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‘Infinite Workday’ Blurs Boundaries as After-Hours Meetings Surge

After-hours engagements have fueled burnout, prompting executives to redesign workflows around AI tools.

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BATH, UNITED KINGDOM - SEPTEMBER 9: Detail of a home office setup on a kitchen worktop, including a laptop computer with Zoom video conferencing software, taken on September 9, 2020. (Photo by Phil Barker/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Employees receive an average of 117 emails and 153 Teams messages per day, resulting in roughly 275 interruptions and just two minutes of uninterrupted focus.
  • Meetings after 8 p.m. are up 16% year-over-year, with 40% of workers logging on by 6 a.m. and nearly a third returning to their inboxes around 10 p.m.
  • One in three employees say the pace of work over the past five years has become impossible to keep up with, and about 20% report checking emails before noon on weekends.
  • Microsoft’s report highlights AI’s ability to automate low-value tasks but warns that without reimagined processes it could accelerate the endless work cycle.
  • Advisers urge leaders to protect peak focus hours, enforce clear meeting protocols and reshape organizational structures to restore healthy work rhythms.