I'm sure there are plenty of people who were refused the chance (some companies can be atrociously dickensian even today...); but on average, flexible arrangements are less uncommon than you might think.

  I just can't see it being so easy in most companies.

I've found one or two resources online [0] that discusses how to set up an arrangement like this, as it obviously requires some delicacy and evidence of competence, etc.

I am quite junior in the industry, but I am working in the direction of an official four-day work week.

I wonder if you might be able to share some resources that were useful to you, in working in this direction.

Thanks, /u/GordonS!

[0] https://codewithoutrules.com/saneworkweek/

There are 3 factors I think made it so easy for me:

1. I'd been with the company a long time, had a senior architect role, and at the time there had been something of an employee exodus - I think they were a bit afraid of losing me at an important time in various customer projects, and wanted to keep me happy!

2. The company was Norwegian, and the Norwegians are famously liberal on employee welfare

3. In the UK, employers legally must seriously consider requests for part-time working

I'm in the US - there's a trend to over-work here, but I'm already comfortable pushing against that.

Now, I just have to get really really good at delivering value.

Then figure out some unique work arrangements!

Thanks again!