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.

Key takeaways

Takeaway #1: In a 4/10 schedule, employees work 10 hours per day, four days a week. So, for example, your team might work 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. (with a one-hour, unpaid lunch break) Monday through Thursday. They would then have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off.
Takeaway #2: There are both benefits and challenges to the 4/10 work schedule, including improved task completion, less commuting, better work-life balance, staffing gaps, potential for burnout, and communication issues with customers and clients who still work a 5/8 schedule.
Takeaway #3: Before implementing a 4/10 schedule, consult with your employees, research alternative schedules, and perhaps even talk with other businesses that tried, or currently operate under, a 4/10 work schedule.

What is a 4/10 work schedule?
Benefits of a 4/10 work schedule
Challenges of a 4/10 work schedule
Tips for implementing a 4/10 work schedule

What is a 4/10 work schedule?

As we 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.

Benefits of a 4/10 work schedule

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

The U.S. Census Bureau found that Americans’ one-way work commute takes an average of 27.6 minutes, as of 2019. If your employees commute one less day each week, that’s almost a full hour of time they’re getting back.

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) Incentive for potential employees

According to a 2022 study, an overwhelming number of U.S. workers say they would support a four-day workweek, even if they had to work longer hours each day.

When you offer this benefit on their very first day, new hires can achieve the work-life balance that fits their needs. 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

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.

Tips for implementing a 4/10 work schedule

Be deliberate

Switching to a 4/10 work schedule is a major shake-up for any company. You don’t want to do it hastily. Solicit employee opinions on changing to a 4/10 work schedule before making a decision.

If, after considering the views of your staff, you think making the switch to a 4/10 schedule is the right move for your organization, give plenty of lead time. Ensure plans are in place to prevent disruptions to any ongoing projects during the changeover from a traditional schedule.

Pick teams wisely

Going to a 4/10 work schedule will probably mean dividing your staff up into two or more teams if you are trying to maintain five or six-day coverage. Setting the roster for each team is something you want to approach carefully.

When your staff are all on the same schedule, working the same hours, you can count on being able to call upon the full range of abilities and knowledge your employees possess to get the job done.

But if you’re not careful, splitting your staff up could create gaps in capabilities. You might need to hire additional staff to ensure that each of your teams has people with the needed skills — even if you have “enough” staff in terms of pure numbers.

Test and get feedback

Before you make the switch to the 4/10 schedule, put metrics in place to objectively measure if the change has a positive impact on your company’s efficiency and productivity.

In addition to getting employee opinions when you’re considering switching to the 4/10 schedule, “take the temperature” of your staff after the switch to see how they feel it’s working out.

If you have doubts about the 4/10 work schedule, consider trying it on a trial basis for a limited period of time — say three to six months — and then assess the results.

If your business has a particular time of year that tends to be slower, that’s probably the best time for the trial, since any disruptions during the adjustment period will have less of an impact.

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.

Frequently asked questions

If my business operates on a 4/10 schedule, does that mean it’s only open four days a week?

Not necessarily. You can have multiple 4/10 schedules running at the same time so that teams work different days during the week and have different days off during the weekend.

That way, your business can be open as many days as necessary during the week without losing coverage.

How should I handle holidays on a 4/10 work schedule?

How you handle holidays will vary depending on the policies you have in place and the local, state, and federal labor laws for your industry.

Common approaches for combining holidays and the 4/10 schedule include:

Paid day off: If a holiday falls on a scheduled 10-hour workday, employees get the day off and are paid for 10 hours at their regular rate.
Work the holiday: Employees who have to work during a holiday receive holiday pay (e.g., time-and-a-half or double-time).
Extra day off: If a holiday falls on a scheduled day off, employees get an additional day off somewhere else as compensation.

How does overtime work on a 4/10 work schedule?

Overtime works the same on a 4/10 work schedule as it does on every other type of schedule. If a team member works more than 40 hours in a given seven-day period (i.e., Monday through Sunday), your business must pay them the standard 1.5 times their base pay.

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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.

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