The traditional five-day workweek may soon disappear, according to Zoom CEO Eric Yuan, who has become the latest technology leader to suggest that artificial intelligence will radically transform how – and when – people work.
“If AI can make all of our lives better, why do we need to work five days a week?” Yuan asked in an interview with The New York Times. He predicted that most companies will adopt three- or four-day schedules as automation reduces the need for constant human labor.
“Every company will support three days, four days a week,” he said. “I think this ultimately frees up everyone’s time.”
While Yuan portrayed the shift as a positive development, he admitted that job losses are inevitable as AI agents replace human workers. His comments echo similar predictions from other tech heavyweights including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, all of whom have floated the idea of a reduced workweek.
In February, Gates mused on The Tonight Show that accelerating AI innovation could shrink the human workload: “What will jobs be like? Should we just work two or three days a week? If you zoom out, the purpose of life is not just to do jobs.”
Huang told CNN that “we’re just at the beginning of the AI revolution” and expects a four-day workweek in the future. Yet he also warned that even as productivity rises, workers could end up busier than before. Historically, technology revolutions such as the industrial era and the advent of the internet displaced some roles but created new ones in logistics, engineering, and management.
Still, the potential for disruption is real. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has cautioned about a possible “white-collar jobs armageddon,” while Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski has said automation allowed the company to eliminate 700 positions without rehiring.
Even Dimon has conceded that AI could ease workloads, telling Bloomberg TV last year: “Your children are going to live to 100 and not have cancer because of technology. And literally they’ll probably be working three and a half days a week.”
Yuan’s remarks add momentum to a growing movement among corporate leaders who believe AI tools will not only reshape how people work but also when they work – potentially replacing the rigid five-day schedule with shorter weeks, fewer hours, or entirely new job structures.
