9 to 5 jobs are evolving, but their demise is exaggerated

Viral video prompts renewed debate about the future of traditional working hours

Experts say a spike in non-linear and flexible-time jobs could inadvertently lead to a resurgence in traditional 9 to 5 jobs. AP

An old interview featuring entrepreneur and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman talking about work trends has led to new discussions and debates about the future of 9 to 5 jobs.

“You may not do a lot of your work fully as an employee, you may actually be working in the gig economy, or you may have two or three gigs,” said Mr Hoffman, in a video that's been circulating on social media.

“All of these things are the directional changes from what we've seen in the workforce in the last few decades, and it does create a lot of opportunity and it does create a lot of productivity, but it also creates a lot of uncertainty,” he adds.

Neal Taparia, an entrepreneur and investor with more than 24,000 followers on X, recently shared the video, commenting that the 9 to 5 job is dying, adding that by 2034, the 9 to 5 job would be extinct.

“That's Reid Hoffman's latest prediction,” he wrote on X, noting that Mr Hoffman had previously predicted the proliferation and success of various social media platforms, and was able to foresee the growth of the gig economy and the AI revolution.

“We should probably listen to his latest prediction,” Mr Taparia added to to his social media post.

That video he shared of Mr Hoffman pontificating about the future of work, received 1.3 million views and hundreds of reshares.

Jay Zagorsky, a professor of markets, public policy and law at Boston University's Questrom School of Business, said he agrees in part with some of the sentiments expressed by Mr Hoffman.

“In general I see jobs around the world splitting into two parts, fixed-time jobs and flexible-time jobs,” he said.

Prof Zagorsky, however, said that the notion of the 9 to 5 job going extinct, in his opinion, will not come to fruition, saying that various service orientated jobs, will always have fixed shifts.

“All of these jobs from cleaners to air traffic control workers all share the same common feature, when the shift is over, the person is done with work,” he said. “These jobs are not going to disappear, no matter what the pronouncements from Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.”

As income for some soars in the evolving global economy, Prof Zagorsky said, those with more affluent jobs might actually prompt the need for newer 9 to 5 jobs that might not have been as prevalent, such as personal trainers.

Some jobs that used to be 9 to 5 jobs, he cautioned, might forever be altered because of technology and societal expectations.

“Many decades ago when I started as a professor, I would only talk to students during the day on Monday through Friday … but today I talk to students at all hours of the day and night,” he said.

While some analysts and technology experts have pointed to technology as being the main driver behind the evolution of the 9 to 5 work, Prof Zagorsky sees it differently.

“It's happening because of economic reasons, not high-tech reasons,” he said, pointing to the increasing emphasis of benefits such as holiday time, medical coverage and retirement contributions from employers as a way to increase the appeal of top talent.

“Those benefits are increasingly becoming an important part of hiring and retaining workers because in most countries in the world benefits are not taxed, but pay is,” he explained.

“One impact of shifting to more benefits is that companies want to hire fewer workers,” Prof Zagorsky added, noting that some companies have started to cut back on the number of 9 to 5 workers and instead, hire non-hourly workers to save money on benefits over the long run with the non-hourly employees working longer and more sporadic hours.

The end result, according to Prof Zagorsky, is that it's more common for the boundaries between work and leisure to get blurred, creating a chasm in the job market, and potentially prompting a spike in other 9 to 5 jobs.

“As people get less free time, they will use their income to hire more people who work in the 9 to 5 style jobs to cook, clean and take care of children,” he said.

Other factors impacting the 9 to 5

Najat Abdelhadi, head of communications and growth markets at LinkedIn, said there are several recent developments and trends impacting 9 to 5 jobs and prompting a change in how job seekers approach their working hours and career choices.

“Following a global pandemic and a great reshuffle, innovations in AI are now strongly influencing professionals' relationship with work,” she said.

“We often discuss the impact of these innovations on jobs and skills, but we must not forget that they're also reshaping our everyday work life as professionals rethink their working hours and career choices,” she added, explaining that in the UAE, LinkedIn research shows that 2 in every 3 professionals are considering “non-linear” career paths, along with a 12 per cent increase in remote job postings in the UAE for June of this year compared with June of 2023.

Ms Abdelhadi also said that in the UAE, LinkedIn saw a 30 per cent increase in that time period for job seekers applying for remote jobs, another indication that many are seeking to break away from the traditional 9 to 5 work mould.

Throughout the world, she said there's also an increased interest in the idea of start-ups, which fall far outside the 9 to 5 realm.

“There's a shift towards entrepreneurship, which naturally includes more varied working hours, with globally 42 per cent of professionals considering starting their own businesses,” she said.