The workplace shift causing you to feel you're picking up co-workers' slack

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"Do your office, inbox and calendar feel like a ghost town on Friday afternoons? You're not alone. I'm a labor economist who studies how technology and organizational change affect productivity and well-being. In a study published in an August 2025 working paper, I found that the way people allocate their time to work has changed profoundly since the COVID-19 pandemic began. For example, among professionals in occupations that can be done remotely, 35% to 40% worked remotely on Thursdays and Fridays in 2024, compared with only 15% in 2019. On Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, nearly 30% worked remotely, versus 10% to 15% five years earlier. And white-collar employees have also become more likely to log off from work early on Fridays. They're starting the weekend sooner than before the pandemic, whether while working at an office or remotely as the workweek comes to a close."

The Independent emphasizes on-the-ground reporting across issues such as reproductive rights, climate change and Big Tech, and avoids paywalls to ensure public access to journalism funded by supporters. Donations enable continued field reporting and interviews with multiple perspectives. A labor economist reports that work-time allocation changed markedly since the COVID-19 pandemic, with 35–40% of remote-capable professionals working remotely on Thursdays and Fridays in 2024 versus 15% in 2019, and nearly 30% remote on Mondays through Wednesdays versus 10–15% previously. White-collar employees now often log off earlier on Fridays, blurring the workweek-weekend boundary.

Read at www.independent.co.uk