Labour Day in the digital age: Should we still be celebrating the 9-to-5?

Focus Malaysia

4 days ago

EVERY year, as Labour Day rolls around, we pause to honour the contributions of workers and reflect on the struggles that shaped today's workplace.
It's a tradition built on the fight for fair hours, safe working conditions, and the right to a decent living—victories earned by generations before us.
But here's a question worth asking in 2025: in a world where our jobs follow us home, to our phones, and even into our weekends, what exactly are we celebrating? More importantly, is the 9-to-5 work model still something worth preserving?
The simple answer is no—and it's a reality many young workers, particularly those from Gen Z, are quietly but firmly reshaping.
For decades, the standard workday was seen as the gold standard of employment. Eight hours a day, five days a week. Anything outside those hours was either a luxury or a hustle.
But the digital age blurred those neat boundaries. Technology promised us efficiency, yet it tethered us to our jobs like never before. The office might close at five, but the emails, Slack notifications, and Teams pings keep rolling in long after dinner.
And while some workers have long accepted this as the price of modern employment, Gen Z—those born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s—aren't buying it.
Raised on the internet and entering adulthood in the aftermath of a global pandemic, this generation sees the 9-to-5 not as a sacred institution but as a system in desperate need of rethinking.
It's not laziness, it's life
Let's get one thing straight: Gen Z's pushback against rigid work hours isn't a rejection of hard work. It's a rejection of outdated structures that fail to account for how people actually live and work today.
Flexibility, autonomy, and meaningful output have replaced time-clock punching as the new measures of productivity.
This generation values balance, mental health, and personal growth alongside career ambition. They've seen firsthand how burnout devastates morale and how performative busyness often masks inefficiency.
So instead of chasing overtime for its own sake, many young professionals prefer roles where they're judged by the quality of their work—not by how many hours they log or how often they stay late.
The pandemic cracked open conversations about remote work, hybrid models, and the value of asynchronous schedules. It turns out you don't always need to be in an office from 9 to 5 to get things done.
In fact, many employees, across all generations, reported increased productivity and job satisfaction when given the freedom to structure their workday around when they're at their best.
Gen Z didn't start this conversation, but they are refusing to let it die quietly.
They are asking tough, necessary questions, like 'Why should creative, knowledge-based work be confined to fixed hours?', 'Why should success be measured by desk time rather than outcomes?', 'And if technology allows for smarter, faster, more collaborative work—why are we still clinging to models designed for factory floors in the 1920s?'
Now, this isn't a rebellion for the sake of it. It's an opportunity for companies to evolve. Forward-thinking organisations are already experimenting with four-day workweeks, results-only work environments (ROWE), and outcome-based KPIs.
And unsurprisingly, they're seeing gains not just in employee wellbeing, but in innovation, retention, and business performance.
The truth is, whether leaders like it or not, the traditional 9-to-5 is becoming less relevant — and clinging to it risks alienating not just Gen Z, but the broader workforce craving a healthier relationship with work.
Labor Day should evolve too
If Labor Day was once about fighting for the eight-hour day, perhaps its modern meaning should expand to fighting for autonomy, dignity, and balance in a digital world.
It should honour not just the right to work, but the right to rest, disconnect, and be valued for contribution rather than availability.
In 2025, maybe what we should be celebrating isn't the 9-to-5 itself, but the courage to question it.
Because here's the thing: work will always matter. It shapes our societies, identities, and futures. But how we work—and how we value one another in that process—is long overdue for a rethink.
And if Gen Z has taught us anything, it's that old models aren't sacred, and better ones are possible. And really—isn't that the kind of labour movement worth cheering for? – May 1, 2025
The author is CEO and Founder of HESA Healthcare Recruitment Agency and serves on the Industrial Advisory Panel for the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Universiti Malaya.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main image: HRM Asia