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The Average US Workday Now Ends at 4:39pm

The day is also getting shorter for the typical worker
Posted Mar 15, 2025 12:00 PM CDT
The Average US Workday Now Ends at 4:39pm
Quittin' time appears to be getting earlier.   (Getty / cyano66)

Americans are typically working shorter days than even a few years ago and ending their workday before 5pm instead of after it. Bloomberg pulls together new stats from the workforce analytics company ActivTrak, while Fortune adds some international perspective. Details:

  • The average workday ends at 4:39pm, 42 minutes earlier than the quitting time of 5:21pm two years ago.
  • The average workday now lasts 8 hours and 41 minutes, down from 9 hours and 32 minutes in the first quarter of 2022.

  • Despite the shorter day, worker productivity is up 2% over the same span.
  • "These are healthy numbers," Gabriela Mauch, the head of ActivTrak's Productivity Lab, tells the outlet. "We've adapted to a traditional workday on average, while offering flexibility and fluidity in a way that meets employees where they are." The stats are based on 200,000 workers in nearly 800 companies.
  • Perspective: The US still trails much of the developed world in terms of work-life balance, Fortune reported late last year. It cites a ranking of 22 nations by Remity that puts the US fourth from the bottom, ahead of only Ireland, Norway, and Australia. The top five, in order, are: Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, France, and New Zealand. Finnish workers put in days that average 7 hours and 44 minutes.
(More work stories.)

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