Overview

• Meetings booked after 8 p.m. climbed 16% over the past year while 29% of workers return to email by 10 p.m.
• Employees receive an average of 117 emails and 153 Teams messages daily, facing interruptions every two minutes.
• Weekend work persists with 20% of employees checking inboxes before noon and document activity spiking when weekday noise subsides.
• Nearly half of workers and more than half of leaders describe their work as chaotic and fragmented, and one in three says the pace has become unsustainable.
• Microsoft recommends using AI to automate low-value tasks but warns that without clear boundaries it could accelerate the endless workday.