Bank holidays. You'd be getting 125% of a day off for each one, but over a few years (and with good friday, chrismas b/hs on Friday it balances out Key thing is don't threaten, and give the impression of flexibility. I went to 4 days (normal hours) for childcare. It has hammered my productivity, but they really need me in my role. I'm very flexible on when I take that day if needed, and have done 5 day weeks every now and again.

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zephyrmox@reddit

> What can I say to make sure they agree to this. You can't realistically, and if this is the way you are approaching it you are very unlikely to get what you want. You need to fully demonstrate that this is _not a negative_ for their business rather than it simply being a positive for you.

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WhatWeHavingForTea@reddit

You now have a day 1 right to flexible working, have a look for guidance on ACAS website. There are only 5 or so reasons they can deny you your request. When you submit your FWR, make sure you have outlined how your change in hours will not impact on any of these areas.

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markvauxhall@reddit

> You now have a day 1 right to flexible working, You have a right to request flexible working. You don't have a right for thay request to be granted and any company can argue "business reasons" for refusal.

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WhatWeHavingForTea@reddit

Ah, slightly poorly worded on my behalf. But I think 'business reasons' is a little too broad here. The employer would need to state which of those particular reasons they were using to deny the request, and also discuss with the employee to make sure there weren't other options.

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SleepySloth2468@reddit

The kind of work you do and the colleagues will have a huge impact. I work in an nhs outpatients dept and we recently had a change in hours, full time staff were offered a 4 day week and a few opted in but everyone wanted fridays off which caused a bit of trouble with higher management making the decision who got what day off. It’s also left us incredibly short at the end of the day, especially on fridays which has upset a few people so i can see why it would be difficult to get a manager to agree to it.

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mattjessop70@reddit

Mondays are far better than Fridays for day off. Source - myself

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SleepySloth2468@reddit

I work pt and i have Wednesdays off. Nothing better than knowing you just have 2 days max in a row then it’s a break. Worst part is the annual leave though as bank holidays are taken away from your allocated hours whereas the people who dont work mondays/fridays (where the bank holidays usually fall) dont get the hours taken off them so they end up with more to take overall.

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mattjessop70@reddit

Yup I get credited with the bank holidays that fall in a Monday 👍

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Droidy934@reddit

I work a 4 day week in a machine shop, fortunately for me we do not deal with the customer who might expect 5 day access to staff.

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Due_Professor_8736@reddit

would need to know so much about your company, role, tenure to offer more than generic advice... company concerns. they'll need to offer to everyone. you'll exceed recommended hours per day and have an accident/fatigue, basically risk of exposure. and then the general inertia of "do I have to" that plagues most businesses. And the chance the people you speak to having zero in the way of empowerment to make decisions or effect change... And you really should only negotiate from a position of strength, in a traditional work situation you don't have much. so you need to understand if you are just "asking" or actually negotiating. if you are negotiating you need to offer something, honestly the arrangement seems to just benefit you. in a traditional negotiation you'd just ask and based next step on that, which might be extol the virtue, mutual benefits. there is a rather obvious one which is to make your employer a prefered employer. just tread careful as when you start saying x,y,z company already does this you might be invited to piss off and join them.. you could say whilst you haven't looked at your own industry, other industries are doing this with great success, nursing being one i've heard of. other non-material benefits are reductions in requests for urgent leave and lots of reports of high motivation/productivity(often when a whole company/department moves), fewer sick days. you can pull these reports easily. so that's all 'carrot" level stuff. the next level is more stick, this might be to paint a picture of losing staff to competitors that offer this arrangement. and then ultimately tell them it's a deal breaker for you personally so you'll look for work elsewhere. note. if you do this you've already lost. again in the traditional employer / employee relationship, even if you are a key contributor it's a threat you can only make once. and there is no benefit to actually make that threat unless it really is a deal breaker and you are confident you can find work elsewhere as your route to promotions may have been curtailed in that moment.. I'd probably sell it as much as i could then offer to form part of a fact finding team with HR on the condition that if the fact finding be time bound for a fixed amount of time published in advance. this stops them from stalling a decision or action.. And then.. barring the unforeseen you insist to be part of a pilot program that would run for at least 12 months with additional reviews/scrutiny. the most important thing to do in the meeting is listen, ask for their reasoning, if they waffle, probe a bit more, but don't react to any of it, just listen, take notes, watch for any silent consent, who you might be able to sway offline later on.. so yeah, dont' be a wind bag or a whiny baby, mmkay..

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lankymjc@reddit

I needed to reduce my hours to a four-day week (not longer days, but did involve a paycut to go part time). I went to my manager and asked them. Does require your boss to not be a wangrod, though. I’ve gotten lucky.

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Thi13een@reddit

You can’t make them do anything. If it’s policy, or there’s a business need for you to work 5 days you’ll have to just suck it up or move elsewhere. Also mgmt will need to be careful of setting a precedent, if the approve yours they open the door to everyone requesting it, and not everyone can work 4 days You can fight it internally with the union if one is available to you maybe? But be prepared to possibly still lose and you’ll probably be resented by mgmt. and colleagues or win, and probably be resented by mgmt and colleagues

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Khaleesi1536@reddit

Make the argument that as you are requesting to compress your hours, they’re not *losing* any hours from you, and you would feel better refreshed having the extra day which would make your work output better. If you’ve previously worked the length of days you’d be moving to, I’d point that out as well so they know you can cope with long days without burning out.

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SongsAboutGhosts@reddit

Look at the legal reasons for rejecting flexible working requests on the gov site, and address how each doesn't apply to your role. If you're customer facing and you work in the UK then you're probably put of luck claiming you can deliver until 9pm because that's not somethinthe company offers or wants to of they work a 9-5 model - if they change to claiming they can do that, who delivers on the day you don't work, or when you're ill or on leave, or when there's just more demand than you can handle by yourself? If you deal with international clients or if you work largely by yourself and don't need to interact with other people for the majority of your role *and* someone else can cover the day you're off, you're much better placed.

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Apprehensive_East960@reddit

If you ask to work four days then many employers will allow this, but it will be for four days of pay (I.e. a 20% cut). If that works for your lifestyle the excellent! Case closed. What lots of internet chat talks about is working 80% of the time but retaining 100% of your pay. This is a tough pill for an employer to swallow even if you can make valid productivity arguments. You will need to build a case and pressure over time across a group of employees because otherwise you will be a precedent for others to do the same. One friend of mine succeeded by doing a 90% week for 10% pay cut (half a day unpaid per week). He rolls these together and has every other Friday to himself which I am quite jealous of.

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memcwho@reddit

Congrats on your recent "Didn't read the OP" award. If OP isn't customer facing, there is no need for them to be there during normal working hours. Tack an hour on the front and a few on the back of your workday and wha-pow. 10 hour days 4 days in a row, or whatever works out for a 43 hour week. Full pay, full workload, do it from home, not shit W/L balance.

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3a5ty@reddit

OP is on about condensing their week though, not reducing it. My wife has done this in her last 2 jobs, same hours, same pay, just longer days for the 4 days.

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xxx654@reddit

Pay cut stuff is nonsense. If you compress hours into 4 days then then you’re fine. I wouldn’t entertain a pay cut without a corresponding cut in hours. No one should.

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Khaleesi1536@reddit

OP is referring to compressed hours, so there would be no change in pay.

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PippiShortStockings@reddit

They are not asking to work less hours, they’re asking to condense their hours

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schmerg-uk@reddit

I work for a large org that has a "compressed working hours on request" policy for the entire org but with a blanket policy exemption for the sub-org that I work for. Sucks, but while you can ask, if they've already decided the answer is no (as opposed to "we haven't considered it before") then chances are you'll have to accept that, or move to another job Personally I'm sticking it out for now...

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sliced91@reddit

Submit a formal flexible working application, this ensures your company has to follow a process of reviewing and more importantly communicating with you why they can’t support you working condensed hours. There is a list of reasons why the company can reject a flexible working request which are detailed on the .gov website (https://www.gov.uk/flexible-working/after-the-application) The onus is on your employer to show why they can’t support it, not on you to convince your employer that they should let you do it.

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lemonsqueezy55@reddit

Not what you are asking, but in my experience, most people who transition from a 5 to a 4 day week work a fairly standard 9-5 35 hour week. 43 hours across 4 days is a lot, so just make sure you are prepared for doing 4 very long days. Of course, there are plenty people that do regular 10/11 hour shifts and manage perfectly well, but the transition may be hard. On your actual question, work on explaining how this wouldn't negatively impact business productivity.

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Unhappy-Giraffe-563@reddit

I suspect the only real way to achieve this is to play hard ball, and demand it. Knowing the risk that comes with that approach - If you a trusted and valued employee they will treat you seriously, if you are replaceable, they won’t.

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Tarot_Cat_Witch@reddit

I work 4 days and my little one goes to pre school 5 days, it’s done wonders for me and him, the house actually gets a weekly blitz, worth the extra £30 a week. We get all holidays together too

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ArtisticWatch@reddit

What kind of work do you do?

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ci_newman@reddit

If the company doesn't have a policy for it, you aren't going to "convince" them. You've already been told no.

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DependentMind6101@reddit

Look up the reasons under which an employer can reject a flexible working request. Have a think about what they might use and try and see if you can think of anything that might address those points. TBH if they're going to reject it they're going to reject it but legally it has to fall under at least one of the 8 statutory reasons. So it's about impact to the business not how it might benefit you personally.

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Garconavecunreve@reddit

They won’t change their policy for you…

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Ethtr8der@reddit

Win the lottery, find a better job or retire? I assume only one of them is feasible just now.

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