Help! We’ve Officially Entered the Era of the “Infinite Workday”

I didn’t have any emails when I finally called my workday quits yesterday at the late hour of 9:20 p.m., but somehow, when I woke up this morning, I had 78. Half of them were trash, naturally, but some of them were actual work requests… that were sent in the middle of the night. It made me miss simpler times, like when the phone would stop ringing after dinnertime (because calling would just be rude), and you had to wait until a reasonable, not too early, hour the next day to communicate non-urgent matters. These days, there’s no boundary; communication doesn’t stop, and that means that work doesn’t either.

Data from Microsoft’s Work Trend Index Annual Report shows that the boundaries between “office hours” and everything else are becoming nonexistent, and it’s leading to what we are experiencing as an “infinite workday.” Their research revealed that by 6 a.m., many employees are scanning overflowing inboxes in hopes of getting ahead on their day, just to find themselves diving back into their inbox at 10 p.m. for quiet catch-up time. And it doesn’t stop there. Twenty percent of employees check their email before noon on Saturday and Sunday and are back in their inbox on Sunday night.

“The average employee sends or receives more than 50 messages outside of core business hours.”

You might be thinking, “Well, those people have too much on their plate,” to which I would say, yes, sure, probably. But the issue boils down to more than just being overworked. Microsoft’s data shows that our focus time is getting hijacked (their words, not mine) by the influx of emails, messages, and ad hoc meeting invites we receive each day. In fact, the average time between interruptions is only two minutes, which isn’t even enough time to refill your water bottle.

To add fuel to the fire, a large majority of work is hybrid or remote, spanning across time zones. This means that late-night meetings aren’t unusual‚ with meetings after 8 p.m. up 16 percent year-over-year. I don’t know about you, but when I said I wanted to work from home, I didn’t think it would mean I’d have to put out fires after I’d already gotten into my pajamas.

The overwhelm that’s being felt by employees and leaders alike is palpable, with data showing that half feel like their work is chaotic and fragmented, but it seems as though we are all part of the problem. The average employee sends or receives more than 50 messages outside of core business hours. So, who is to blame for the infinite workday? Is it our lack of consideration for other people’s bandwidth or working hours, or is it our lack of boundaries? We can’t really be mad about it if we are all part of the larger issue.

“We have a responsibility to ourselves to keep our work from consistently encroaching on our personal lives.”

Part of this is a result of the flexibility we’ve all wanted in the workplace for years now. Having the ability to work when and how you want has its perks—but now we’re seeing its downfalls, too. I often find myself logging on after dinner to wrap up a few things or catch up on what I might have missed when I had to take my 1-year-old to the doctors in the middle of the day. I appreciate that I can do that, but I’m also exhausted by it. Most days, I close my laptop just before I close my eyes, and I open my eyes just before I open my laptop.

Work, especially if you are remote, is hard to turn off; however, we have a responsibility to ourselves to keep our work from consistently encroaching on our personal lives. If you feel like you just can’t keep up, it’s time to look at what the cause is. Is it your workplace culture? Is it your inability to shut out the noise? Either way, there are things you can do to prevent falling victim to the infinite workday.

Start by taking a hard look at the boundaries you have in place, if any, and set firmer ones to better support your workdays. Implement time-blocking strategies so no one can set meetings when you do your best focus work. Test productivity tricks so you can actually get shit done when you have the ability to. Turn off your notifications after hours. And make it a point to not communicate with coworkers when the workday is done. We are all part of the problem, but we can all try to work toward a solution, too.