[pm215]

Working four days a week. Effectively I pay 20% of my salary to buy an extra non-working day every week. This is a massive QoL improvement (a) because it keeps my RSI from being unbearable and (b) because of all the fun stuff you can do with that extra day...

[hdi]

How did you negotiate that with your employer, and also are you doing contract/constancy work where an arrangement like that is slightly more realistic?

[pm215]

No, I'm doing what I would classify as "normal" developer work. Negotiation: I have had (on a sample size of 1) no luck getting this at initial employment, but I have managed (sample size of 2) to arrange it after working somewhere for a couple of years and building up trust and a reputation as an employee worth hanging on to. At that point I was able to get 4-day working set up following an RSI episode bad enough that I had to be signed off work for a few months and then got a medical recommendation for reduced hours, which my employer accepted.

Incidentally, this kind of thing is why I'm definitely not in the "job hop every year or two" camp.

[majewsky]

Whereas some here are asking whether to switch from full-time to part-time, I have the reverse situation right now. I was hired by my current employer on a 70% part-time basis (i.e., 28 hours per week) since I'm still finishing my degree. That is nearly done now (thesis is submitted, only the presentation is left), and I'm struggling with the question whether to pursue going back to full-time. The extra money (70% part-time also means 70% pay) would be nice to build up assets, but OTOH I feel like my time is more valuable in my own hands at this point (I'm in my late twenties).