Sunday nights aren’t what they used to be
Until now, Sunday had held its own in our shifting world. Never mind that Thursday has been declared the new Friday, and Cyber Monday is the new Black Friday, and Christmas starts in October, and TV shows premiere in summer and schools begin in August.
Sunday night was Sunday night. Only the doctors and drug dealers were on call. But now we’re all on duty all the time, and that includes Sunday night—which has turned into the new Monday morning.
We can blame two culprits: our beloved digital devices, which have erased the boundaries between cubicle and living room; and globalization. Sunday night in New York is literally Monday morning in Asia — better respond to those client emails now!
For many people, the feeling is that if you haven’t started Monday by the time Sunday night football kicks off, when your alarm clock rings, you’re already behind.
And that’s not just paranoia speaking. Almost one-third of all workers polled by Gallup said their employers generally expect them to check email and stay in touch remotely outside of normal business hours.
“Normal” business hours.
That raises a question: These days, what are those?
Stories You Might Like
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
