"It's called a '9 to 5' for a reason": Think twice before you send a 7am calendar invite
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
When it comes to scheduling in-person work meetings, the early bird gets … a lot of side-eye.
State of play: Close to 50% of the readers who responded to our survey on IRL calendar invites said the absolute earliest start should be between 8am and 9am.
- Another 40% said they shouldn't begin until 9am or later.
Friction point: Just 11% said it's OK to schedule one before 8am — as was the case in the scenario that inspired us to ask the question.
- "It's called a '9 to 5' for a reason," griped Minneapolis resident Austin G., calling meetings unnecessarily scheduled before 8am "obnoxious."
What we're hearing: Most readers cited early-morning commitments and constraints— like school or day care drop-off times for parents — and a need for more shut-eye as reasons for preferring a later start.
- Time to prepare for the day once arriving at the office was also a common theme.
What you're saying: "When you're going into an office, you need time to get your basics done — laptop fired up, calendar reviewed, email checked," Becky M. of Plymouth wrote. "Plus, the caffeine needs to have kicked in before I could even tolerate most meetings."
☕️ Shelby F. of Lake Elmo agreed: "Need to allow for commuting time and 1-2 cups of coffee."
🧠 Stephen S., a retired art consultant from Minneapolis, argued that "workers are not as productive or alert if they're forced to get up before 5."
- He suggested that businesses "strive to conduct their business during regular business hours" and provide overtime compensation for ones that need to start earlier.
😴 Derek E., who works in construction administration, argued that a post-10am start recognizes that everyone has different sleep cycles.
- Late-morning and early-afternoon meetings can work for everyone — and protect time within the workday for people to complete their solo tasks, he said.
🦷 Kassy K. of Winona added that later start times can also provide flexibility for people to schedule doctor or dentist appointments before the workday begins.
🌎 The other side: Some readers noted that early-morning meetings can be a fact of life at companies with workers — or clients — across the globe.
- "When people are unwilling to have meetings prior to, for example, 9am local time (or after, for example, 5pm local time), it becomes impossible to schedule meetings," Paul W. of Minneapolis argued.
🩺 And Sharonne H., a physician in Rochester, pointed out that 7:30am meetings can be hard to avoid for jobs like hers, which often have minimal breaks once procedures and patient visits start.
Our thought bubble: While we take turns getting up at the crack of dawn to get this newsletter in your inbox at 6:30am, our team's first (virtual) meeting of the day is at a much more civilized 9:30am — cameras off!