Intraweek Scheduling and Coordination Costs in the Hybrid Work Era: Evidence from the American Time Use Survey

Abstract

This paper examines how hybrid work has reorganized the temporal structure of the workweek. Using the American Time Use Survey (2017--2024) merged with occupational measures of remotability and coordination intensity, I document that remote-capable workers have substantially reorganized their workweeks since 2019: Friday work hours fall by 70--80 minutes in high-remotability occupations, the work-from-home share on Fridays rises from 15 to nearly 40 percent, and these shifts are concentrated in occupations with low coordination intensity. Furthermore, the share of solitary leisure time in high-remotability occupations has increased, particularly among younger workers from 25% to 40%. A stylized model of hybrid scheduling---in which co-location generates surplus for coordination-intensive tasks and commute savings amplify the value of remote days---rationalizes a Friday effect that grows with commute time and shrinks with coordination demands.

Keywords: Remote work, Hybrid work, Time allocation, Coordination costs, Friday effect

JEL Classification: J22, J24, M54, O33, R23