Media Coverage

Employers contending with impacts of triple-peak work hours amid rise in flexible working

Written by Press | Sep 22, 2023 4:00:00 AM

Published by Benefits Canada September 22,2023

While flexible working arrangements may render the traditional workday obsolete, concepts like triple-peak work hours may jeopardize the work-life balance employees are seeking.

  • A report from Microsoft Corp. found triple-peak work hours — in which employees divide their workday over three separate blocks of time, including late in the evenings — are increasing in popularity.
  • A separate report from Axios HQ found even weekends aren’t off limits to this trend. The report, which analyzed open rates of 8.7 million emails sent via its platform between January 2022 and March 2023, found business emails sent on Sundays between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. had an average open rate of 54 per cent.

The post-pandemic flexible workplace still requires some level of structure and planning, says Arla Day, professor of industrial and organizational psychology at Saint Mary’s University, noting while many people are benefiting from autonomous working, it doesn’t work for everyone. “It depends on the person. If it’s preventing individuals from disconnecting [from work] . . . then definitely, it is a problem.”

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