- One in two IT requests occurs outside of the 9-to-5 schedule, new report claims
- Despite being dispersed, most requests remain routine in nature.
- AI-powered automation and self-service could help close the gap and reduce downtime
Flexible and hybrid work routines have introduced a new challenge for IT departments: With workers now taking a shift before or after the traditional 9 to 5, many are left waiting hours before IT picks up their support ticket.
New data from Freshworks claims that almost half (47%) of IT requests are now made outside standard business hours during what is called the “ghost shift”, with weekends making up around 35% of weekday levels.
Most after-hours requests are routine, the report reveals, including password resets, MFA unlocks and access requests, and escalation rates are no different from daytime norms of around 6-8%.
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Hybrid work is putting pressure on IT teams
Although service requests generally do not change outside of business hours, IT team staff do, leading to a typical drop in SLA resolution rates of around 2 to 5 percentage points.
As a result, and with workers wanting faster responses, many are turning to informal channels like Slack for faster help, which only adds more pressure to IT teams who have to monitor approved ticketing channels and instant messaging platforms for help requests.
“When a critical security patch or login error occurs at 8 pm, an additional hour of delay is not just a delay, it is actually a window of vulnerability,” the report details.
Times of high demand, such as the end of the quarter, also drive an increase in ticket volume, with spikes of up to 20% during peak periods.
But in an era of automation, not all hope is lost and companies don’t need to spend big on human resources to close the gap. Many are turning to AI-powered self-service to meet after-hours demand.
“We’re not promoting it as ‘we’ll never be here for you again,'” Katz Media Group CTO Robert Lyons explained. “It’s just another way to provide another channel to get you support faster.”
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