Thanks to constant digital communication and flexible work arrangements, the average workday is no longer tethered to the 9-to-5 window. Increasingly, employees are starting their jobs earlier and ending them later than usual, stretching their hours into what’s been termed the “infinite workday.”
In June 2025, Microsoft released data showing that workers are now performing their jobs outside of the usual time boundaries. The report found that 40% of people who are online at 6 a.m. are using that time to check their emails, while the number of meetings that occur after 8 p.m. has increased by 16% year over year. At 10 p.m., 29% of active workers are back in their inboxes, contributing to an average of 50+ messages being sent or received outside of official working hours.