Forget “working smarter, not harder.” The “9-9-6 work schedule,”  9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week, is the opposite. A recent Forbes article discusses how a 9-9-6 work schedule could be coming to your workplace soon. Is that a good or bad idea? That depends who you ask. Tekendra Parmar, writer for Inc. publication, warns that some AI startups are glorifying exhaustion to “win the AI race,” but in reality, “the future of work might actually lie in working less, not more.”

From my customer experience (CX) perspective, this isn’t just a bad employee policy. It’s a direct threat to how customers feel about your company. The employee experience (EX) is the foundation of CX. When your people are overworked, disconnected, and exhausted, your customers feel it in every interaction. This is the moment for leaders to pause and consider: How does the customer experience change when employee energy diminishes? 

The answers are obvious, but let’s dig into each.

1. When Employee Energy Drops, Customer Loyalty Suffers

Parmar quotes organizational psychologist Caitlin Collins:

“The notion that working 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week, drives innovation is deeply misguided … sustained overwork leads to burnout, cognitive fatigue, and disengagement, which directly undermine the creativity and focus AI companies rely on to innovate.”

Those same consequences ripple straight to the customer:

• Customers wait longer for help.

• Service feels less empathetic.

• Solutions are rushed or incomplete.

• Product quality slips under pressure.

And here’s where it gets more urgent: the next generation of your workforce—Gen Z—won’t tolerate this, and they’re about to become the majority.

2. Gen Z Will Shape the Future of Work and CX

By 2030, Gen Z will make up most of the U.S. workforce. According to research highlighted in Forbes, they are rejecting outdated “always-on” work norms and pushing for healthier, more human-centered workplaces.

Through my CX lens, their expectations translate into clear business implications:

• Protect mental health and well-being. Healthy teams can focus and serve customers with care.
• Offer flexibility. Remote or hybrid options help employees bring their best selves to each interaction.
• Connect work to purpose. When people believe in what they’re doing, they naturally go the extra mile for customers.
• Use technology wisely. Tools must boost productivity without blurring boundaries so that employees can be fully present with customers.
• Respect personal time. Well-rested teams show more patience and problem-solving skills.
• Foster supportive relationships. Collaboration within the organization creates smoother, more consistent service outside.

These aren’t “perks.” They’re performance drivers. Ignoring them risks losing talent and customers.

3. Erasing Boundaries Backfires on Culture and Customers

That’s why Gen Z’s rejection of grind culture needs to be a wake-up call for every leader. Overstepping boundaries has clear consequences:

• Blurring boundaries impacts job fulfillment and trust. Late-night pings and weekend emails make employees feel undervalued.

• Losing people means losing customers. Every departure weakens relationships and service consistency.

• Innovation requires rest; without it, the ability to creatively solve customer problems declines.

The pattern is clear: poor EX inevitably damages CX. And once customer trust is broken, rebuilding it is far harder than preventing the damage in the first place.

4. EX and CX Are Two Sides of the Same Coin

Parmar calls extreme schedules a “collective delusion” of commitment. I’ve seen it firsthand: dips in EX almost always lead to measurable declines in CX. Net Promoter Scores drop, repeat business slows, and churn rises.

When employees are stretched too thin:

• Customers wait longer for answers.

• Conversations feel mechanical instead of personal.

• Resolutions take longer and feel less thoughtful.

If the 9-9-6 mentality isn’t the solution, leaders need to be asking: What is?

5. Smarter Alternatives That Protect EX and CX

If “winning the AI race” means burning out your people and your customers, you’re running the wrong race. Leaders have better options:

• Four-day workweek pilots to boost productivity without depletion.

• Outcome-based management to measure results, not just hours.

• Protected focus time so employees can do their best work and deliver exceptional customer care.

Consider Microsoft Japan’s experiment: a four-day week boosted productivity by 40%. That’s the kind of competitive edge worth chasing.

Conclusion & Leadership Call-to-Action

Parmar is right: “The future of work might be about working less, not more.” From a customer experience (CX) standpoint, overwork isn’t just an internal HR crisis; it becomes a customer crisis.

If you’re seeing:

• Increasing customer frustration coupled with declining engagement.

• Top performers checking out quietly or leaving

• Innovation stalling despite longer hours

…that’s a sign your EX is undermining your CX.

I help leaders spot those patterns, rebuild better cultures, and turn employee energy into customer loyalty. If you want to explore how that shift works inside your organization, let’s talk.