9/80 Work Schedule | Designing a 9/80 Work Schedule Template
9/80 Work Schedule
As businesses brainstorm ways in which they can increase and/or maintain the productivity of their employees while keeping their employees happy and motivated to do their work, the 9/80 work schedule regularly comes to mind as a tried and true strategy that meets both employers and employees down the middle.
9/80 Work Schedule Template
As an employment schedule, the 9/80 work schedule has increased in popularity over the years. Most famously, it has been implemented by giant defense contractors Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, as well as City Councils right across the United States.
What Is A 9/80 Work Schedule?
The 9/80 work schedule involves a two-week period of work whereby employees work eight 9-hour days and one 8-hour day, which allows them to take one day off every other week. The day off typically lands on the Friday of the second week, though this does not necessarily have to be a hard-and-fast rule.
Under this arrangement, the four 9-hour days are followed by an 8-hour workday, divided into two 4-hour slots. The first 4-hour work slot ends the first of the two working weeks (week A) and the second 4-hour work slot generally marks the start of the second work-week (week B).
By following this 9/80 work schedule template, the employee still works the required average of 40 hours per week (or 80 hours in two weeks); however, they can afford themselves a day off every two weeks. Another variation of this arrangement is the 4/40 schedule, which sees employees working ten-hour days for four days a week. This arrangement affords them a day off every week but requires them to work long days on the four scheduled workdays.
According to the Society for Human Resource Management, 43 percent of companies offer the compressed four-day work schedule to their employees, with approximately 31 percent of employees utilizing the option.
How do I Design the Perfect 9/80 Work Schedule Template?
Assess the Suitability of a 9/80 Schedule for Your Business
As an employer, you would first want to consider your work environment's nature to see if a 9/80 work schedule will work for you. For example, if your line of work involves the use of heavy machinery, it may be less than ideal to have your staff working extended hours and increasing the risk of a serious accident occurring.
As an employee, you will also need to do a similar analysis based on your personal needs and your work requirements under your employment contract. If the 9/80 work schedule means you save money on travel costs and gives you more time to spend with loved ones or tend to your gardening and pursue your other leisurely activities, then perhaps it is the best work schedule option for you moving forward. At the end of the day, your preferred life-work schedule may not accommodate the 9/80 work schedule.
Give Your Employees The Option
By making the 9/80 work schedule optional, you can gauge your employee’s interest in the work schedule. It also makes sense that major changes to your employee’s work-life balance are arrived at by consent, as employees may not be in a position to willingly accept major amendments to their lifestyle.
You can also take this one step further by offering the 9/80 schedule to a limited amount of employees to test it out as a model. This will alert you to unforeseen circumstances that will help you develop your template moving forward.
As an employee, it may be up to you to put forward the 9/80 work schedule proposal to your employer as he or she may not have even considered it a viable option. This may require you to first prove your worth by demonstrating that you are a trusted employee and have continuously delivered outstanding results. In any negotiation setting, it always helps if you have points to bargain with.
Ensure The 9/80 Schedule Works In Practice
To work effectively, your 9/80 schedule needs to ensure that the right people are available at the right time. If you work in customer service, you need to ensure that your customer's and clients' needs are still taken care of during the week. Your template also needs to account for employees calling in sick. As one web app development company told CNN, implementing compressed work-week schedules can be tricky when a staff member calls in sick during one of the four workdays.
As an employee, do not limit yourself in your thinking. If your current role is not suited to the 9/80 work schedule, there may be a vacancy within your company’s more compatible framework with the 9/80 work schedule.
Focus On The Benefits
For both employers and employees, the 9/80 work schedule's focus should be on its perceived benefits. For employees, the obvious benefits are that you afford yourself an extra day, which helps you save commuting costs and allows you to pursue your other hobbies, leisurely activities, relaxation time, and/or your side hustle.
For employers, the intended benefits are that your employees continue to stay motivated and productive during work hours, having appreciated you providing them with the extra day off work to refresh.
If both employer and employee see eye-to-eye and agree to be flexible in their approach to the 9/80 work schedule, then you will create a win-win scenario for both employer and employee.
Re-evaluate Your Template
Like most things, the 9/80 work schedule can have pros and cons, as well as unforeseen and unintended consequences. Be prepared to re-evaluate your 9/80 work schedule often and amend it as necessary. As a starting point, design the framework in a way that allows for periodical meetings and reviews to re-evaluate the schedule and discuss ways in which it can be further developed and improved.
Benefits Of 9/80 Work Schedule:
9/80 Work Schedule
The benefits of the 9/80 work schedule illustrated below, which helps businesses and employees to
Work & Life Balance: you guarantee employees’ 2-day off that gives them time to rest, take personal appointments, and go on vacations, and less no call / no show absence, which is a great benefit for the business.
Less Interruption: A 2-day week off to resolve personal work and commitments, then this won't interrupt work, leading to increased productivity for your business.
Task Completion: 1-hour extra work hour each day helps employees in the completion of tasks assigned.
Inactive Customers and Business: during 9 hours of work, many other customers and businesses may not be active, leading to decreased productivity and loss in profits.
Sick leave: 9 hours of work instead of 8 hours a day can cause employees to fall sick due to extra work.
9/80 Work Schedule Template Instructions
- First Week: Monday to Thursday – 9 hours; Friday- 8 hours; Sat & Sun-Off
- Second Week: Monday to Thursday – 9 hours and Friday, Sat & Sun-Off
- Week 1: 9 + 9 + 9 + 9 + 8 = 44 hours worked
- Week 2: 9 + 9 + 9 + 9 = 36 hours worked
- Total: 80 hours worked
- 9/80 Work Schedule considers 2 workweeks and segregates it into 9 hours and 8 hour working hours. It would be 9.00 am -7.00 pm with 1-hour lunch for 4 days and 1-8 hour work per your comfortability.
- If a holiday falls on any of the 9-hour working days, work an extra 1 hour on any other day.
Designing Work Schedule Templates With Techno-PM
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