40% of employees are logging in at 6 am and still working after 8 pm, Microsoft study reveals shocking work trend

Microsoft

If your workdays feel like they start too early and never really end, you’re not imagining it. A new report by Microsoft shows that more and more people are getting pulled into what it calls an “infinite workday”—where emails start pouring in at dawn, meetings stretch into late evenings, and real focus time is almost impossible to find.

Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index, based on productivity data from millions of users and a global survey of over 31,000 workers, paints a pretty concerning picture. Nearly 40% of people who are online at 6 am are already checking emails, trying to get ahead before the real chaos begins.

But the day doesn’t end when the clock hits 6. In fact, meetings after 8 pm are up 16% compared to last year, with more people juggling global teams and flexible schedules. And by 10 pm, almost a third of employees are still in their inboxes, responding to messages.

So what’s really going on?

It seems the modern workday isn’t just long, it’s disorganized and overwhelming. Microsoft found that the average employee is interrupted every two minutes during their work hours. That’s 275 interruptions a day from emails, messages, meetings, and notifications. The average person receives 117 emails and 153 Microsoft Teams messages every single day. That’s a lot of noise—and not a lot of time to think.

Even the hours when people are naturally most productive, which is usually between 9 to 11 am and 1 to 3 pm, are packed with back-to-back meetings. Tuesdays are the busiest meeting days, while Fridays are a bit lighter. But whenever there’s a gap in the calendar, people aren’t really resting—they’re scrambling to write reports, edit presentations, or analyze data. And often, they’re doing that in short bursts, constantly interrupted by something else.

The report also shows that meetings are becoming harder to manage. More than half of them are ad hoc, with no calendar invite. One in ten scheduled meetings gets booked last minute. Large meetings (with over 65 people!) are now the fastest-growing type. Add to that cross-time-zone calls and late-night PowerPoint edits (which spike 122% just before meetings), and it’s clear: people are running on fumes.

Weekends aren't helping much either. Nearly 20% of employees are checking emails on Saturdays and Sundays, many of them before noon. And by Sunday evening, 5% are already logging back in, preparing for another manic Monday.

So what’s the fix?

Microsoft believes AI could help—but only if we stop using it to fuel the chaos. Instead, they suggest rethinking how work happens altogether. That means:

--Focusing on the 20% of tasks that actually drive results, and letting AI handle the routine stuff.
--Organizing teams around goals instead of departments, so decisions happen faster and with less back-and-forth.
Encouraging people to become ‘agent bosses’—professionals who use AI tools to handle the busywork and free up time for meaningful tasks.

The Work has changed. The tools we use have changed. But if we don’t take a step back and rethink how we work, we’ll just keep spinning our wheels.