Tried a 4-day workweek for 3 months and my productivity tanked

I was sure those extra days off would make me more focused, but I just ended up cramming 5 days of work into 4 and burning out by Wednesday. Has anyone else had the opposite effect from what they expected with compressed schedules?

3 comments

3 Comments

patriciap522mo ago

So you crammed 5 days into 4 and called it a 4-day week. Genius.

hayden7092mo ago

There was a study I remember reading about that actually showed some companies ended up working longer hours on those "compact" weeks. Something like 10 hour days instead of 8, but with the same workload crammed in. It didn't really save time, it just pushed burnout to a different day, you know?

lilyg831mo ago

Sounds like you basically just discovered the secret most people figure out eventually. Companies love pretending a 4 day week is some magical solution but it only works if the work actually shrinks too not just the time you have to do it. Reminds me of how people think meal prepping on Sunday saves time but then you spend half your weekend cooking and eating sad chicken. @patriciap52 nailed it, you reinvented the 5 day grind with extra stress on the front end. Its like buying a bigger fridge thinking youll save money on groceries but you just end up buying more stuff that goes bad.