- “I hate working five days,” declares Zoom CEO Eric Yuan
- We could see three-day work weeks becoming the norm within five years
- Zoom’s hybrid work policies are also among the most flexible in Big Tech
Zoom CEO Eric Yuan has said he believes AI tools can significantly reduce the standard work week from five days to three.
In an interview with The Wall Street JournalYuan argued that AI agents and automation could handle the repetitive, administrative tasks that workers are often stuck with.
If they spend the same amount of time as they do on meaningful work without having to waste time on boring tasks, they can free up hours every single week, he noted.
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Does Zoom favor a three-day work week?
With agent AI drastically improving output and productivity, Yuan envisions a world where the five-day work week could become obsolete.
“I hate working five days,” he said of himself in the interview.
“I’m pretty sure we don’t actually need to work for five days,” the CEO added, hinting that we could see three-day weeks emerge as soon as five years from now.
Yuan isn’t the only executive predicting positive impacts on workers’ time from AI — JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and OpenAI head Sam Altman have also laid out expectations for shorter work weeks.
Ultimately, Yuan sees this as a positive thing for work-life balance, but he also acknowledges that some jobs, especially entry-level roles, may be displaced by these very productivity gains brought about by AI.
“We can enjoy the beach time, but we want the kids [to] still find something new, exciting to work on [on]” he added, indicating that the time gained should not be exclusively for downtime.
Instead, it would be a perfect opportunity for workers to upskill and prepare for future work trends.
As for the company itself, Zoom is one of the most flexible in Big Tech, generally requiring employees on-site twice a week and offering remote options for those who live further from offices.
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