Could AI Generate A 3-Day Workweek?

• While being nervous about the future of AI is reasonable, workers would get much more mileage out of accepting AI’s place in the workforce and taking steps to familiarize themselves with the technology.
• Unfortunately, accepting a three-day workweek would almost certainly be accompanied by widespread job loss.
• Rather than fighting against the inevitable, workers need to familiarize themselves with AI and the tools they have access to in order to better prepare for a more AI-reliant future.

The fear of AI-induced job loss has been a hot topic for over a year. These fears are understandable as artificial intelligence continues to advance with little regulatory insight outside of state-specific human resources applications and a broad White House blueprint. Still, the benefits of AI far outweigh the possible future negatives.

Automating tasks, assisting with recruitment, and generally reducing workloads have been discussed in recent months, but an aspect that isn’t talked about as often is the way the labor market’s landscape will shift as a result of these advancements.

Not long ago, the idea of a four-day work-week seemed unrealistic, but thanks to the pandemic and a more employee-centric labor market, some companies have already made the transition. 

As AI continues advancing and iterating on itself, it isn’t unrealistic that the already-shortened four-day work weeks will evolve to even shorter, three-day weeks as human workers have less and less labor to worry about in a given week.

Whether or not this is a good thing depends largely on your perspective, your career, and your ability to keep up with AI’s rapid advancements.

How a three-day work week could benefit everyone

With so many rapid advancements that feel out of control for the average individual, it’s easy to feel disillusioned or threatened by AI.

While being nervous about the future of AI is reasonable, workers would get much more mileage out of accepting AI’s place in the workforce and taking steps to familiarize themselves with the technology.

This is because regardless of personal feelings, AI is here to stay.

By acknowledging this and taking the steps to understand AI and how you can use it to further your position, you create external value for yourself and your career.

One obvious benefit to a three-day workweek is an exponential improvement in the average employee’s work-life balance. Four days a week to spend on personal activities, relationship building, and relaxation would make finding fulfillment outside of employment the norm.

In the future, it’s unlikely that the individuals working three-day work weeks will make three-day salaries. Instead, it’s far more likely that some job loss occurs and the individuals who aren’t laid off are the individuals who understand how to work with these AI tools.

In many ways, a three-day workweek could be a return to American meritocracy. 

The workers who are willing and able to work with AI will reap the rewards of doing so via an incredibly healthy work-life balance while the workers who are incapable of making the transition will be forced out of their positions into other industries that aren’t as reliant on AI.

Why a three-day work week might go wrong

Unfortunately, while a three-day workweek sounds attractive, there are still several aspects of the transition to such a workstyle that could go poorly.

The first aspect that needs to be discussed is the potential job loss. We’re already seeing specific sectors deal with job loss due to AI and a widespread shift to three-day work weeks across multiple industries would almost certainly be associated with widespread unemployment.

In addition, AI likely won’t take over every industry at once. If this were the case, a singular displacement event would be catastrophic, but would also be the quickest way forward.

Instead, AI will likely take years to evolve fully, displacing countless workers year after year as the technology is applied to various industries. This will create an environment where workers may lose one job to AI, only to lose another to the same tech a year or two later.

Finally, another fear is that AI companies will leave the United States because of a lack of clarity regarding AI regulations (Joe Biden’s executive order provides deadlines, but no actionable regulatory framework). If this is the case, American workers will essentially be at the mercy of foreign interests that may not have the same vested interest in keeping Americans employed.

Preparation

Regardless of whether you believe a three-day workweek to be good or bad, the fact of the matter is that AI is here, it is rapidly advancing, and a shorter workweek is a very real possibility.

Rather than fighting the inevitable, workers should take the time now to familiarize themselves with artificial intelligence and learn how to utilize the AI tools they have access to. In the future, those who understand how to use this technology will likely have priority placement in jobs not displaced by AI.

Realistically, a three-day workweek, especially in industries heavily dominated by AI, is all but guaranteed. As AI improves and a swath of white-collar positions are automated, there simply will not be enough need for human labor to keep workers in the office or working from home for more than three days a week.