It’s a good question for work (particularly for white collar roles) — if workers are more productive because of AI, should the workweek be shorter?
This question is increasingly central to debates about the future of work and closely tied to the growing interest in the four-day workweek. According to Convictional CEO Roger Kirkness, his team was able to shift to a 32-hour schedule without any pay cuts—thanks to AI. As he told his staff, “Fridays are now considered days off.” The reaction was enthusiastic. “Oh my God, I was so happy,” said engineer Nick Wechner, who noted how much more quickly he could work using AI tools.
Aside from his contention for boss of the year award, Kirkness recognizes the key criteria for success: getting your work done. If the work can be done faster, companies can choose: (1) reduce the total number of hours worked per employee (without reducing headcount); (2) reduce headcount by a commensurate number (in Convictional’s case, 20%); (3) grow the company to do more work with a similar number of employees.
As a worker, I’m sympathetic to the idea of shorter work weeks, but I suspect that growth is a more realistic option. Employees continue to work similar hours, but increased productivity leads to company growth (but not headcount growth).