Does your office feel like a ghost town by Friday afternoon? If so, you're part of a profound shift in workplace rhythms, driven by the rise of remote and hybrid work. New research from labour economist Christos Makridis, published in an August 2025 working paper, quantifies this dramatic change, revealing how the traditional five-day grind is being reshaped.
The Data Behind the Disappearing Friday
Analysing data from the US Labor Department's American Time Use Survey, Makridis tracked minute-by-minute work patterns from 2019 to 2024. The findings are stark for professionals in roles that can be done remotely. In 2024, 35% to 40% worked remotely on Thursdays and Fridays, a massive jump from just 15% in 2019. Remote work on Mondays to Wednesdays also surged to nearly 30%, up from 10-15%.
Most strikingly, the data shows a significant contraction of the working Friday. After accounting for factors like age and occupation, Makridis found the average time worked on Fridays fell by about 90 minutes for remote-capable jobs between 2019 and 2024. In raw terms, these employees worked 7 hours and 6 minutes on Fridays in 2024, compared to 8 hours and 24 minutes in 2019—a drop of 78 minutes.
This lost time isn't simply vanishing; it's being redistributed. The study found a compensatory increase in hours on other days, particularly Wednesdays. However, the bulk of the reduction has shifted to leisure, accelerating the traditional 'easing into the weekend' that was once confined to office norms.
The Double-Edged Sword of Flexibility
The benefits of this new flexibility are significant and well-documented. Remote work enhances work-life balance, aids recruitment, and can reduce staff turnover. It expands talent pools beyond geographic limits and has been crucial in retaining workers, particularly women, who might otherwise leave the workforce.
Yet, Makridis warns of potential downsides, especially for collaborative roles. When flexible schedules become highly individualised, they can erode the shared rhythms essential for teamwork. "The problem arises when flexible work becomes so individualized that it erodes shared rhythms altogether," he notes. The time-use data suggests remote-capable employees now spread work more unevenly across the week, with less real-time overlap.
This can create friction in project-based roles that depend on brainstorming and quick decision-making. While staggered schedules can benefit fields like healthcare or customer service by extending coverage, they may slow collective progress in others. The informal interactions and team cohesion that naturally occurred when colleagues left the office together are at risk.
Navigating the New Normal of Work
The research indicates the erosion of the standard Friday is part of a broader move towards personalised schedules. This shift offers greater autonomy but demands new strategies to maintain coordination and company culture. For businesses, the challenge is to harness the clear benefits of flexibility—wider recruitment, better retention, and improved employee well-being—while proactively designing workflows that mitigate the risks of diminished collaboration.
As hybrid models solidify as the new standard, the key takeaway for UK employers and employees is to move beyond simply replicating old patterns in a new setting. Success will depend on intentionally structuring work—whether in the office or at home—to preserve the connective tissue of teamwork, even as the traditional nine-to-five, Monday-to-Friday framework continues to evolve.
