How Work is Changing: Time's Up for the Rat Race?
Updated: Jun 25
If there's one thing we've picked up in recent times, it's that we can successfully rethink big, long-standing beliefs and perspectives. Take work. The meaning of work, the daily grind, the rat race, 'the more we work the more successful we are,' the 5-day week in the workplace? All of that's definitely evolving and work is changing.
In the film "Up in the Air," consultant Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) travels across the US to help companies lay off employees. Initially, the employees view this as devastating, with one even contemplating suicide. However, Bingham offers a different perspective, telling them, "Anybody who ever built an empire, or changed the world, sat where you are now. And it's because they sat there, that they were able to do it," opening the door to a new outlook.
The 2009 film was from 2009 and brought a fresh take on work life. Back then, putting in extra hours was seen as a sign of dedication and a way to climb the career ladder in the typical rat race, and losing a job was a life-changing disaster.
But since then, focussing on "smart" work, cutting down on hours but still earning enough, achieving a better work-life balance, and part time remote work have proven to be beneficial for both companies and their employees. Today, putting in excessive effort and time to achieve success feels outdated for many, like something from the 80s. And as we start to question old-school work ideas like the 5-day workweek, movements like the Anti-Work Movement and the Great Resignation have caught people's attention. Nowadays, four-day workweeks and remote or hybrid work setups are more common.
"Anybody who ever built an empire, or changed the world, sat where you are now."
Four Day Week Pilots
If we look back at how things have been developing since the time that movie was made, we cannot overlook the effect of the epidemic. It was when businesses and governments worldwide were scrambling to figure out what everyone was calling "a new normal" that the four-day workweek pilot made its debut. The latter, a novel smart idea where you work four days instead of five without a pay cut, was getting rave reviews. Reports from Iceland came where it was called an overwhelming success, while in Toronto it was seen as a win-win proposition for both employers and employees, and considered key in leading to "more productive and efficient businesses."
Even in Britain, things were looking up. British workers are usually known for working long hours, but even there, 4-week trial reports showed less stress, burnout, anxiety, and insomnia. People felt healthier both mentally and physically, and they enjoyed a better work-life balance.
"The pandemic had created the perfect environment for business to use the lessons from the enforced change to our work habits," Charlotte Lockhart, who together with Andrew Barnes established the 4 Day Week Global initiative, told Perspective Living.
Their organization seized the opportunities presented by the epidemic for change by establishing a system that allows people to work fewer hours without a reduction in income. Said Lockhart, "it was time for a shift on behalf of a healthier planet and society," plus a "move towards the understanding we now have about workplace wellbeing."
"It was time for a shift on behalf of a healthier planet and society, and a move towards the understanding we now have about workplace wellbeing."
Checking the Clock: The Big Boreout
Another thing that has become clear over time, is that most of us are very unhappy at work.
Already back in 2013, researcher and workplace consultant Gallup discovered that only 13% of all employees around the world were feeling a sense of engagement at work, or that they were positively contributing to their organisations.
"Why Work? We are checked out, sleepwalking through our days, putting little energy into our work," wrote business news Quartz in 2015 in a similar vein, adding that most people simply hate their job.
A Gallup spokesperson recently informed Perspective Living that in 2020, "80% of global employees are either constantly checking the time or actively opposing their employer's objectives." They also noted that "negative emotions such as worry, stress, anger, and sadness at work have been increasing since we began tracking them in 2009."
Buzzword Burnout had gained another sibling: Boreout.
"80% of global employees are either continuously watching the clock, or actively working against their employer’s goals"
More Good Reports
Meanwhile, more positive reports were surfacing, including those about part-time remote work and the now-famous four-day workweek. "From UAE To New Zealand: These Countries Have Shifted To Four-Day Work Week," the India Times reported in 2022. Moreover, employees worldwide were indicating that a four-day work week was improving their lives, with, as seperate studies had already revealed, 'reduced burnout, increased job satisfaction and improved mental and physical health.'
In 2026, Forbes even reported that a key 4-day workweek study suggests that 'when we work 5 days we spend one doing basically nothing.'
How Work is Changing: Will it Work?
Not everyone shares this positive perspective about how work is changing. There are companies that say these new ways of working simply aren’t working. About the trend of working remotely, these critics talk of 'challenges with communication, complications with mentoring and issues with self-motivation.' They argue that flexible, remote and hybrid-working patterns require too much of an overhaul in organisational structure. Or that they threaten our workplace culture where people just need to meet in person to function well.
However, experts such as Forbes have described the 5-day workweek as an "antiquated relic from the past," suggesting that businesses and employees should reconsider moving away from it in the future.
Specialists are encouraging us to pause and contemplate for a moment, suggesting that it's time to revisit the fundamental question: "What is the meaning of work?" These specialists argue that we are now aware of innovative solutions rather than just relying on a rat race mindset and that the emphasis should be on the employees of the company, rather than just on technology, objectives, or profit. Undoubtedly, there appears to have been a change in our perception of work in recent times.
"The 5-day-working-week an "antiquated relic from the past"
Just a Blip?
The latest Gallup 2026 Report, State of the Global Workplace, reveals that around the world, more employees are feeling daily stress, anger, and sadness compared to before the pandemic. Overall, the report mentions that in 2026, global employee engagement hit its lowest point since 2020, leading to an estimated $10 trillion loss in productivity worldwide.
What's happening? Are we slipping back into our old habits? For those who were all about the changes, was it just a dream? Experts like Professor Barry Schwartz also consider whether the changes in our work methods are permanent. As the author of "Why do we work?" Professor Schwartz stated that the answers to this question are "surprising, complex, and urgent."
He also told Perspective Living: "The big question in my mind is whether the 'great resignation' is just a blip, or whether people will persist in asking more from their work than a pay cheque, no matter how generous it is. Time will tell," he also said, adding 'it needs dissatisfied individuals to start banding together and demanding more.'
"The big question in my mind is whether the 'great resignation' is just a blip, or whether people will persist in asking more from their work than a pay cheque, no matter how generous it is. Time will tell..."
How and Where: How Work Really is Changing
"Now more than ever, people are placing more importance on how and where they work," Elliott Smith, co-founder of UK-based Love Your Employees, also told Perspective Living, reflecting on some of the changes that look like they are here to stay. His company offers an online marketplace for benefits and wellbeing in the UK, and he said: "For some roles, flexible and remote working options are now expected as standard. Employees are looking to build better work-life balances without losing out financially."
To which he added: "There’s more of a focus on employee wellbeing. Employees will be seeking out companies who are prioritising their mental and physical health. This will be the key to remaining competitive in the market."
"For some roles, flexible and remote working options are now expected as standard. Employees are looking to build better work-life balances without losing out financially."
