The work ethic of the average American employee has rarely been questioned over the years. While there are many who look upon today's youthful generation of workers with disdain, lamenting a perceived sense of entitlement and lack of “drive” of the younger Millennials and Gen-Z'ers, most workers are quite driven to perform and, in equal measure, to succeed.
With that in mind, it’s not surprising to find that a good many workers in this country have little regard for keeping traditional work hours. Today with flexible schedules and remote/hybrid work environments, a significant number of employees are putting in more hours in an effort to get the job done, and therefore “get ahead” in their careers. New research from Microsoft found that 40% of users are checking emails before they’re out of bed before 6 a.m. and nearly a third check back in after 10 p.m. Not only that, a Microsoft Work Trends Special Report also found that 20% of employees are doing work on the weekend, checking email on Saturday and Sunday, usually before noon. And company meetings starting after 8 pm are up 16% over last year.
There are likely a few reasons behind this recent phenomenon. As more members of today’s workforce are able to carve out roles that they find challenging and stimulating, there are some who don’t mind putting in extra hours, because they truly enjoy doing what they are doing. In addition to the aforementioned desire for career advancement, many organizations are tightening their belts when it comes to staffing, thus adding to the required workload of their people and a number of workers find that the 40-hour workweek isn’t enough to achieve a satisfactory level of performance and therefore ensure job security.
For some the aspect of “corporate burnout” is a real thing. For them, the concept of “9 to 5” may not be dead, but it is on life support. According to data from Glassdoor, company reviews mentioning burnout show a 32% year-over-year increase as of Q1 2025. To help remedy the situation, and possibly avoid turnover issues, organizational management should attempt to take steps to reduce the stress on these workers, from emphasizing the need to set work boundaries in some cases, to redistributing work duties among staff and/or hiring temporary help to lighten the load, if possible. Also, management should encourage those select “workaholics” who cannot seem to “clock out” to engage their “out of office” email and voice mail responses and honor those when they’re away taking time off. Considering ways to introduce flexibility into how work is done can serve to reduce stress on workers as discussed in this two-part series on workplace flexibility.
Hard-working staff will always be appreciated, so long as the extra hard work doesn’t make it too hard for employees to do their jobs effectively in the long run. For insights into creating a workplace culture that supports appropriate work life balance, see the Employer’s Guide to Managing Workplace Culture. In addition, review Employers Council’s training catalog to learn about courses that can help improve workplace culture, including the following:
Wayne D’Antoni is a human resources consultant for Employers Council.
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