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