To all our working readers—how do you feel about the increasing shift away from a traditional 9-to-5 workday?

It’s a good thing (17%) – "As a hybrid worker, I enjoy both remote work and being in office. Remote work can contribute to overworking but it is, like many other work-related things, a learned skill. Especially millennials, most workers today are bad at setting boundaries. Work begins and work ends. If you aren’t paid 24/7 or above and beyond your base pay to be on call, don’t be. You have a life outside of work. If you start doing all this unpaid work, you’re giving away more than your time. It’s your freedom and your peace at stake as well. Labor law could also be a bit more progressive in my opinion. As what work looks like changes, so should the laws surrounding it, especially regarding how companies treat their laborers."

• "I'm 100% remote. For me, being able to work off-hours just adds flexibility to my schedule that I otherwise would not have. I can cut out for a couple hours during the day to pick up a kid from school, go to a doctor's appointment, etc... Then just make up the time later that evening. Nobody in my workplace minds at all, as long as the work is done right & done on time."

It’s a bad thing (29%) – "It’s not so much the shift from 9-5, but the shift away from an 8 hour work day. I don’t know anyone who only works 8 hours unless they work shift work. Most people I know are expected to work at least 9+ hours or be available at all times since they have company computers and/or phones. The amount of added time does not equate to more pay either."

• "I work at a company that is fully remote (there is one main office, but even local employees aren’t expected to work in person). While fully remote is a huge benefit, that also means we have employees across several time zones, making it difficult to schedule meetings where everyone is available at a reasonable time, meaning east-coasters get the short end of the stick. Even so, my team has so many meetings during the work day, that it’s impossible to complete expected tasks, so my workday often bleeds into my evenings. This has gotten worse with the tariffs and macro economic environment as a I work at a retail company."

"I think it's important to have established boundaries around different functions (work, family, fun, etc.). This bleeding of work can be viewed one way -- this is what "flexibility" looks like -- but it can also be seen as encroachment. Employees often don't have a dependable protection against workplace cultures that encroach on their schedules, for whatever reason said companies might use as justification."

It’s a little bit of both (46%) – "There's a time for flexibility and ability to work outside of regular office hours. However, for most industries and jobs, pressure to work outside of regular office hours is unhealthy. For me, one of the things I love about my job is that, as much as I love and enjoy it, I can turn my 'work brain' off after I leave the office. There's exceptions to that, but they're just that - exceptions."

• "I think if these extended hours were 100% due to the flexibility of workplace culture I would hard agree with this change. But as an individual in the workforce, I know that corporate employers will still insist we work typical 8-5, business hours regardless of how much time we are putting in outside of "operational hours". So while yes people are putting in more time outside the norm, they are burnt out, exhausted and doing their best to retain their "traditional" office jobs."

"Working from home has always meant that sick days were a thing of the past unless you were really, really sick. The more we can remain in touch, the more work has required people to work in non traditional ways (well white collar jobs anyway). Companies want you to check your work email from your phone or personal computer at home."

• "For me, it represents more flexibility to work outside of those hours. I'm not working longer days, I'm working hours that fit my work life balance best. Some days that means starting work at 6am or 7am so that I can attend an event with my family or friends earlier. Sometimes that looks like going in later in the morning and getting done a little later. It all comes out in the wash. But I recognize that's not the same for everyone and it could potentially mean working more than 40 hours a week. However, my career is not my life, so if that were the case for me, I'd be discussing that longer schedule with my boss or finding work elsewhere."

"When I think of the move from a traditional 9-5 work day (I mean, to be honest, I've always worked more 8-5 because who gets a paid lunch?!), I think of studies that show LESS hours in the week equals the same productivity and less stress. But I feel like in practice, in America at least, it just means a redistribution of 40 or more hours, which feels like change for change's sake and not actually addressing overworking, lack of PTO, and other systemic problems of the modern workforce."

Unsure/other (8%) – "It depends on how each worker and each company manage that relationship. It could be really good, allowing for flexibility. It could also be a major problem if there are no boundaries in the employer/employee relationship; if a worker is, in essence, on call at all times without a corresponding, agreed-upon increase in salary, then their labor is devalued and quality of life diminishes. When you have unhappy employees, their work output suffers (bad for the company in the long run) or they job hop (expensive for the company)."