Workin' 5-to-9? How morning routines improve employee performance

Working from home has made it easier for employees to roll right out of bed and into their desk chairs — but just because they can, does that mean they should? 

The "5 to 9 before 9 to 5" trend has gone viral among young professionals on social media platform TikTok. The concept refers to creating a morning routine in the hours before starting the workday in an effort to create more of a transition from personal to professional life. Whether it's to make themselves breakfast or do a quick work out, the way employees use that time is entirely up to them, but should be intentional and stress-free. 

"We can have a little bit of a workaholic nature where work is basically the center point of our lives in a lot of ways," says Laurel McKenzie, a behavioral scientist from digital coaching platform CoachHub. "People are starting to realize that what you do outside of work is just as important as what you're doing at work in terms of your holistic sustainability, happiness, health and performance." 

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For the most part, the pandemic initially only worsened employees' relationships with their jobs. The nationwide shift to WFH made it increasingly difficult for people to separate their work life from their home life. And while 72% of workers believe work-life balance is a very important factor when choosing a job, according to a recent report from job insights platform Zippia, remote employees reported working over 40 hours a week 43% more than onsite employees. 

In the last few years, employers have seen the benefits of helping their workforce live a more balanced lifestyle, to the point that 60% of employees believe they have a good work-life balance and 57% of job seekers said a poor work-life balance is a dealbreaker when they're considering a new job. The goal should be to emulate the same kind of regimen many employees who went into the office had pre-pandemic, and repurposing it. 

"Think of how much time we spent commuting and preparing for our day while taking for granted how else they could be spending that time," McKenzie says. "I used to live in Arlington, but I would commute 45 minutes to an hour up to Baltimore for work. That was three hours total commute time. When people stopped commuting they realized how much of their time was spent going to and from work. That new free time can instead bring more balance to their lives." 

Despite the name, a "5 to 9" doesn't necessarily have to start so early and last as long, according to McKenzie. The benefit of commuting — whether it was three hours or thirty minutes — was that it created a distinct separation between walking into work and walking out. The same can be said for morning routines from home when the distance can be as small as simply walking into another room. It allows for creating some kind of transitional period. 

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"Think of it as kind of like a primer for an engine," McKenzie says. "If you don't prime an engine it won't start — it's the same with your brain. When you set those routines in place, your mind and body can start to anticipate what's coming. It tells your brain that you're waking up and you're taking the steps that get the day going and enable you to do well."

Although what prepares an individual for work varies from person to person, McKenzie has a few suggestions to get remote employees set up for success. First, she urges workers to figure out their ideal sleep schedule and how much rest they need in order to sustainably wake up earlier than usual. Second, she recommends their routine involve movement of some kind — doesn't have to be much — as well as sunlight to wake themselves up all the way. 

"Too many people just wake up, take a shower, brush their teeth, go sit at a computer and get to work. And that is not ideal," McKenzie says. "You need to have a routine before work to help you perform optimally at work, so it's important for employees to learn when they are most productive and performing at their highest so they can set up those routines."