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There comes a time in nearly every workday when morale and motivation run a bit low. Looking at you here, afternoon slump. We’ve all been there: productive at the start of the workday, but as the hours pass and we get closer to clocking out, it feels like pulling teeth to finish all the work that needs to be done.

In a TikTok video, a content creator hilariously broke down the specific hours of the workday where he, and probably many other people, aren’t actually doing any work. Not only was it incredibly relatable, but it also shed some light on the universal mid-day slump that can happen.

A worker shared the 5 hours of the workday where people most likely aren’t working.

“Ranking the top 5 hours at work where I’m not doing [anything],” he began in his video. “Coming in at number 5, the hour before lunch. Look, by this time I’ve been at work a few hours. My brain is depleted and I’m hungry.”

He explained that the hour before lunch is the hardest hour to work because all he’s focused on is eating. At number 4 was the hour directly after a meeting. He pointed out that during a meeting, having to pay attention usually ends up sucking all of the productivity from him. He’s usually exhausted and hungry, so doing anything after a meeting is over is quite hard.

It seems meetings might actually be a universal thing that kills productivity for employees. Research from Microsoft found that people are in 3 times more Microsoft Teams meetings and calls per week at work since 2020. However, it’s not meetings themselves that are the problem, but the lack of efficiency and the fact that workers need to be engaged during meetings, making them feel less productive after.

Coming in at number 3, he described the hour directly after lunch. After eating, all you really want to do is take a nap and not think about the rest of the workday. Taking second place was the first hour of the day, which is filled with coffee, watercooler chats, and, if we’re being totally honest, a quick read of the news headlines. Finally, he crowned the number one spot as the last hour of the day.

For the most part, people are entirely focused on getting out of work, and anything that comes up during that last hour just turns into a tomorrow problem. People have been in and out of meetings all day, answering emails, and interacting with their co-workers; they’re simply ready to go home.

: Meetings Have Replaced Actual Work At White Collar Jobs — You Have To Log In After Hours To Get Anything Done

For the average 8-hour workday, workers are productive for a surprisingly short amount of time.

Oladimeji Ajegbile | Pexels

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American works 8.8 hours every day. However, a study of nearly 2,000 full-time office workers revealed that most people aren’t working for most of the time they’re at work. Seriously, how could they be? Your brain can’t stay focused that long!

Research found that in an eight-hour day, the average worker is only productive for two hours and 53 minutes. Let’s just say that again: The average worker is only productive for two hours and 53 minutes. Employees are filling up the rest of their time with reading news websites, checking social media, discussing non-work- topics with their co-workers, taking bathroom breaks, and snack breaks, and the list goes on and on.

Even when you’ve finally decided to lock back into work after being unproductive for some time, it can take a while. In a study titled “The Cost of Uninterrupted Work,” researchers found that 82% of all interrupted work is resumed on the same day, but it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to the task.

It’s refreshing to know that none of us are alone in this struggle. Now, we just need to get the C-Suite to admit the truth, and maybe a shorter workday could be within reach … or at the very least … a 4-day workweek.

: Why We Still Don’t Have A 4-Day Workweek Even Though Research Repeatedly Proves The Benefits

Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.