A growing body of research is flipping the idea of productivity on its head. According to new data from DeskTime, the most productive workers today are not those grinding through long hours without pause. They are the ones working in shorter focused bursts and taking longer breaks.
DeskTime, a productivity tracking platform, found that the highest-performing employees are now following a 75 to 33 work-to-rest rhythm. That means about 75 minutes of focused work followed by a 33-minute break. Over an eight-hour day, this adds up to nearly two and a half hours of rest time. A decade ago, the optimal ratio was closer to 52 minutes of work and 17 minutes of rest. Something significant has changed.
This shift will likely unsettle employers who still see productivity as a matter of stamina rather than strategy. The idea that efficiency comes from working less and recovering more goes against deeply embedded workplace expectations.
But the data speaks. DeskTime identified the top 10 percent of its users based on time spent in what the platform defines as “productive applications.” These users are spending less time in front of their screens without necessarily doing less work. Their output is higher even though their active hours are shorter.
What explains this trend? The return to office life might be part of the answer. In-person environments naturally create pauses in the day. Conversations in the hallway, casual coffee breaks, and non-scheduled social moments all add up to downtime. These interactions might appear unproductive, but they may be critical to mental reset and long-term focus.
According to DeskTime’s CEO, Artis Rozentals, the earlier era of remote work blurred the lines between job and life. People worked longer but not necessarily better. Now, with more hybrid setups, routines are starting to stabilize. Workers seem to be regaining a rhythm that respects the boundaries between effort and rest.
This also raises a bigger question: how do we define productivity? DeskTime’s model tailors productivity metrics to each user’s role, meaning “productive” time depends on the kind of work someone does. But even then, data based on app usage cannot see everything. It misses out on moments of thinking, offline collaboration, or the kind of creative drift that never shows up in a spreadsheet.
Still, the message is clear. The most effective employees are not the ones grinding through exhaustion. They are the ones who work in bursts, protect their recovery, and understand that focus is a finite resource.