The Infinite Workday?!?! (GWTW825)

Not much in the world of work shocks me anymore, but this headline on LinkedIn got me: “The rise of the ‘infinite workday.'” Naturally, I clicked the juicy headline. I had to find out which level of hell this monstrosity came from and what we can do about it. The “reactions” are to an article on Axios (two letters shy of Anxious) by Emily Beck titled Remote work has created an infinite workday. Covering a report from Microsoft, Beck describes a world of work without boundaries, the allure of flexibility, work spanning multiple time zones, pings, dings, distractions—and since it’s Microsoft—the savior of the day? AI. While I’m curious how I can avoid an infinite workday in my own business, I have to ask, what did we expect from a business world driven by profit alone?

Here are a few quotes from the article that stood out as important:

• “The modern workday for many has no clear start or finish” – this was an actual quote from the Work Trend Index Special Report released by Microsoft.
• “It’s difficult to stay focused during formal business hours.”
• “A lot of work happens on the fly.”
• “The inability to unplug is a surefire way to burn out a workforce.”

Show Links

• The rise of the ‘infinite workday’
• Welcome to the “Infinite Workday” by Emily Beck
• The Sukha Company
• “The Uncommon Way” with Jenna Harrison (GWTW820)
• Midjourney prompt for episode art: infinite workday surrounded by clocks in the style of salvador dali abstract surrealism technicolor –ar 16:9