Job cuts are partly to blame for weekend work, but some workers prefer the ability to get stuff done without the usual distractions. Read on.
“With more and more layoff announcements, companies are doing more with less, so where you see an increase in weekend work, it’s in industries that are contracting,” said Gabriela Mauch, vice president of ActivTrak’s productivity lab, which researches trends in its datasets. “As people become more comfortable with flexibility, it’s acceptable to log off at 3 p.m. on a Friday and deal with the work on the weekend.
The weekend shifts are the latest example of the breakdown in long-held workplace norms wrought by the pandemic, as demands for increased flexibility among employees clash with some employers’ desires to see workers in person at the office more often. While remote work has freed up desk workers in many respects, allowing many to do their job where and when they choose, it’s also tethered them to collaboration and communication tools that can divert their attention with constant notifications.
The most common weekend warriors were technology staffers in computer hardware and services, according to ActivTrak’s data, along with media workers and those in consumer goods. All of those groups increased their weekend hours last year compared with 2021, most by double-digit percentages. Technology firms have laid off more than 122,000 workers so far this year, according to tracker Layoffs.
Other sectors, like energy, hospitality and health care, saw a decline in weekend toiling. One theory behind the divergence, Mauch said, is that industries with a greater share of creative types could see more value in working over the weekend. Service-focused sectors were also more likely to boost their weekend hours. A broader government survey found Americans spent just 1.1 hours working on the weekend in 2021.
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