I did that and switched back to 5 as I found after a year that the extra day per week just didn't make enough difference compared to earning 20% more. I would much rather work full time and take a full year off every 5 years

Not as tax efficient though unfortunately. Maybe it doesn't make as much difference in the States where income tax is extremely low.

Actually I looked up California income tax and it isn't as low as I thought.

We have a number of states with no income tax.

Other option without the paycut could be 4 10-hours a day week. Might save on gas and other thing and will still have the 3 days weekend, although day to day activities like exercise might prove more difficult to do with fewer hours every day.

Tangential question: when people in the US say 9-5 work, do you take into account the lunch break or that 1 hour is still counted as workable?

Purely anecdotal: I feel like it used to mean 9-5, and somewhere in there you'd have lunch. These days I think it's more of a (misnomer) term for 8 hours of on-the-clock work, and most people are expected to go something like 8:30 - 5:30.

I worked a highly labor intensive job on 4-10's for about 18 months. It took a harsh toll on my joints. There wasn't enough recovery time to make up for the extended physical exertion.

I did love the schedule, though, and around holidays, I had some nice lengthy stretches of time off due to it.

My day has a two-hour commute at each end anyway, three or fours days per week (I'm remote the other days) so piling on an extra 2 is pretty much out of the question.

I'm not in the US so I can't answer that!

>Tangential question: when people in the US say 9-5 work, do you take into account the lunch break or that 1 hour is still counted as workable?

There are practically no hourly jobs left in USA that pay you for your lunch. It's now 8-5. The 9-5 is long gone. 9 hours away from home every day without counting your commute. This is not a workers atmosphere.

Typically on a 9-5 day, you get 30 minutes paid for lunch.

I would be curious to know experiences of people who actually did it and what use they made of this time. Spent with family? Personal growth? Making money through freelancing or side projects?

I switched to a four day work week (cutting weekly hours, so not working more on those four days) a few months ago. It's glorious. I just use it as an additional weekend day, meaning time with family, hobbies and household chores.

But i am also not a youngster anymore, so side projects and work in general is not my prio #1 anymore

I work 3 day weeks so I can ski the other 4 days/week.

My hours aren't strict so in theory it could be 7 days/week but having tried that before, it's a bit too much to try and fit work into it without any time to relax.

I wish you all the best. It might be difficult if you are to set a precedent in your company.

If they say no then I'll probably move on as the commute is a killer.

I imagine that will motivate them to say yes. If not, no loss!