- Microsoft report warns of “the infinite workday” creeping in
- Workers are coming online earlier and finishing later than ever before
- They’re also being interrupted by an email or chat message every few minutes
New research from Microsoft has revealed many of us are struggling to maintain a healthy work-life balance – and that an overload of tasks could be what’s stopping us from achieving any kind of productivity.
The company’s June 2025 Work Trend Index Special Report has warned of “the infinite workday” which it says is a “significant shift” in the hours we work, largely thanks to the influence of hybrid working locations – and, of course, AI.
The report, based on “trillions” of productivity signals such as emails, chat messages and meetings gathered across Microsoft 365, warns the modern workday no longer has a clear beginning or end – and has urged for greater AI tool adoption to help lessen this burden on everyday workers.
Working…6am til 8pm? What a way to make a living
“Our research, based on trillions of globally aggregated and anonymized Microsoft 365 productivity signals, reveals a challenging new roadblock: a seemingly infinite workday,” Microsoft noted.
“AI offers a way out of the mire, especially if paired with a reimagined rhythm of work. Otherwise, we risk using AI to accelerate a broken system.”
Microsoft said it found a major increase in users coming online by 6am, when 40% of users are apparently scanning through their inbox to prioritize tasks for the day.
By 8am, Microsoft Teams chat has overtaken email, with half of all meetings then taking place between 9–11am and 1–3pm – notably, the time when most of us are the most focused and productive throughout the day.
Tuesdays were found to be the busiest day for meetings, with 23% – whereas Fridays have just 16% of all meetings. Troublingly, Microsoft found meetings being held after 8pm are up 16% year over year, showing late finishes are also becoming worryingly normal.
Weekend email usage also saw a major increase, with nearly 20% of employees checking their email before noon on Saturday and Sunday – and over 5% are back working on emails on Sunday evenings.
The report found the average worker receives 117 emails and 153 Teams messages daily, meaning they are disrupted by an email, chat, or meeting every 2 minutes. Most employees were now also found to send or receive over 50 chats outside of their core business hours, risking their winding-down time.
“This points to a larger truth: the modern workday for many has no clear start or finish,” Microsoft concluded. “As business demands grow more complex and expectations continue to rise, time once reserved for focus or recovery may now be spent catching up, prepping, and chasing clarity.”
“The signals are clear: it’s time to break the cycle. The future of work won’t be defined by how much drudgery we automate, but by what we choose to fundamentally reimagine. AI can give us the leverage to redesign the rhythm of work, refocus our teams on new and differentiating work, and fix what has become a seemingly infinite workday. The question isn’t whether work will change. It’s whether we will.”
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