This Is the Exact Date Most Employees Mentally Check Out for the Holidays

If your productivity mysteriously drops the moment the calendar flips to mid-December, congratulations — you are statistically normal.

New research suggests that nearly half of all workers are quietly hoping to get away with doing the bare minimum for much of December, and it turns out there’s a very specific date when things really start to slide.

According to the study, Monday, December 15, is officially the last hard-working day of the year. After that, many employees mentally shift into what experts might generously call “holiday maintenance mode.”

You know the mode. Emails get flagged instead of answered. Projects are lovingly labelled “That can wait until next year.” In fact, the average person surveyed admitted they’ve already used that exact phrase 16 times — and it’s not even Christmas yet.

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When asked to pinpoint the exact moment it becomes socially acceptable to ease up at work, December 15 was the average answer. But opinions were all over the place.

• 11% of workers said productivity should only slow down starting on Christmas Eve
• 35% insisted it’s never acceptable to ease up at work (we all know who these people are)

The rest? Already halfway into vacation brain.

Age plays a big role, too. Younger workers were far more likely to admit they’re coasting toward the finish line:

• 54% of Gen Z employees said they’re doing less
• 48% of millennials agreed
• 44% of Gen X followed behind
• And just 37% of working boomers said they’d dial it back

Translation: the younger the worker, the closer their laptop is to quietly closing.

But experts say this isn’t about laziness — it’s about exhaustion. After 11 straight months of decision-making, deadlines, meetings that could have been emails, and emails that could have been ignored, people’s brains are simply tired.

As one explanation put it, workers reach a point of cognitive fatigue, where their minds naturally start looking for a pause in the workflow. Or, in real terms, their brains are already in sweatpants.

So if your to-do list hasn’t moved much since mid-December, don’t panic. You’re not slacking — you’re recharging.

And if anyone asks?
That task can wait until next year. 😉🎄