How workers are using their three-day weekends

Employees at companies with four-day workweeks are getting to enjoy longer weekends – and they’re spending them in different ways.

As more companies make the switch to a four-day workweek, thousands of workers are now enjoying an extra day off at the weekend. And they’re doing a lot with their new free time – pursuing side-hustles, spending more time with family and even signing up as volunteers.

Three employees spoke to BBC Worklife about how they’re making the most of those extra 24 hours. 

Courtesy of Euan Jennings/Vault City Brewing

Pursuing a side hustle without the squeeze

For Euan Jennings, the prospect of a four-day workweek was one of the factors that originally drew him to his job as a digital content creator at Edinburgh-based brewery Vault City. The company had been trialling the change throughout 2022 before making it permanent in December of that year: the same month that Jennings joined. “It definitely added pressure to me wanting to get the job, because a four-day week sounded amazing.”

The 25-year-old now uses his Fridays off to pursue a side-gig as a freelance photographer and videographer. He sometimes works on paid commissions – in March, he was in the Netherlands shooting content for another brewery – and sometimes passion projects. Previously, he’d taken annual leave to pursue his visual art, or squeezed jobs into a two-day weekend. “Now I can get a break and also do some side-projects alongside my job.”

He also uses the time to play sport or head to the gym, he says, as well as generally catching up on life. With his partner’s family based overseas in the Netherlands, the couple occasionally use the extra day to fit in a long weekend abroad, without the rush of jumping on a Friday-evening flight.

The contrast from a five-day working week is “night and day” in terms of his wellbeing, he says. “You get to catch up on sleep, you get to plan to do things without feeling rushed and you have two full days where work isn't on the horizon for you.”

Courtesy of Emily Falkner/Lemongrass Marketing

Making time for gardening, travel and learning

Having previously enjoyed the perks of working outside a typical 9-to-5 schedule, while employed in the hotel sector, Emily Falkner was both “excited and intrigued” when she heard her Oxfordshire employer Lemongrass Marketing would trial a four-day week in 2022. The company made the change permanent in February of this year.

The 29-year-old account director says she occasionally “doesn’t do a lot” on her Fridays off, taking the extra time to recharge. More often though, she says, she packs in a mix of appointments, hobbies and travel.

“I keep quite productive,” says Falkner. “I love my garden so I spend a lot of time there; I’m learning German, which is something I'd always said I would do, but never had the time; and I’ve just signed up to be a volunteer listener with the Samaritans.” With her partner based in Switzerland, she also often opts to ditch the two-hour flight to visit them, choosing a leisurely train journey on a Friday instead.

“I see it as a bonus day,” she says. “Often, when you’re trying to squeeze things in during a two-day weekend, things fall between the cracks . So, it's so nice to have an extended weekend. Come Sunday, there's no dread. You've got all the things done you wanted to get done.”

Courtesy of Holly Steele-Nicholson

Using the bonus day to brush up on skills

A typical Friday for Holly Steele-Nicholson starts with her alarm going off at 0800. She climbs out of bed, feeds her puppy Charlie and takes him for a walk, sometimes at the mountain range of The Mournes in County Down, before heading for breakfast in nearby Antrim at a local coffee shop.

The leisurely start is a far cry from the rapid pace of her day job as a customer success manager and data consultant at Belfast-based SaaS firm Polyloop, which switched to a four-day week in June 2022.

The rest of the day, the 33-year-old brushes up on career skills. “Having the Friday off allows me to take additional courses and go through any content that will help me Monday to Thursday, just all the stuff you don’t get time to do,” she says. She’s currently doing a Microsoft Azure course and a data analytics certification.

Afternoons are spent grabbing lunch or coffee with friends, perhaps with shopping or a trip to the gym afterwards. The evenings are then reserved for either playing in football or hockey matches, or having date nights with her partner. “We have other people at work who use the time with their children, or for other passions like art and other projects,” she adds.

The change is an unreservedly positive one, she says. “Working a four-day week opens your mind up to a better way of doing things and gives you a lot more energy on Monday morning.”