4 Day Work Week Cut Down to 3 by Bill Gates’ Prediction

Instead of the much-talked about 4 day work week, Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, envisions a radically different future for the global workforce, one where artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to reduce the traditional workweek to just three days. This optimistic prediction offers a new perspective on the ongoing debate about the impact of AI on employment.

AI has been fueling fears about mass unemployment, as machines become more capable of performing tasks traditionally done by human workers. However, Gates offers a more utopian view, suggesting that AI advancements can liberate us from the drudgery of routine work, increasing our productivity, and giving us more leisure time. The focus on increasing work efficiency isn’t just about squeezing more productivity out of workers, according to Gates. Instead, he envisions that it could provide the workforce with a chance to lessen their efforts and enjoy a more balanced lifestyle.

“If you eventually get a society where you only have to work three days a week, that’s probably OK. If you free up human labor, you can help elder people better, have smaller class sizes – you know, the demand for labor to do good things is still there. And then if you ever get beyond that, you have a lot of leisure time and you’ll have to figure out what to do with it.”

Bill Gates, via yahoo!finance

Notably, Gates isn’t alone in his prediction. Other prominent figures in tech and finance have also speculated about the influence of AI on the future of work. JPMorgan’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, suggested that the upcoming generation of workers might only need to work for 3.5 days a week, while also enjoying longer lifespans thanks to technology.

Conversely, Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX, has championed the idea of a future where AI technology eliminates the need for work altogether, resulting in a “universal high income.”

“You can have a job if you want to have it for personal pleasure. But AI could do everything.”

Elon Musk, via yahoo!finance

However, Goldman Sachs counters these optimistic views with alarming research estimating that AI could replace the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs worldwide in the coming years.Carl Eschenbach, co-chief executive officer of Workday, conveyed to Bloomberg that enhancing productivity within your existing workforce can decrease the need for additional workers. Suumit Shah, the CEO of India’s Duukan, demonstrated this concept when he made the decision to lay off 90% of his employees, replacing them with AI technology. According to him, this decision was an obvious one.

Interestingly, a reduced 4 day work week isn’t merely a prediction; it’s already a reality for some. Major companies like Samsung have initiated ‘No Work Friday’ once a month. In Iceland, a four-day workweek trial from 2015 to 2019 resulted in nearly 90% of unionized workers securing the right to a shorter workweek. Similarly, Japan’s 2021 economic policy guidelines recommended companies to offer a four-day workweek option to employees.