In Defense Of 'Microshifting,' A Controversial Work Trend That Came Out Of COVID

The pandemic exacerbated certain phenomena and birthed new trends, such as health anxiety, political divides and TikTok dances. 

Something from COVID that you may not hear about as often (but might still practice) is called “microshifting” — and it’s worth a look at.

“Microshifting” is a controversial trend in which people work in spurts throughout the day. As you can imagine, it has fans and critics. Some blame microshifting for miscommunication, while others rave about how it promotes autonomy and work-life balance. 

Ahead, psychologists share what microshifting is, how it has helped people and the pros and cons for employees and employers.

What Exactly Is ‘Microshifting’?

“Instead of working in one long, continuous block, like the traditional 9-to-5 job, you work in shorter bursts or shifts,” explained Clary Tepper, a clinical psychologist and physician well-being coach. 

“This model is a departure from traditional fixed-schedule work models as it enables employees to configure their workday into discrete time blocks, thereby allowing individuals to respond to non-work specific responsibilities, including caregiving, daily life tasks and family-related needs within a single day,” added Dylan Ross, an organisational psychologist and the chief clinical and strategy officer at Psych Hub.

Rather than having to cram all your appointments, group fitness classes and nursing home visits on weekends and evenings, you can fit them in throughout the workweek — without having to take PTO.

How Microshifting Has Changed People’s Lives

Ultimately, Tepper and Ross are fans of microshifting. It has real-world success. 

“I work with a lot of physicians who are burned out by the daily grind at work,” Tepper said. “I have had physician clients request changes to their schedule in ways that work better for them.” 

Tepper shared the example of a client who was happiest when she saw clients in the morning, picked her child up from day care around midday, and worked in the afternoon while a nanny watched her child. 

“She was planning on quitting her job initially because her child was not doing well in a full-day at day care, but she decided to try requesting this schedule instead,” Tepper continued. “She loved it, her child was happy and she stayed at her job, which meant she could maintain her caseload of patients (so they were also happy).”

Ross has seen the positives, too. He shared the story of a client, Michael, a marketing manager and single father with two kids in elementary school and an aging mother.

“With microshifting, he has been able to break up his day in a way that allows him to show up across each domain of his life: work, family and caregiving,” Ross said. 

Michael gets up at 6:30am, works for two to three hours and takes the middle of the morning for school drop-offs and appointments. He logs back into work from around 12:30 to 4pm, and works a couple of hours after his kids are in bed, if needed.

“What’s changed for Michael isn’t just his schedule: It’s how he feels about everything,” Ross said. “Michael is not proprietarily torn between work and home anymore, trying to be in two places at once.”

His boss has noticed the difference that microshifting has had, too, Ross said. Michael has been productive and come up with better ideas, likely because he’s tackling his work during microshifts instead of diluting his focus as he tries to manage multiple aspects of his life at once.

The Pros And Cons Of Microshifting

“Workers typically report that they are more productive, efficient and focused,” Tepper said. “Research suggests that employees have better mental health and are happier with their job when they have the autonomy to schedule their work shifts in a way that works well for them.”

The Society of Human Resource Management recently noted the effects on productivity, engagement and overall well-being.

Another benefit Tepper mentioned is how it helps work-life balance. People have time to manage a medical condition for themselves or a loved one, and can pick their child up from school.

Microshifting also benefits autonomy, Tepper said. 

“Autonomy is a key psychological principle in boosting motivation,” she explained. “When people feel like they’re in charge of their life, they feel more motivated.” 

Tepper said that breaking up long shifts can reduce cognitive fatigue, too. Neuroscience shows that rest boosts creativity, productivity, memory consolidation, problem-solving abilities and focus.

A 2025 meta-analysis that assessed flexible work schedules found that models like microshifting are associated with job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job autonomy, life satisfaction, better work-family interface and family satisfaction.

Microshifting may not be the answer for every employee or in every situation, though. Potential cons from Tepper included teams not being able to work well together if their microshifts don’t overlap, and microshifts potentially being too short or sporadic for big projects. She added that the nature of a job may not allow for microshifts, either, as with hospital nursing.

Ross shared concerns about how microshifting could lead to poor coordination among employees. He also pointed to Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index Report, in which one in three employees said the pace of work has made it impossible to keep up, with work bleeding into evenings and weekends. The blur between work and life could be exacerbated by microshifting, in which some employees work nontraditional hours.

At the end of the day, psychologists agree: Microshifting deserves a place. The worries don’t outweigh the wins, at least most of the time — and more employers should talk about it.

“I think companies should try offering microshifts (for workers who are in roles where this is possible),” Tepper said. “Companies can have clear expectations for what needs to be accomplished. If the employees using microshifts don’t meet those standards, they’ll know that microshifts are not the right style for that employee.”

Ross believes that employees will gravitate toward organisations that offer this setup, and that the trend itself can help workplaces thrive. “One could argue with confidence that flexible models of work, including microshifting, will likely continue despite potential tradeoffs, such as the blurring of work-life boundaries and the endorsed experience of the ‘infinite workday,’” he said.

Plus, let’s be real: Many of us take unscheduled breaks for doom scrolling or get distracted anyway — and that’s especially easy to do when you have an eight-hour workday ahead.

“Many people waste a lot of time when they’re at work doing a regular shift, so why not give them a chance to combine their actual hours of productivity into microshifts?” Tepper said. “They are likely to be happier, and if the work gets done, the employer will be happy, too.”

Ultimately, microshifting could have macro results for everyone involved.

“Both companies and employees win when the structure and rhythm of work fits a person’s life instead of the other way around,” Ross concluded.