No More 9 To 5? Why Employees Are Coming In Late And Leaving Early

The common working schedule typically consists of eight hours in the day with all employees reporting to the office from 9 am and working till 5 pm. However, it is gradually shifting to a new pattern of 10-to-4 based on the data collected by INRIX Inc, a global traffic analysis firm in its 2023 Global Traffic Scorecard. Thus highlighting that employees are coming late and leaving early. The primary reasons for this trend are being noted as a reluctance among employees to report back to the office after years of remote work during the COVID pandemic, and an emerging norm of flexible work hours.

The INRIX report shows a considerable reduction in traffic flow during the early morning and early evening but a peak during midday. The numbers show that in the daily travel peak period, 71.8 million trips per hour were recorded, a 23% increase from that of 2019. However, the evening rush hour has reduced by 9% to be at 73 million trips per hour and the morning rush hour has reduced by 12%.

This shows that employees are ditching the traditional 9 to 5 working hours and choosing their work hours. As per the report, this is a good step towards reducing traffic congestion and carbon emissions. The report further highlighted that as the concept of work-life balance takes centre stage, more employees are working remotely and only show up at the office to mark attendance or for an important meeting with colleagues before heading home.

The phenomenon is also known as ‘Coffee Badging.’ The report quoted David Satterwhite, the CEO of Chronus who shared that at present, most workers are only required to show up at the workplace sporadically, owing to the new normal.

Further, according to a recent survey by Owl Labs, 58% of the hybrid workers accepted checking into the office only for a few hours before leaving. The survey further stated that more employees are preferring a healthy work-life balance, flexible work hours and mental health instead of a mad rush to climb the staircase of corporate success. 66% of the workers confessed that they would seek another employment that allows flexibility if work from home is revoked and 39% of them said that they would resign immediately.