HR Glossary

Compressed workweek

What is a compressed work week?

A compressed work week is a popular flexible work arrangement where employees work longer hours per day for fewer working days. For example, instead of working eight hours for five days, employees might work four ten-hour days. This way, they fulfill the standard forty hours per week rule without actually having to work all five days.

What are the common variations in a compressed work week?

Here are some typical models of the compressed work week:

• 4/10 schedule

This is one of the most common models, where employees work 10 hours a day for four days.

• 9/80 schedule

This schedule spreads across two weeks, where employees work nine hours a day for eight days and eight hours on one day. Every other Friday is an off day.

• 3/12 schedule

In this schedule, employees work 12 hours a day for three days.

What are the benefits of a compressed work week?

Here are some of the key reasons why organizations adopt a compressed work week:

• Improves work-life balance by providing employees ample time to manage their personal responsibilities
• Enhances employee productivity since they get an extra day off to recharge and come back motivated
• Helps employees prioritize their tasks and cut down on unnecessary meetings and repetitive work
• Makes employees feel trusted and supported, which in turn improves their morale and engagement levels
• Encourages organizations to focus on the actual results employees produce rather than the time spent

What are the challenges of a compressed work week?

One of the major challenges of a compressed workweek is the longer working hours, which can lead to exhaustion and potential burnout if not managed well. It may also not be very suitable for customer-facing roles, as having support teams unavailable for a full day can frustrate customers and impact service experience. Additionally, when employees or teams follow different compressed schedules, coordinating meetings, collaboration, and project work can become incredibly challenging.

How can organizations adopt a compressed work week? 

Here's a five-step plan that your organization can follow to adopt a compressed work week successfully:

Step 1: Collaborate with your C-level leaders to understand the impact of compressed schedules on your business needs, customers, employees, and other stakeholders.

Step 2: Run surveys among employees to understand their preferences and pain points associated with adopting a compressed work week.

Step 3: Discuss with managers to set clear expectations around the compressed work week. Define the everyday working hours, communication channels to be used, eligibility, break time, overtime, and more.

Step 4: Keep tabs on the labor laws and other legal requirements governing your organization and make sure your compressed work week requirements align with them.

Step 5: Have shift rotation plans in place to ensure business continuity for customer-facing and other support roles.

Step 6: Train employees on time management in a compressed schedule, and equip managers to set clear expectations and guide their team effectively.

Step 7: Implement a pilot program with a smaller number of employees to see how it works in practice and estimate the impact on other aspects of your business.

Step 8: Make the necessary adjustments based on your pilot program observations and launch it for your entire workforce.

What jobs are best suited for a compressed work week? 

Compressed work weeks work best for roles that focus on output rather than real-time availability. Jobs including software development, design, marketing, research, and engineering could benefit. Operations, admin, and support functions can also thrive with compressed schedules as long as rotational shifts are in place.

Is overtime calculated in a compressed work week arrangement? 

Just like other work schedules, overtime is calculated for compressed work week arrangements, too. Any number of hours exceeding the standard working hours counts as overtime.