What Is a 4/10 Work Schedule? | A Guide for Managers

Curious about implementing the 4/10 work schedule? We’ve got the details you need to help you make the right choice for your team.

Many businesses operate on the standard 40-hour workweek. For most, that entails having their employees work eight hours per day Monday through Friday.

The 4/10 work schedule is a popular alternative because it provides a number of benefits that can help your employees excel. That said, it also comes with some challenges that may make it less than desirable for your business.

Read on to learn about both.

Table of contents

What is a 4/10 work schedule?

4/10 work schedule

As mentioned earlier, the standard model for a 40-hour workweek is having your employees work Monday through Friday for eight hours each day. For payroll purposes, many businesses reframe this as 80 hours over two workweeks (or 10 work days).

The 4/10 work schedule is a type of compressed workweek that still has team members accumulating 40 hours in a single week (or 80 hours over two weeks) but does so over fewer days.

In this alternative model, employees work 10-hour days Monday through Thursday. They then get Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off.

Here’s an example of what it that can look like:

Sample 4/10 work schedule

Week one

Monday: Work 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., unpaid lunch hour, work 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. (10 hours)
Tuesday: Work 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., unpaid lunch hour, work 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. (10 hours)
Wednesday: Work 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., unpaid lunch hour, work 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. (10 hours)
Thursday: Work 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., unpaid lunch hour, work 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. (10 hours)
Friday: Off
Saturday: Off
Sunday: Off

Week two

Monday: Work 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., unpaid lunch hour, work 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. (10 hours)
Tuesday: Work 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., unpaid lunch hour, work 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. (10 hours)
Wednesday: Work 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., unpaid lunch hour, work 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. (10 hours)
Thursday: Work 7 a.m. to 12 p.m., unpaid lunch hour, work 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. (10 hours)
Friday: Off
Saturday: Off
Sunday: Off

As you can see, employees still accumulate 40 hours in one week and 80 hours in two weeks, but they do so over four days each week instead of five.

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The off day

The 4/10 work schedule is flexible in that it can accommodate different days off during the week. This feature can help provide coverage so your business can stay open for a full five- or six-day workweek while still allowing your employees to only come in four days per week.

To make this possible, you can divide your crew into two teams (A and B).

  • Team A works Monday through Thursday and gets Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off
  • Team B works Tuesday through Friday and gets Saturday, Sunday, and Monday off

You can also cover a six-day workweek by dividing your crew into three teams (A, B, and C).

  • Team A works Monday through Thursday and gets Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off
  • Team B works Tuesday through Friday and gets Saturday, Sunday, and Monday off
  • Team C works Wednesday through Saturday and gets Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday off

The flexibility of this kind of schedule is just one benefit your business can enjoy. In the next section, we’ll discuss some more.

Benefits of a 4/10 work schedule

app for scheduling

1) Improved task completion

The extra hour of work in the morning and the afternoon may improve your team’s ability to complete tasks.

Depending on what they’re working on, they may be able to finish bigger, more complicated projects in a single day because they have more time to dedicate to them.

2) Increased productivity

A 4/10 work schedule may give employees more time to relax, recharge, and take care of obligations outside of work.

That extra day to rest or get things done in their personal lives can lead to higher levels of productivity over the four days your employees are at work.

Over the long term, your team may even experience a reduction in the type of ongoing stress that leads to burnout and the need to take extra vacation or sick time to recover.

3) Less commuting

For employees who use their own cars to get to work, the extra day off each week means they won’t have to navigate traffic, use gas, or put miles on their vehicles.

For employees who use public transportation to get to work, the extra day off each week means they won’t have to deal with long commute times, and they won’t have to spend their hard-earned money just to get to work.

4) Better work-life balance

With a 4/10 work schedule, you can provide your employees with a better work-life balance. Those extra days off give them more time to schedule appointments, conduct personal business, or take a vacation with family or friends.

With a better work-life balance, your team may take fewer sick days, and your business may experience a drop in no-call/no-shows and time-off requests.

5) Incentive for potential employees

In addition to providing benefits for your existing team, this type of schedule can also serve as a hiring incentive for potential new employees.

When you offer this benefit on their very first day, new hires can achieve the work-life balance that fits their needs right from the start. They don’t have to put in weeks, months, or even years before they can get more control over their schedule.

That can make your business more attractive and help you pull in and retain high-performing team members.

Challenges of a 4/10 work schedule

Challenges of a 4/10 work schedule

1) Staffing gaps

For businesses with fewer employees, allowing your team members to have an extra day off each week can lead to gaps in coverage (fewer-than-necessary employees on the job) if you don’t manage it carefully.

To make the 4/10 model work, your business may have to hire more team members than it’s had before, which, in turn, may increase your labor costs.

2) Longer workdays

The biggest challenge of the 4/10 model is the longer days your team will have to work.

By and large, employees aren’t used to working more than eight hours per day, so switching to a 10-hour day in which they start earlier in the morning and work later into the evening can be a real challenge at first.

3) Complicated sick leave

Sick leave is complicated enough as it is, but introducing a new work schedule may require you to overhaul your program to accommodate the new model.

4) Potential for burnout

If not managed correctly, the extra hours in the workday may lead to an increased potential for burnout.

To counteract this, you may need to encourage your team to focus on getting enough sleep, drinking enough water, eating enough food, and taking more breaks throughout the day.

5) Downtime

In some cases, your customers and other businesses may not be active during the extra hours of work that come with a 4/10 schedule. Such periods of inactivity can lead to excess downtime that may adversely affect your team’s productivity.

Optimize your scheduling with Sling

Optimize your scheduling with Sling

Whether you choose to adopt a 4/10 work schedule, a flex schedule, a rotating shift, or some other type of schedule altogether, the best way to optimize your team’s activity is with workforce management software, such as Sling.

Sling’s suite of tools includes:

These features can help make creating and implementing even the most complicated 4/10 work schedule as easy as point, click, and go.

For more free resources to help you manage your business better, organize and schedule your team, and track and calculate labor costs, visit GetSling.com today.

Last Updated: March 2023

This content is for informational purposes and is not intended as legal, tax, HR or any other professional advice. Please contact an attorney or other professional for specific advice.

The post What Is a 4/10 Work Schedule? | A Guide for Managers appeared first on Sling.

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