Executive Summary

As more and more employees shift to flexible work schedules, it’s become increasingly common for people to work during time off. But new research shows that working on weekends or holidays can have a significant impact on intrinsic motivation, leading to both lower employee satisfaction rates and lower quality work product. To combat this, the authors suggest a simple but effective strategy for situations in which working during time off is unavoidable: by mentally reframing time off as “work time,” you’re likely to feel more motivated, find your work more meaningful, and put more effort into your work.

How — and when — we work is fundamentally changing. Data from the 2018 American Time Use survey indicates that 30% of full-time employees report working weekends and holidays, and even when people officially have time off, that doesn’t mean they stop working. Moreover, the recent global shift to remote work due to the Covid-19 crisis could further exacerbate the situation: as the formal boundaries that separate work from non-work become even more blurred, employees may feel conflicted about what time is — and isn’t — meant for working.