Every Other Friday Off Work Schedule
Tags: productivity, motivation, management
Published: 2022-06-28 11:40:27

---
title: Every Other Friday Off Work Schedule
published: true
date: 2022-06-27 04:00:00 UTC
tags: productivity, motivation, management
canonical_url: https://hector.dev/2022/06/27/every-other-friday-off-work-schedule/
---

For the last six months, I’ve adopted a work schedule where you tally up extra hours in the first nine days of a two-week range, and take the second Friday off (also known as a 9/80 work schedule<sup id="fnref:1" role="doc-noteref"><a href="#fn:1" rel="footnote">1</a></sup>). Below is a diagram that illustrates one way to do it.

![Alternate Work Week Schedule Example](https://hector.dev/assets/resized/example-alternate-work-week-schedule-800x492.png)

When I first adopted this work schedule, I didn’t think I’d value it as much as my peers. For better or worse (increasingly, worse), I’ve come from a long line of work environments where long hours were rewarded. Every other Friday off? Sure, that’s nice—but that’s not for _leaders_.

However, after a month of practice, it _easily_ became one of the best work schedule arrangements I’ve ever participated in. Below are some supporting reasons why (from the perspective of an employee—me). If you consider yourself a forward-thinking leader, and have the authority to implement an alternative work schedule like this for your teams, please give it some serious consideration.

* * *

## Relief in knowing others are off too

This may be a side effect of the previous work cultures I referenced above, but for me, I enjoy days off _much more_ when I know other members of the team are off too. The probability of having your day interrupted by a chat DM goes down significantly. There is also a reduced concern of missing previously scheduled meetings or timely emails.

## More opportunity for decompression

The older I get, the more responsibilities I assume outside of work. Increasingly, the weekend is less a block of time to unwind before the next work week, and more _the only_ opportunity to meet personal obligations that require more time than weekday evenings afford.

Maybe it’s cleaning out the garage, or rearranging the home office, or picking out a nice gift for a loved one. Whatever it is, now there is a whole additional day every two weeks to get it done. That leaves the traditional weekend days with more of an opportunity for much-needed decompression.

## More quality time with my kid

This is a bit biased toward folks with younger kids (i.e., not yet in school, or not yet in a _serious_ grade), but the time I spend with my kid on these Fridays off is much higher quality than that of a usual weekend.

When we plan to go somewhere, like the aquarium or a museum, it is much easier to get tickets. There are also generally a lot less people around (:heart: introverts). It’s enabled us to comfortably enjoy experiences like bowling, mini golfing, and wizarding<sup id="fnref:2" role="doc-noteref"><a href="#fn:2" rel="footnote">2</a></sup> during a pandemic.

## Conclusion

A 9/80-style work schedule is personally, very compelling. It unlocks a level of work/life balance I haven’t experienced in a work setting since I started working from home.

It may not be for everyone, though. Work schedule changes require a base level of individual and team-level maturity. But, if that’s present, most software development teams should be able to adopt a work schedule change like this and not miss a beat.

In 2022, hiring for software-focused roles is tough and differentiators are hard to come by. An alternative work schedule that improves work/life balance and doesn’t compromise the business can go a long way on the recruiting front.

1. [What is a 9/80 work schedule?](https://toggl.com/track/9-80-work-schedule/) [↩](#fnref:1)

2. [Harry Potter: The Exhibition](https://www.harrypotterexhibition.com) [↩](#fnref:2)