Nearly half of all workers are hoping to get away with the bare minimum for much of December — and Monday, Dec. 15, was found to be the last hard-working day of the year, according to new research.
If you’re reading this while at work, don’t worry — many workers are officially in slow-down mode, with 47% of those employed hoping they can get by doing very little for the remainder of the year.
The average person polled had used the phrase “That can wait until next year” 16 times already.
The survey of 1,117 employed Americans from Talker Research explored end-of-year approaches to work and how mentalities change in the festive season.
Respondents were asked to pinpoint precisely when in December it’s acceptable to take things considerably easier on the work front, with Dec. 15 the average date cited.
The most commonly voted for date, however, was Dec. 24, with 11% of workers saying work should only ease up from Christmas Eve onwards
However, 35% of workers said it’s never acceptable to ease up at work.
Younger generations were much more likely to admit they’re hoping to get away with doing less for the end of the year, with 54% of employed Gen Z and 48% of millennials doing this.
That drops to 44% of employed Gen X looking to take things more lightly, while only 37% of boomers currently working said they’d look to do the bare minimum until next year.
James Robbins, co-founder and editor in chief of Employer Branding News, spoke on the natural tendency for workers to feel a shift in mentality towards the end of the year: “Every year, in December, when we’re at the end of the year, and everyone’s mentally closing out the year before they even do, in terms of the actual calendar, I see it all the time in my coverage of workplace culture.
“It’s not that people are being lazy; it’s that their brains have reached a level of cognitive fatigue from having pushed decision-making for 11 months, which is why they’re looking for a natural break in their workflow.”
And the need to push decision-making was further evidenced in the data. The employee findings were part of a broader Talker Research lifestyle omnibus of 2,000 Americans, which saw saving money (36%), exercising and getting healthy (29%) and DIY tasks (23%) as the things people most commonly have put off until 2026 arrives.
Robbins adds that team leaders should use the time to help workers prepare and gain momentum for the next chapter: “When teams are at this point in the year (Q4) at work, it is normal to slow down and sometimes even healthy if the team leader acknowledges that slowdown. However, when team members feel guilty about their lower energy levels, they will ultimately be less productive because their guilt will push them harder to meet expectations, leading to an additional drop in productivity.
“Reframing this period in your organization as a “review window” rather than a “launch window” allows you to wrap up those loose ends, write down ideas, make plans (not implement big initiatives), and permits you to slow down, which isn’t failing; it’s simply how people need to get ready for the next wave of momentum.”
Survey methodology:
Talker Research surveyed 2,000 Americans. The survey was administered and conducted online by Talker Research between December 5th and December 10th, 2025.
To view the complete methodology as part of AAPOR’s Transparency Initiative, please visit the Talker Research Process and Methodology page.
