I'd choose the 4x7.5 schedule over 5x6 any day.

Having entire days off is so much more freedom than having two extra hours in the evening. Three day weekend every weekend means me and my girlfriend could go on little escapes more frequently.

Yeah, as a programmer I often don't program 8 hours a day and when I do it is wildly exhausting. I still absolutely work for 8 hours a day, most days.

I'm with you. But we're probably in the minority. I notice that my after-work hours are vastly improved if I work 1-2hours less than my usual 8 hours just because those last hours are the most draining, somehow, mentally. So cutting those would improve 5/7 days instead of the 1/7 day improvement with another free day. But anyway, I think in the modern office environment both options should be available. It's available where I live (Germany) but I think most bosses don't really like people exercising these options (I'm waiting for my next promotion before I do it ;)).

> I wonder how many computer programmers can really work for 8 hours in a day.

In most jobs, you don't have to work all the time while you're on the job - and most people take copious advantage of that.

This really depends on the situation, e.g.:

* long commute

* kids, depending on their age: shorter work days to be around when they're not at school, or shorter work week to spend one more day with your baby instead of leaving it at day care

* whether you count your working time: 4-day workweek means nobody expects you to be there one day per week, expectations are less clear with a reduced-time 5-day workweek

* what you do in your free-time, compare hiking weekends vs going to bars and restaurants

Obviously, the best alternative is to be able to choose depending on your personal plans for the week!

From experience, it's not too hard to not work Wednesdays (like some others, I had to burn a lot of PTO because corporate changed the accrual cap), but managing work hours is harder. It's easy to slip and then you're working (or in the office anyway) 8 hour days and paid for 6 hour days.

I would choose 4 days. You said it yourself, actual hours are less but more days mean more extra hours you need to commit, not to mention commute and lunch and other hassles