Why is partial transformation a problem?
Why is partial transformation a problem?
By Inc. | Published: 2025-10-22 16:00:00 | Source: Fast Company – leadership-2
Data shows that workers and bosses do exist At war over the workplaceas management demands more days in the office and employees try to resist these mandates. But according to a recent report, it has opened a new front in the battle Flexibility in the workplace. Not centered on where The staff is working however when.
When video conferencing company Owl Labs surveyed 2,000 American workers for it State of Hybrid Work 2025 ReportAlmost half reported that they did not have enough flexibility regarding their working time. What kind of flexibility were they hoping to get?
Something Owl Labs calls “micro-shifting.” You may simply define it as dividing up your day as you see fit, taking an hour or so to run a task or recharging your energy when you need it and returning to your work at a time that suits you.
Whether you are using the latest Commercial terminology Whether partial shifts or not, they are clearly popular with employees. 65% said they would like to work this way, and 37% said they would turn down a job that did not offer a flexible schedule. But experts point out that workers should be careful what they wish for
A new term for an old phenomenon
Microshifting may be the new buzzword, but the idea of working on your own time isn’t new. They’ve been on the rise since the pandemic blew up old expectations about how our workdays should be structured
Back in 2022, Microsoft researchers, looking at data on the use of the company’s products, documented the rise of what they called “artificial intelligence.”Triple peak dayFigures showed that workers were more active on their computers before and after lunch. This is what you would expect from a traditional office workday. But there was a third new spike in usage data as well. Many of us have been logging in during the quiet hours just before bed
Microsoft researchers called this the mass return to our laptops around 9 or 10 at night on the day of the triple peak. Owl Labs analysts will likely look at the same numbers and see them as evidence of a partial turnaround in the business
The problem with an indefinite working day
Just as previous research suggests that microshifting is not a new phenomenon, it also offers several reasons why employees might want to think carefully before demanding it as official policy from their organizations.
The appeal of partial transformation is obvious. We’ve all had a dentist appointment or kids’ soccer game that we need to attend during traditional business hours. The ability to fulfill these obligations and make up for them again makes reconciliation considerably easier. But making the workday amorphous and open-ended also comes with costs
A variety of pandemic-era data shows that when workers are given more flexibility in where and when they work, Their work days tend to balloon. Yes, they have more control over their time. But they also tend to work longer hours. Different studies have come up with slightly different numbers, but resilience seems to have been the same Extending the work day by an hour or two.Â
In real life, asking your boss for flexibility to get things done often translates into giving them permission to do something urgently I email you at 8:30 at night We expect a quick response.  Â
Does partial transformation actually reduce stress?
Not only does requesting a partial shift encourage management to expect more after-hours responsiveness, other research suggests that it may not be as beneficial to employees’ peace of mind as they expect. When Google asked workers to report whether they preferred to keep their work and home lives strictly separate (they called these people “splitters”) or mix the two (“integrators”), the search giant discovered one The approach was associated with higher life satisfaction.Â
“We found that, regardless of preference, engaged people were significantly happier with their well-being than disengaged people. Additionally, sector workers were more than twice as likely to be able to disconnect from work (when they wanted to).”
The intertwining of work and life sounds attractive. But it can also lead to blurred boundaries, which can lead not only to longer hours but also increased stress and reduced stress Relax.Â
Be careful what you ask for
All of this is not to say that workers have no idea what is good for them and should welcome being chained to their desks from 9 to 5. Adults lead complex, busy lives and have every right to demand flexibility to deal with personal issues during work hours when they arise. This is a matter of simple practicality and respect
But by transforming an everyday level of understanding into an official policy with a loud title, partial transformation runs the risk of going a step too far. It not only extends the boundaries of the workday to accommodate real life. And he threatens to dissolve it
This may seem good at first. But the evidence suggests that saying the workday is at whatever time seems appropriate can be so Unexpected consequences§ For workers. If you can declare that it’s easier for you to get something done at 11 p.m., why can’t your boss? Or, for that matter, Â Your brain is constantly working around the clock?Â
It’s one thing to ask him to step away for an hour here and there. It’s another thing to allow work to seep into every moment of your life. Before you advocate partial conversion, be sure that this is not what you will end up with
The opinions expressed by Inc.com columnists here are their own, not those of Inc.com.
-Jessica Stillman
This article originally appeared on Fast company“Sister’s post,” a company.
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