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18.5 percent of workers had a self-paced workload in 2025

March 30, 2026

A self-paced workload is one that is mostly self-directed within general performance guidelines, allowing the worker significant discretion to vary timing of tasks within certain limits. In 2025, 18.5 percent of workers had a self-paced workload. Workers in some occupations are likely to have more control of their workloads than others. For example, 88.5 percent of workers in management occupations had a self-paced workload in 2025.

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Chart Data

Percent of workers who had a self-paced workload, by occupational group, 2025
Occupational group	Percent
Management	88.5
Business and financial operations	58.8
Architecture and engineering	55.8
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media	48.1
Life, physical, and social science	44.4
Computer and mathematical	44.1
Legal	41.9
Community and social service	22.1
Educational instruction and library	20.5
All workers	18.5
Sales and related	12.8
Office and administrative support	10.3
Construction and extraction	8.6
Installation, maintenance, and repair	5.4
Production	5.3
Transportation and material moving	<5.0
Healthcare practitioners and technical	3.5
Protective service	3.4
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance	3.4
Personal care and service	3.4
Food preparation and serving related	1.6
Healthcare support	<0.5

A self-paced workload was much rarer in other occupations. Less than 2.0 percent of workers in food preparation and serving related occupations (1.6 percent) and healthcare support occupations (less than 0.5 percent) had control of their workload.

About half (48.1 percent) of workers in arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations had a self-paced workload in 2025.

These data are from the Occupational Requirements Survey and are preliminary. To learn more, see “Occupational Requirements in the United States – 2025.”

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, 18.5 percent of workers had a self-paced workload in 2025 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2026/18.5-percent-of-workers-had-a-self-paced-workload-in-2025.htm (visited April 02, 2026).

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