Eric Yuan, the CEO of Zoom, has predicted that the standard way of working in office is going to change sooner than expected. He said that the five-day workweek is headed for the history books because with the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI), humans may soon only need to work three days a week. His comments echo predictions from other heavy hitters in the tech and finance worlds, including JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and OpenAI’s Sam Altman.“I hate working five days. I’m pretty sure actually we really do not need to work for five days,” Yuan told the Wall Street Journal, adding that in the next half-decade, the workweek will be cut down to three days a week.
‘AI Agents will do the heavy lifting’
According to Yuan, the secret to working less isn’t just about being faster but having digital help in the form of AI agents. He believes that within the next five years, employees will use thousands of “digital agents” to handle the mundane parts of their jobs.“I do not think we need to work for five days because literally, we all will employ so many digital agents,” Yuan told the publication. He explained that an AI version of people will be able attend meetings, respond to routine emails and manage schedule while they are elsewhere.“We can enjoy the beach time, but we want the kids [to] still find something new, exciting to work [on],” he was quoted as saying.
Shorter work weeks: A growing chorus of tech leaders
Yuan isn’t the only one seeing a major shift on the horizon. Jamie Dimon recently told CBS News that he believes the next generation will likely work only three and a half days a week. He credits AI with helping people live “longer and safer” lives by reducing the physical and mental strain of full-time labor.“I believe that 30 years from now, your kids are probably working three and a half days a week,” said Dimon. Meanwhile, OpenAI released a 13-page pape in which the company said that Superintelligence will incentivize companies to “retain, retrain, and invest in workers,” and give a four-day work week without a pay cut. The company also urged policymakers and companies to start running 32-hour workweek pilots right now to prepare for the “Intelligence Age.”
