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Subscribe to RSSSome of us were lucky enough to start the week with a paid day off (thanks, Presidents!). We started the workweek on Tuesday, excited for a short week and expecting the days to fly by. And instead ... they ... dragged.
Why does a shorter workweek after a day off often end up feeling longer than a normal week? While no psychology research has directly examined the phenomenon, some evidence suggests that it's because we humans are easily thrown by disruptions in our routines.
"If I had to venture a guess, I would say that it could be because four-day work weeks are much less common and are a deviation from the typical five-day work week," Marc Buehner, a psychologist at the U.K.'s Cardiff University who has studied the psychology of time perception, said in an email. "There are some laboratory studies that show that predictable events are perceived as shorter than unpredictable events."
Buehner points to an idea explored in a 2007 study published in the journal PLOS One: In one experiment, researchers showed participants a series of 10 images, nine of the same image with one oddball image thrown in. (For instance, the volunteers saw nine repeat images of a shoe and one image of a digital clock.) Each image flashed on a screen for 500 milliseconds. After watching the series of images, the study participants were asked whether the oddball image was on screen longer or shorter than the repeat images. Each one of them incorrectly thought the oddball image was on screen longer.
But it's not just about the weird image sticking out just because it's, you know, weird. The idea works with any kind of predictable routine. "So if I present you with a stream of numbers, say, 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 8 - 6 - 7, all with the same duration, the 8 would appear to have lasted longer than the other digits," Buehner explains. "One explanation why this happens is that perhaps the nervous system suppresses activation to predictable or familiar events. This would make evolutionary sense because it would exploit predictability to conserve resources."
This brings us back to the seemingly endless four-day workweek: It may feel longer because it screws with our weekday rituals.
"People might have certain routines that feel familiar to them," said Buehner. "They start the workweek on Monday with particular things -- a teacher might always teach the same class on Monday morning, for example. Now when they start on a Tuesday, the routine is different. Perhaps then this deviation from the standard of what is expected makes the week appear longer."
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Wrong - It seems longer because we end up doing five days of work in four. The work doesn't disappear just because there is a day off.
LOL - Right on, WG. I was thinking the same thing !
Exactly. Especially with electronic communication, you already have two days worth of junk to deal with after a Monday holiday. If it's a Friday holiday, you're still under pressure to produce five days of productivity in four.
Willey -- don't you find keeping busy makes the day go faster? At least, faster than not having anything to do. At any rate, I don't know what they're talking about. I feel the reverse is true. On the returning Tuesday after a 3-day weekend, one 'feels' it's a Monday. The next day (even though it feels like it should be Tuesday) is Wednesday already! I don't find anything in this article that rings true as to why a 4 day work week 'drags'. I would rather work four 10-hour days than five 8-hour days. And then, take 3 day weekend.
Well doesn't this seem like a crock of PR crap for why Americans shouldn't have days off. I tell you this has nothing to do with the circadian rhythms and as long as you have a cellphone employers have found ways to get you to work off hours. Foolish! In fact, most people could easily work the additional 10-hour days if management is working them. Unfortunately, most companies believe upper management should have the days to work from home extra days while employees are pushed to their limits coming to work.
I actually use to have 4-day work weeks in the federal government, accomplished a lot and earned awards while maintaining a life outside of the cellphone. Many corporations could easily take up this practice and continue having a productive workweek with less meetings. It is always erratic meetings that "need" to take place which screw it up for the employee. I am not a believer in the pitch of this article.
Actually, for many of us a four day week is the norm. Four days ten hours each, and then they want us to work overtime. You think four eight hour days are tiring, try four/ten plus. One never feels as if there's a weekend.
Hmmm, it sure dosen't feel longer to me, and if their is more work it passes the time faster. So this is a bunch of hoopla if you ask me. It's the weekends that speed by IMO. Oh, and if this study isn't a waste of money, then what is?
I think it also has to do with your work, if you love to do it....it ain't work.
I wouldn't know. I have a three-day weekend every week.
:)
This doesn't seem right to me. The four-day week was a relief to me because the weekend seemed to come much sooner.
My 5 day work week felt like 5 days because we didn't get Monday off. I'm sorry I don't feel bad for you people who got off Monday.
Same here, I had to work as well!
YMMV. The 4 day week flies for me.
another bunch of crap with little value.
If they are correct, it's probably similar to the perception of a new route taking longer to drive than it does in subsequent trips. At least it's like that for me.
Yeah... poor babies, they had a 4-day week!! We're lucky to get Xmas & new years off. President's Day? You gotta be kidding.
And the working folk who worked on P day paid taxes so the Gubmint class could have the PAID day off. Sure sounds like slavery to me. Hmmmmmmm
It doesn't seem longer. Ever.
I have a four day work week every other week.I don't see any difference.
I work four 10's and have a three day weekend every week already. While I enjoy three days off, the 10 hour days (6 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) can get tiring. I'm up at 4 a.m. to get ready for work, so I have to go to bed earlier to get decent sleep. But that cuts into my time in the evenings to run errands, clean house, cook dinner, etc. So I have to balance between getting enough sleep and getting things done. Or I catch up on the weekend, which kind of defeats the 3-day weekend anyway! The only plus, is when Monday's a holiday, I have a 4-day weekend!
I also normally work 4 ten hr days, and love it. A few times we pulled a 3 12hr and a 4 hr the next day. Now that sucks, as you spend that 1/2 day catching up on sleep.
But with the 4 day, it gives me time to work my part time job, and depending on the time line, I can spend 10 or less, hrs at home working it, and then have my two days off, which is spent part time on a fast cleaning and shopping for groceries, etc. Then Sunday is relaxation, going fishing, target shooting, or spending time with friends and/or family.
I guess it depends on a person's life style and what they want. I know I enjoy my work, and my work schedule, and wouldn't trade it for anything. Plus there is even time's when I can take my work home and then work from home.
Daylight savings time is worse yet. I can not adjust to it for over a month. Leave DST alone i dont care what the season is.
Good lord! People actually complain about a four day work week? Be glad you have a job!
during summer we work 4 ten hour days, off wednesdays, and its just fine with me, if only the day off was friday or monday it would be just up my alley.
How about this? We work only 4 days a week, 6 hours a day since they say we aren't productive working 8 phrase anyhow. Plus, the weekends don't seem long enough for us to recover from all the bs we get from work.
And who gets off on President's Day anyhow except the govt offices and banks?! Employers love to overwork and underpay us.
I'm sorry to hear that URKiddinMe, but thank goodness I have an excellent employer, he tells us what he needs done, then he gets the hell of the way and lets us do it. There are times when someone will ask him for help, and then he will pitch in.
But normally, we all know what we are doing, we just get it done. Having a boss/owner like that makes it enjoyable to work there. And yes, I consider myself very lucky, and very glad that I do have a steady job, that pays decent wages and benefits.
Try nursing....this is my schedule!
Looks to me like Ms. Dahl needed to write an article so she created an unsubstantiated premise. Where's the study that shows workers percieve the 4-day week as taking longer than the 5 day work week. There isn't any such study. This is an article based on a false premise.
For me, Tuesday feels like Monday, so the whole week you feel as if there is more work-week left than there really is, so it seems to be longer for me.
Murphy's first law of work load says ' if you are off for one 8 hour shift, the work you don't get done turns into 16 hours by the time you get back to it.' I could take three days off and come back to a two week backlog very easily. Of course, when you work 12 hours per day when the shift is only 8, it sort of seems longer in the end.
i disliked the four day 10 hrs. with an hour drive to work and then 1 hr back home its like a 12 hour work day. wreaked havoc on child care situations, especially with kids in elementary school....was done primarily to give Upper mngmnt 3 days in his vacation cabin.
I used to work 4 tens with a 1.5 hour drive each way. With a half hour lunch, that's 14 hours. Would do in again. Every Friday morning, I would sleep in like it was Saturday or Sunday.
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