4/10 Schedule: Definition + Pros & Cons For Your Business

Managing employee schedules can be one of the toughest parts of running a business. You want to make sure your team is productive. However, you must also respect their work-life balance. If you are looking for ways to fine-tune your staffing strategy, a 4/10 work schedule might be worth considering.

A 4/10 schedule allows employees to work four 10-hour shifts per week. While this setup has its perks, it’s not the right fit for every business. Before you make the switch, learn about what a 4/10 work schedule looks like. 

Key takeaways:

Here are a few things you should know about 4/10 schedules.

• A 4/10 work schedule means employees work four 10-hour days each week
• The schedule can improve work-life balance and increase productivity
• Industries like manufacturing and retail may benefit from longer shifts and fewer working days
• Potential challenges include fatigue and ensuring coverage for all business hours
• Employee scheduling software makes managing a 4/10 schedule simpler 

Table of contents

• What is a 4/10 work schedule?
• Examples of a 4/10 work schedule
• Pros of implementing a 4/10 schedule for your staff
• Cons of a 4/10 work schedule
• Questions to consider before choosing a 4/10 schedule for your business
• Save time on schedule creation with employee scheduling software
• When I Work is here to help you schedule your staff with ease

What is a 4/10 work schedule?

A 4/10 work schedule is a four-day workweek where team members are assigned four 10-hour shifts as opposed to five 8-hour shifts. They will enjoy an extra day off while still accumulating 40 hours per week. The goal is to provide employees with longer weekends without cutting back on their total hours. 

Depending on your industry and business demands, a 4/10 work schedule may promote workforce optimization. Some industries that use the 4/10 model include:

• Manufacturing
• Retail
• Healthcare

The 4/10 approach gives employees more days off while extending business hours. 

Examples of a 4/10 work schedule

Here’s how a 4/10 schedule might look in different industries: 

Manufacturing industry example

Factories often offer 10-hour shifts. For example, employees may work Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. This allows businesses to maintain productivity while reducing shift handovers. 

The business may rotate schedules if it is open more than four days per week. This allows each group to enjoy different days off with each rotation. For example, one group may work Monday through Thursday. The other group may work Friday through Monday and have Tuesday through Thursday off. The two groups would switch monthly or quarterly so that each team has weekends off part of the time. 

Retail industry example 

A retail store might assign staff to work Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. This covers peak shopping hours and improves customer service. Employees would benefit from an extra day off. 

Pros of implementing a 4/10 schedule for your staff

Switching to a 4/10 schedule offers several benefits, including the following: 

Higher retention

81% of U.S. workers want a 4-day work week, and 54% of workers say they are willing to work longer shifts to get a third day off each week. 

Giving employees the shift schedule they prefer can promote better retention. You can also use this perk to attract employees who are looking for more work-life balance. 

Simplified scheduling

Managing shifts becomes easier with fewer working days. You will have less administrative work and can spend more time building your business. 

Suppose that you have 50 employees and each works five shifts a week. That translates to 1,000 shifts per four-week period. If everyone works four shifts per week, you’ll only have to schedule 800 shifts per four-week period. Imagine all the time you will save. 

Longer service hours 

The 4/10 work schedule allows you to extend your service hours without hiring additional staff. This can be a great way to improve customer access to your products and services. 

However, it’s important to shape your schedule around periods of peak demand. Identify when your lulls occur and when you need extended service hours. You don’t want to extend hours on a day when demand is very low. 

Increased productivity 

Fewer work days mean less time wasted on startup and shutdown routines. Suppose that you have 20 employees. Each employee spends 30 minutes setting up for work and 30 minutes on their shutdown processes. This means each employee spends five hours on non-productive activities in a five-day workweek. 

A 4/10 workweek eliminates one hour of waste per employee per week. That translates to 20 hours of increased productivity per week. 

Cons of a 4/10 work schedule

The 4/10 work schedule isn’t for everyone. Here are some potential drawbacks to consider. 

Risk of employee fatigue

Working longer shifts can leave employees feeling fatigued. Longer shifts can lead to decreased performance and increased safety risks. This is especially common in physically demanding or high-stress jobs. 

Potential overtime costs

If employees work beyond 10 hours, overtime pay may increase your labor costs. Scheduling conflicts or coverage gaps increase the risk of excessive overtime. 

Complex PTO planning

Managing vacation days and shift swaps can be tricky with fewer working days per week. Manual PTO management is especially inefficient and error-prone. 

Less time for personal obligations 

The 4/10 work schedule gives employees an extra day off each week. However, the longer shifts may make it harder to fulfill personal obligations. For example, workers with school-age children may be unavailable for childcare pick-ups and drop-offs. 

Questions to consider before choosing a 4/10 schedule for your business

Before implementing a 4/10 schedule, ask yourself the following questions: 

Does our workload support extended 10-hour shifts?

This schedule may work well if tasks can be completed efficiently with 10-hour shifts. However, industries with fluctuating demands may struggle to meet productivity goals. 

Will our employees stay engaged during 10-hour shifts?

You know your workforce and their limitations. Will your team members stay engaged for 10 hours? Or will they lose interest and become fatigued? Think about what works best for your employees. 

Can we run a pilot program before committing?

Testing the schedule with a small team can help you work out the bugs before a full rollout. Talk to your staff and see if a department or shift will volunteer to try the 4/10 schedule. Gather feedback from participants before, during, and after the pilot program. Figure out what works, what doesn’t, and how to fix it.

If you decide to implement the 4/10 schedule permanently, the test group can be powerful advocates for the program. Their feedback can help reduce change resistance and encourage the rest of the team to get on board. 

Do we have the right software to implement a 4/10 work schedule? 

Managing a 4/10 schedule manually can be complex. Scheduling software like When I Work can streamline the process. It has automated templates to help you build schedules faster. When I Work also visualizes PTO and work availability to eliminate errors in your schedule. 

Save time on schedule creation with employee scheduling software

Employee scheduling software includes all of the tools you need to create better schedules faster. The top solutions help with schedule creation by providing:

Pre-built templates

Building a 4/10 schedule manually can be tedious, but the pre-built templates in When I Work let you customize your schedule with just a few clicks. For example, a retail manager reduced scheduling time by 50% by starting with a pre-built template for 4/10 shifts. 

Employee availability tracking

Accounting for employee availability manually is time-intensive. When I Work automatically incorporates employee availability into schedule creation to make it easier. A healthcare facility reported fewer scheduling conflicts after using this feature, saving hours of adjustments weekly. 

Automated scheduling

Manually creating schedules is slow and error-prone, but automated scheduling tools generate accurate custom schedules in minutes to save you time. A restaurant manager saved 10 hours weekly by automating schedule creation for their team of 30 employees.

Shift swapping and open shift notifications

Managing last-minute swaps is chaotic and time-consuming. With When I Work, employees can swap shifts or claim open shifts directly through the app. A team in a call center used the shift swapping feature to fill gaps quickly and cut down on the need for manual follow-up by managers.

Compliance tools 

Ensuring compliance with labor laws increases the burden on managers, so When I Work tracks compliance issues, such as overtime limits and break requirements to reduce the workload. A manufacturing business reduced labor law violations by 25% after implementing When I Work.

When I Work includes all of these features and more so you can build better schedules faster.

When I Work helps you create a 4/10 schedule in minutes 

When I Work has automatic scheduling capabilities that can create 4/10 work schedules in minutes. Once you’ve built your base template and added your employees to the platform, When I Work can automatically copy shift assignments and schedules to the template. Then you just need to make a few adjustments to address PTO requests and availability issues. 

When I Work is here to help you schedule your staff with ease 

When I Work has all the tools you need to implement the ideal schedule for your business. Its automation capabilities save you countless hours every month and help prevent scheduling conflicts. 

The built-in time clock makes it easy to track everyone’s hours, regardless of what schedule they worked. The team messaging app keeps everyone in the loop about shift swaps and scheduled work times.

Ready to optimize your workforce scheduling practices? Try When I Work for free!