Why Your Natural Sleep Schedule May Be Worth Promoting

Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on MyPerfectResume.com.

For decades, business life has been on the rise for the first time. Morning meetings, nine-to-five office hours, and leaders who brag about being the first in the office all send the same signal: The workplace is for morning people.

But a new study of more than 1.5 million workers in the US and Canada, conducted by Herrmann International in partnership with MyPerfectResume, shows that not everyone is at their best in the morning.

In fact, young and creative workers are more likely to identify as “night people.” The problem? Leadership is dominated by morning types, raising big questions about how chronotype, our natural rhythm of energy and focus, quietly shapes who gets promoted.

Climbing the Ladder Turns Night Owls into Early Birds

Research shows a big divide between entry-level workers and managers:

• Entry-level workers are 29% more likely than the average worker to identify as night people, the only category of managers that over-references night preferences.
• Managers are 32% more likely to be targeted at night.
• Entry-level workers are almost 2x more likely to be nocturnal than managers (1.9x difference).
• Directors are also more likely to be morning people, 27% less likely to be night people.

Research suggests that multiple factors may be involved. Research shows that genetics (particularly the PER3 gene) is strongly associated with chronotype and that people tend to shift towards morning orientation as they age.

Social factors, such as family obligations and work schedules, may also lead to behavioral adaptations to earlier schedules.

But here’s a question: Are morning people promoted more simply because they are more visible in leadership in traditional nine-to-five organizations?

Why it matters: When chronotype and work efficiency are tied, companies risk sidelining workers with nighttime talent who succeed later in the day. This can lead to a loss of innovation, creativity, and leadership diversity.

Founders and Service Workers Motivate Workers’ Night Energy

Creative and in-demand service roles equally attract or develop night-oriented workers. The best jobs for night owls are focused on the creative and service industries:

• Art: 52% more people at night, the strongest skew in the field
• Education: 51% more people at night, despite the early hours of school
• Writing: 33% more people at night
• Entertainment: 25% more people at night
• Consultation: 30% more people at night, tied to a long-hour, deadline-driven culture
• Services: 22% more people at night, in line with working 24/7

Creative work often thrives with uninterrupted focus, and the night hours can provide freedom from meetings and distractions. In service industries, shift work and around-the-clock work naturally generate more energy at night.

The situation in education at night is surprising especially given the early school hours, but perhaps it shows that teachers, tired of the regular day work, regain energy at night when they finally have control over their schedules.

Why it matters: Industries that rely on design, flexibility, or around-the-clock service can unintentionally punish their talent by sticking to rigid, heavy morning schedules. Employers risk employee burnout if energy patterns are unknown and workplace chronotype discrimination is prevalent.

Culture, Not Latitude, Determines Who Gets Up In The Morning

The data reveal patterns of night-owl versus early bird reproduction patterns that do not follow simple geographic or cultural predictions:

• Italy: 52% more people during the day, 41% fewer people at night; the most popular morning in the world
• Denmark: 48% more people during the day, 44% fewer people at night
• Sweden: 43% more people during the day, 49% fewer people at night
• Singapore: 45% more people at night, making it the most night-focused country in the study, almost three times the rate of Sweden.
• Philippines: 39% more people at night, 22% less people during the day
• Spain: An above-average share of people of the day, despite popular meal times and social norms

These findings highlight an interesting variation in the wording of the survey, where respondents are asked to describe their “level of energy or drive.” Those who interpret “drive” as work-related energy may report a preference for daytime when evenings are traditionally reserved for social and family time rather than productive work.

The strong daytime position of Northern European countries such as Sweden and Denmark is more in line with expectations.

Singapore boasts 45% more people at night, almost three times the rate of Sweden. As an international business center with a 24/7 urban culture, Singapore’s nightlife may reflect both the need for and cultural acceptance of late working hours. The Philippines, Brazil, Mexico, and France also show above-average overnight preferences.

Why it matters: International teams cannot take a single international beat. Companies that grow globally or operate across time zones must consider cultural differences in energy and productivity, which is an important issue for remote and hybrid work.

Day People Still Rule, But Night Owls Focus on Key Talent Pools

Morning routines are still plentiful, but a handful of night workers are focused on key teams in future talent pipelines.

In all groups, day people outnumber night people, usually by 40% to 45%. Nocturnal people never exceed about 20% of any population.

Digital culture and remote work have made hidden nighttime preferences more visible. The real question is whether more people are turning into night owls or if we are seeing more clearly now that work is slowing down.

Why it matters: Recognizing and supporting night workers can help employers unlock new talent, especially among younger generations and creative industries.

The Big Picture: What It Means for Employers

Chronotype variation has a lot to do with age, culture, and occupation.

• Chronotype Differences: Rigid nine-to-five systems favor morning people but create friction for young, creative, and globally distributed workers.
• The structure is compared to the likes: The concentration of nocturnal direction in creative fields and daytime orientation in senior roles raises questions about whether workplace structures favor specific chronotypes or shape them.
• Cultural boundaries between work and personal power: The preference for a Mediterranean breakfast, despite the late social schedule, may indicate a sheltered evening; they have power, but they are not for work.
• Small changes, big impact: Late meetings, flexible deadlines, or split shifts can accommodate diversity without disrupting performance.

Why it matters: Acknowledging power diversity is more than fair; it’s about resilience. Employers who adapt will retain innovative and global talent, reduce turnover, and create opportunities for workers who may otherwise be overlooked.

How to do it

The analysis is based on a dataset of more than 2.5 million tests processed through Herrmann’s psychoanalytic platform. All percentages represent deviation from the population base. Statistical significance was determined using the chi-square test (p<0.05).

Respondents selected their energy type (“day person,” “night person,” or “day/night person”) as well as demographic and work experience, including management level and field of work. All detailed classifications by level of management and occupation are based on population data from the US and Canada (n=1,553,136).

For global comparisons, additional countries were only included if they had at least 1,000 respondents to ensure a reasonable sample size. This enabled researchers to explore cultural and regional differences, findings from 29 countries across six continents reported in the study.