My 9 to 5 is wearing me out. Should I try ‘microshifting’ instead?
I started hearing the term “microtransition” used among my colleagues at work. Friends and parents at my kids’ school started talking about it too. I’ve heard a few different explanations. Some of them make me a little uneasy, but others make me think that this is something my partner and I should consider. We juggle work with all the responsibilities that come with being parents of young children, as well as our own leisure pursuits, trying to stay social and spending time relaxing and relaxing.
Where does the term come from and is there a standard definition? Are there any known pros and cons?
Associate professor of human resource management at the University of Adelaide’s School of Management. I asked Connie Zheng your questions. Many people, he said, face tensions between aspects of their lives that are similar to yours.
In many ways, the concept of “flexible working arrangements” has emerged as a response to these pressures. Microshift is a specific form of flexible working; It differs from the traditional nine-to-five working model, which prioritizes results over fixed hours.
Where did the term come from? Zheng says this is probably the first time it has been used survey report by technology company Owl Labs It was made public in September 2025.
This report talks about dividing work into much smaller periods of activity than would be traditionally considered and interspersing this with non-work tasks (medical appointment, undertaking a fitness activity, doing laundry, picking up and dropping off kids, making dinner, etc.).
The feasibility and effectiveness of microchange largely depends on organizational trust.
Associate Professor Connie Zheng.
It involves doing a combination of work tasks in short bursts throughout the day, rather than keeping work tasks in a single hour-long block and non-work tasks in a completely separate block. So, at the time of this writing, the term is not even six months old, so it appears that there is no standard definition yet.
“But in practice, the underlying idea of breaking work into flexible, discontinuous blocks has long been embraced by many knowledge workers such as academics, writers, software engineers, and senior managers,” says Zheng.
“What is relatively new is that this approach is gaining wider appeal among workers seeking to improve their work-life balance and well-being. The working pattern is closely aligned with individual energy peaks, caring responsibilities and personal well-being needs, making it particularly attractive in contemporary hybrid working contexts.”
Zheng said that because the term is so new, there are no academic publications that he is aware of that have formally theorized or operationalized the term. But there are many things Broader research on flexible working arrangements pointing to numerous benefits.
“ [upsides] These include improving work-life balance, reducing stress and burnout, increasing job satisfaction, improving mental health, and increasing productivity. “From an organizational perspective, flexible working can increase talent attraction and retention, encourage autonomy, engagement and focus, and ultimately contribute to a more cohesive and committed workforce.”
But using this approach in general has notable limitations, Zheng said.
“The feasibility and effectiveness of microchange depends heavily on organizational trust, the nature of the work and task interdependence. Certain roles, such as healthcare professionals or emergency service workers, have limited scope for this type of flexibility as the work must be done in real time and cannot be postponed until the individual’s energy level is at its peak,” he says.
“Similarly, roles that require high levels of teamwork and coordination may require shared schedules that may restrict individual flexibility.”
Finally, Zheng noted that managerial practices also play a critical role in whether practices such as microscrolling are effective. It requires managers to move towards results-based performance evaluation and often move away from micromanagement.
“Employers may therefore be wary of microchange, or indeed much slower to recognize the benefits of microchange. research evidence About flexible working arrangements. “However, ongoing labor shortages and rising employee expectations, particularly from Generation Z workers, are likely to intensify pressure on organizations to experiment with and adopt more flexible working arrangements.”
Send your questions to Occupational Therapy via email jonathan@theinkbureau.com.au
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Jonathan Rivett is a writer living in Melbourne. He’s been writing about workplace culture and careers for more than a decade.
