What are the Best Days To Work From Home in a Hybrid Schedule?

As the remote work revolution has slowed down a bit, more companies have been exploring hybrid working. In this work model, you’ll be able to work from home typically one or two days a week from your home. 

But this can present a challenge to you – choosing the best days to work from home!

To help you pick your work from home schedule, I dove into some pros and cons of each weekday, what the data and research out there says, and additional tips to help you choose. 

Work From Home Days

Although companies should consider more permanent work from home options, many will continue operating on a hybrid schedule.

Some employers may have the work from home days mandated for you…yuck! But if they allow you to choose, now you have to figure out which is the best option(s). Here’s some pros and cons of the weekdays for you.

Monday

• Can ease back into the workweek after a weekend. 
• Avoid Monday commutes when work traffic can be heaviest.
• Extended break from going to the office. 
• Productivity can be hurt as it feels like a 3-day weekend.
• Harder to get motivated as you aren’t going to the office. 
• Mondays are typically busier days, being at home may impact your work and focus. 

Wednesday

• A nice way to break up the week from going to the office,
• Can avoid the midweek slump and help you recharge or recover from earlier in the week.
• Allows you space from commutes and in-office distractions. 
• Help you gain perspective on the workweek so far and what’s ahead. 
• May still feel like the week is dragging out as the next day you’re back to the office. 
• Might break your workflow and be harder to get back in the swing of things on Thursday. 

Friday

• Avoid Friday traffic commutes with everyone ready for the weekend. 
• Typically, a slower day in the office can be a better choice to be working at home.
• Less meetings, where you won’t feel obligated to be in the office. 
• Productivity can be hurt as it feels like a 3-day weekend.
• You may feel more distracted with the upcoming weekend so close. 

Tuesday & Thursday

From the data below and talking to others that work in hybrid environments, Tuesday and Thursday are generally not commonly popular days to work from home. 

But if you get two days a week to work from home, it could actually be a good option to break up your week nicely. You still have facetime with your team and can break up your week. 

Now if you only get one day a week, then one of those two days may not be your preference. At that point, I’d go with Wednesday or Friday if you have a one day option. 

Best Days to Work From Home Research

There has been some studies and research done around hybrid work. And some of that data does revolve around the best days to work from home. 

While the data suggest there are common preferred days of the week, there is no EXACT day that will be perfect for YOU. But, it might be interesting to check out this data as you explore days you’d like to work at home. 

According to data from WFH Research founded by Nick Bloom, Friday has become the popular day to work from home for hybrid companies. In his Tweet below, he shared more details:

Steve Roth, chairman of real estate giant Vornado said Fridays are "dead forever" for office use. It looks like he was right – Friday has become the day to #wfh. There is now a 3-part week:
Monday to Thursday – the office is open and half-full
Friday – the office is open and… pic.twitter.com/fOsF9Uo2M4

— Nick Bloom (@I_Am_NickBloom) August 11, 2023

In other research, the company Doximity found that Wednesday is the best day and offers the most benefits for the company and employee to work from home.  I’d say there may be slight bias, as it is more driven to what is best for the organization but interesting nonetheless.

What the company found:

• Midweek work from home provides a “in-office break” that helps employees feel more refreshed for the remainder of the week. 
• For the company, they removed Friday or Monday as an option so no one feels like they get a three-day weekend, which can cause productivity slumps. 
• Giving a midweek day to work from home has helped boost work-life balance for their employees. 

BuildRemote did a survey of 483 remote workers and found Monday received 146 votes (30%), Wednesday with 140 votes (29%), followed by Friday with 125 votes (25%). This was rounded out with Thursday at 5% and Saturday and Sunday tied at 2% (for those working weekends). 

Not the largest sample size, but you do see the common Wednesday answer yet again. And these results are directly from remote workers, not the employer.

How to Choose Your WFH Day

So you have some pros and cons of each weekday and some data…..but you still can’t decide. As you may have just read from above, there really isn’t a clear cut and dry answer. 

That’s okay, I have some additional tips to help you narrow down which day might be best. And if anything, test out the days of the week. You’ll quickly find which day works best with your schedule. 

Meetings

Some days you may have a ton of meetings to attend. So you have to ask yourself if you don’t mind being virtual for them or if you prefer to be in-person. 

Additionally, if your employer requires you to be in-person for specific meetings, then whatever days those are will probably not be the right day to work from home. 

Your Workload

Every profession is slightly different, but what days do you tend to have the most work? Do you have looming tasks or projects you need to get complete? 

These might be good days to work from home where you can have deep work sessions and avoid commutes and office distractions. 

Team Bonding

There will be days where it will be good work and socialize among your team, manager, and immediate co-workers. 

You can consider syncing your schedule with them to have that important facetime and then have similar days where everyone is working from home. That way you don’t miss out or feel isolated. 

Final Thoughts

A hybrid work schedule may mean you only get one day to choose each work, or maybe it’s two or three days a week. Pending what your employer allows along with your weekly schedule, that will determine the best days you should consider working from home. 

Hopefully, your employer doesn’t put restrictions on specific days of when you can or can’t work remotely. If they do and you are more eager about being fully remote, then head over to our remote job board and find the right gig for you. 

Personally, If I was in a hybrid work model I’d choose Wednesday or Friday as my day to work from home. As mentioned above, the data shows that Wednesday is a top day to consider working from your own home. But it’s ultimately up to you and based your preferences. 

If you get two days a week, think about the days where you have less meetings or days where you typically can focus on deep work.

I’d also factor in how long it will take you to get work too. If you face traffic on specific days or have longer commutes overall, then Fridays can be a great day to work at home and not worry about getting through busy traffic. 

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