Can the Rise of Chronoworking Help Fix Our Sleep?

British journalist Ellen Scott recently coined the term chronoworking to describe the concept of scheduling work hours around your chronotype. Since the start of the pandemic, an increased segment of workers have been allowed to work from home and set their own work hours. Currently, it’s estimated that one in four employees work remotely at least one day a week. Trusted Source U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics The Bureau of Labor Statistics measures labor market activity, working conditions, price changes, and productivity in the U.S. economy to support public and private decision making. View Source In 2024, Scott predicts more companies will do away with 9 to 5 work schedules. Expanding chronowork has the potential to significantly improve productivity and workers’ sleep health.

Chronotype is your natural preference for sleep and activity timing. It’s what we think of as being a morning or an evening person. Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source Early chronotypes feel most alert in the morning, while late chronotypes do their best work in the evening or at night. Chronotype has a strong genetic component and can’t be easily changed.

Regularly working at hours that don’t fit your chronotype can lead to short sleep during the work week and “catch-up” sleep on days off, termed social jetlag. Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source It’s estimated that more than two-thirds of people experience ongoing social jetlag, with at least a one-hour difference between their natural rhythms and the schedule they are obliged to follow.

In the short term, working out of sync with your chronotype can cause drowsiness and trouble concentrating. Trusted Source National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) The NIGMS supports basic research that increases our understanding of biological processes and lays the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. View Source In the long term, social jetlag can contribute to chronic health conditions, including mood disorders, obesity, diabetes, and heart problems. 

Not only could chronoworking boost productivity, but it also means people are less likely to become misaligned with their natural chronotype. Flexible work schedules could play a key role in reducing negative health effects from social jetlag.

Studies on adapted work schedules due to the COVID-19 pandemic found that social jetlag shrank and sleep length improved when workers scheduled hours that worked better for their chronotypes. Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source And recent surveys suggest that although people value the ability to work from home, they consider it even more important to have the option of flexible hours.  

While the concept of chronoworking isn’t new, it’s only recently become a viable option for many workforce sectors. In contrast to remote work, which is only possible for certain sectors such as office workers, chronoworking may be possible for workers in jobs that require staff to be physically present. 

In January, New York City reached an agreement with 911 operators to allow for flexible schedules, enabling much-needed time to rest after night shifts or long days. Washington, D.C.’s Manufacturing Institute is also looking at how factories could adjust shifts to be more people-forward.  

Reflecting changing attitudes about the importance of flexible work schedules, Britain just passed a law giving workers the right to demand flexible work terms from day one in a new job (previously week 26). Under the law, which comes into effect this April, British workers can request changes to their start and finish times that better align with their needs. Will the U.S. be next?