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9/80 vs 4/10
Both fit forty hours into fewer days. One gives you a day off every other week; the other gives you one every week.
9/80
Day shiftNight shift24-hour tourDay off
4/10
Day shiftNight shift24-hour tourDay off
| 9/80 | vs | 4/10 |
|---|---|---|
| The cycle | ||
| 9 hoursPlus one 8-hour day | Shift length | 10 hours |
| 14 days | Cycle length | 7 days |
| 40 hours | Average week | 40 hours |
| 2, then 3 | Days off a week | 3 |
| About 26 | Extra days off a year | About 52 |
| Your week | ||
| No | A day off every week | Yes |
| NoAlternating Fridays | Same days off every week | Yes |
| Yes | Shorter working day | No |
| Yes | The workweek splits mid-shift | No |
| Where it is used | ||
| Yes | Common in government and office roles | Yes |
| No | Common on patrol | Yes |
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Whichever of the two your agency runs, save it once and the calendar keeps track of it for you.
Twenty-six days off against fifty-two
The 4/10 gives you a third day off every single week. The 9/80 gives you one every other week — about twenty-six a year instead of fifty-two.
What you get back is an hour. A nine-hour day is meaningfully easier than a ten-hour day, and by Thursday that hour is noticeable.
The split workweek
This is the 9/80's oddity. To keep each week at exactly forty hours, the pay week usually starts partway through the working Friday — commonly at the midpoint of that shift.
Without the split, the two weeks would fall as forty-four and thirty-six, and the first would trigger overtime. Where exactly the line falls is set by your agency, and it matters for how your hours are counted. The 4/10 has no equivalent complication.
Which suits which job
4/10 works on patrol because the overlap between watches puts more units on the street at peak times. The 9/80 is a weekday, office-shaped schedule — investigations, analysts, administration, crime labs — and rarely fits a round-the-clock post.
Full detail on each pattern: 9/80 schedule · 4/10 schedule
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