'My work can be flexible, my son's routine is not': Meet the ‘dead zone’ workers killing management's attempts to return to pre-pandemic 9 to 5 grind

Workers are clocking off work early to run errands and picking it back up late at night. (Credit: Aleksandar Nakic—Getty Images)

After over three years of working when they are most productive, instead of during fixed office hours, employees are foiling management attempts to reinstate the pre-COVID grind by clocking on and off at their leisure.

And it’s resulting in a workplace “dead zone” where few can be found at their desks or online between 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Despite mandated office attendance, many are simply refusing to shake their pandemic-era habits when they were responsible for setting their own schedule.