Could 2026 be the year of the 4-day workweek? Here’s what top business leaders have predicted about the shift
SOURCE:Fortune|BY:Preston Fore
Business titans from Elon Musk to Bill Gates made bold predictions that the workweek will soon be reduced to four days—or shorter.
But alongside those concerns came a more hopeful idea: that technology could turbocharge productivity so much so that the traditional five-day, 9-to-5 workweek may no longer make sense. And it’s just not burnt-out employees floating the idea of skipping work on Fridays. Some of the world’s most influential business leaders have publicly suggested the shift may be inevitable.
Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, has said advancing technology could eventually push the workweek down to just three-and-a-half days. Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates has gone further, openly questioning whether a two-day workweek could be the future.
Elon Musk has taken the idea to its logical extreme, positing that the need to work altogether could cease.
“In less than 20 years—but maybe even as little as 10 or 15 years—the advancements in AI and robotics will bring us to the point where working is optional,” Musk said in November.
Taken together, the predictions suggest a shorter workweek is no longer a distant thought experiment. Governments and employers are already testing what less work might look like in practice. The Tokyo metropolitan government now allows employees to work four days a week, while some companies in the U.S. have begun treating Fridays as flexible days rather than mandatory days. At performance coaching firm Exos, the shift has boosted productivity and helped “tee up a successful Monday.”
Looking ahead, continued gains in productivity—driven in part by automation and AI—could accelerate these scheduling experiments and reignite broader debates about how people can thrive in a world where human labor may no longer be essential for economic growth.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon: Take a deep breath
Dimon has been outspoken about AI’s impact on finance and the broader economy.
Though he has acknowledged short-term disruption and job displacement, he has emphasized that technological progress has historically raised living standards—and believes AI will do the same.
“People have to take a deep breath,” Dimon said. “Technology has always replaced jobs. 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.”
Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates: Might we just work two days?
Gates, who helped usher in the personal computer revolution, has repeatedly suggested that AI could dramatically reduce the amount of human labor required across industries.
Appearing on The Tonight Show last year, he said rapid advances in AI signal that humans may soon no longer be needed “for most things,” promoting a fundamental rethink of the workplace.
“What will jobs be like?” Gates asked Jimmy Fallon. “Should we just work like two or three days a week?”
It wasn’t the first time he floated the idea. In 2023, when ChatGPT was still in its infancy, Gates said society could “eventually” move toward a three-day workweek, forcing a broader conversation about how people spend their expanded leisure time.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang: A work schedule shift is probable
At the helm of the world’s largest company by market cap, Jensen Huang said he believes AI will impact everyone’s jobs in the near future. However, the Nvidia CEO has been less convinced of the immediate effects AI could have on the work schedule.
Tech innovation could “probably” lead to a transition toward four-day workweeks, Huang said on Fox Business in August.
At the same time, new developments will also make workers busier than ever, which may be a welcome sign for Huang, who treats work as essentially a way of life. He starts work at 4 a.m., seven days a week—including holidays.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk: Working will be optional
Musk has been the most sweeping in his vision of a post-work future. Speaking on the People by WTF podcast, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO argued that AI and robotics will eliminate scarcity altogether, paving the way for a redefining of wealth.
“There will be no poverty in the future and so no need to save money,” Musk said, responding to billionaire Michael Dell’s charitable contributions. “There will be universal high income.”
Without the need to work in an office, Musk added, geography will become irrelevant. Living near major cities—or far from them—will be entirely optional.
“It won’t be the case that you have to be in a city for a job,” Musk said. “If you can think of it, you can have it. That will be the future.”
Zoom CEO Eric Yuan: Why do we need five days of work?
Few companies are more closely associated with the modern workplace than Zoom. And its CEO, Eric Yuan, has joined the growing chorus arguing that AI-enabled automation could soon make five-day workweeks unnecessary.
“I feel like if AI can make all of our lives better, why do we need to work for five days a week?” Yuan told The New York Times. “Every company will support three days, four days a week. I think this ultimately frees up everyone’s time.”