You’re Not the Only One Checking Work Email Labor Day Weekend

Yes, it’s Labor Day Weekend. And technically, no, you’re not supposed to be working, or really, even thinking about work.

But you’re likely sneaking a furtive glance, here and there, at the work email, from the seaside cottage you booked for that final summer getaway. Or logging into a laptop to make sure the Tuesday deadline gets met ahead of time … right on the deck next to the grill.

You get the picture. We work pretty much from anywhere, at anytime, and thus not 9 to 5, trading the desk chair for the comfier deck chair.

And since our workaday surroundings are so fluid, we’re seeing some shifts in how — and also where — people will spend their money as they do their jobs.

In the latest Connected Economy monthly report, we found that, during the month of July, as many as 54 million employees worked remotely — from home, from restaurants or cafés, or on vacation. The chart below, taken from that report shows that fewer of us worked remotely from home in July compared to November of last year, but more of us have worked remotely while on vacation and/or have worked remotely from somewhere other than home.

And if the locale changes, then the shift would naturally impact spending patterns. No longer confined to the office — and, say, the in-building lunch delis or the cafés that dot the nearest avenues, workers are pivoting to what might be some of the more suburban outposts of getting what we need, on site or delivered to the doorstep. That would include the local cafés and coffee shops that wind up being new bastions of the work-from-home pivot. The local office supply stores (or chains) are likely beneficiaries, too. Those are just two examples.

The latest retail sales readings from the U.S. Census Bureau also cover the July period, and underscore some of the stats and the sentiments borne out by PYMNTS’ research. Grocery was up 0.2% basis points over June of this year, electronics up 0.4% (all measured from June). Non-store purchases, typically used as shorthand for online spending, was $104.5 billion in July, a slight gain from the $101.5 billion seen in June. Food service and drinking establishments saw gains too, month over month.

The read-across would be that more people are spending on some of the items and services that would facilitate the work-from-anywhere phenomenon.

And it’s a trend that has legs, so to speak. PYMNTS data show working from somewhere other than home is among the top activities that consumers have embraced as part of their daily routines. In terms of the sheer numbers, 13 million more consumers either worked remotely from outside their homes, worked on vacation or built their own businesses online than were doing so nine months ago.

This Labor Day weekend, then, gives a moment to pause and reflect and then take stock of it all — and, likely, check your office email once again.