Triple Peak Day: What It Means and How It Affects Us

Things have begun to return to normal following the pandemic breakout, with many offices reinstating a physical work arrangement. Shaking hands is once again allowed, although several things have altered dramatically, one of which is the global work-life balance.

A new Microsoft study adds to mounting evidence that the workweek may never be the same as it was before the pandemic. Early in the epidemic, Microsoft Teams chats (outside of the regular workday) surged more than any other segment, primarily between 6 and 8 p.m.

Even though the worst of the pandemic has passed, the "triple peak day" phenomena persists, and employees show no signs of reverting to the old 9-5 workdays.

What exactly is Triple Peak Day?

Previously, white-collar workers had two production peaks during the day: shortly before and just after lunch. But, the pandemic drove many people to work from home, resulting in a third peak in the hours that lead up to bedtime.

Microsoft researchers dub this trend the "triple peak day". Many employees, albeit not everyone, sneak in a few emails or an hour of hard work at 9 or 10 p.m. According to the findings, about 30% of those polled took full advantage of the hours before bedtime to get some extra work done.

 

The significance of the Triple Peak Day

The triple peak day demonstrates the blurring of work and life. Employees who work from home experience a significant increase in meetings and an hour or two added to the workweek. People aren't just working in various ways; they're working longer and less efficiently on average.

This graph shows the working patterns of study subjects as a whole.

In Microsoft's study, 30% experienced “peaks” of work in the morning, afternoon, and evening. This graph shows the employees who experienced the pattern, which is referred as a “triple peak day.”
 

According to the Microsoft graph, nearly as many individuals are working at 10 p.m. as there are at 8 a.m. The study focuses on people who work on their projects on more flexible timetables, possibly after their children have gone to bed. While these may appear to be reasonable reasons for working so late, the study also addresses the disadvantages of work hours that coincide with regular non-work hours.

In the opinion of the famous author and journalist Derek Thompson, it demonstrates that a more deep philosophy of labour and time is required. Modern managers must strike a better balance between requiring employees to be present at specified times (such as virtual meetings) and enabling them to work independently.

Today, late-night micro workdays are a symptom of benign flexibility. They're also the product of rigid bosses who cram meetings into the day to the point that staff have to add a night shift to finish their tasks.

The triple peak day exemplifies the appeal of remote work: the opportunity to work whenever your timetable and energy levels allow. However, one can only keep that promise if staying busy late at night is an intentional choice. The leaders' job is to guarantee that their team benefits from returning to the keyboard between 9 and 10 p.m.

Working all three peaks at the same time leads to early burnout. According to a study, breaks are vital for productivity and well-being.

 

What can you do about it?

According to Microsoft's research, workplace leaders are responsible for keeping their employees in check. Many organisations continue to schedule meetings that last several hours during the day. According to a 2022 MIT-Sloan study, organisations that banned meetings three days a week had a 73% increase in output.

A complementary but perhaps more challenging strategy is reducing the overall number of meetings instead of just rounding up them into specified days. This can be difficult because it often demands finding polite methods to warn people that they are wasting everyone's time.

Almost every business would benefit from dedicating at least one or two days per week to undivided attention and no meetings. It is preferable to have a group reevaluate whether a meeting is truly essential rather than having a meeting that one could have summarised in an email.

Supervisors should also advise their employees about the risks associated with the triple peak day. One technique for combating the always-on mentality is for managers to collaborate with teams on defined rules. It's also a good idea to double-check the guidelines with anyone who might feel forced to work 24 hours a day just to keep up.

Finally, the researchers recommend that if you prefer working late, you should set your emails to only send during business hours. This alleviates the need to respond at all hours of the day and night when no activity is necessary.

 

The Triple Peak isn't what it appears to be

Working late is nothing new; individuals have been doing it for decades. However, the triple peak day gives "burning the midnight candle" a whole new meaning. What's new now is that practically every workforce sector is combining home and work responsibilities. Writers, programmers, consultants, and researchers, for example, now choose their own hours based on their tastes and workload.

Employees work longer hours than ever before, leading to poor work-life practices if no boundaries are set. However, the triple peak day phenomenon cannot be dismissed as a threat to healthy working habits, as it remains critical to many people's productivity. Finding the correct balance, as with everything else, is the key.

Source: UC Today