Zoom Chief Executive Eric Yuan (에릭 위안) said the spread of artificial intelligence tools could reduce the five-day workweek to three days.

Citing IT outlet TechRadar on Monday, Yuan said work itself could change as AI agents and automation take over repetitive and administrative tasks.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he said employees can keep the time spent on meaningful work while avoiding wasting time on cumbersome tasks, saving significant hours each week. If agentic AI sharply boosts output and productivity, he said, a five-day workweek may no longer be a given.

Speaking about his own work style, Yuan said, "I hate working 5 days a week. We don't need to work 5 days at all," and predicted that the social mood would shift to a three-day workweek within the next five years.

Yuan noted that productivity gains may not work the same way for all jobs. He acknowledged that some entry-level jobs, in particular, could be directly affected by the productivity improvements brought by AI.

He also said more leisure time should not lead only to rest. Yuan said, "You can enjoy your time at the beach, but kids should also be able to find something new and exciting." He meant that time freed up by AI should be used for retraining, strengthening capabilities and preparing for new work.

The outlook that AI could reduce working hours is not Yuan's alone. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have also expressed expectations that advances in AI could lead to shorter workweeks. The latest remarks draw attention because the head of a remote collaboration tools company directly presented a timeframe of around five years for a potential reduction in working days.

Zoom's current work policy also aligns with that thinking. Zoom generally requires employees to come to the office twice a week and offers remote work opportunities to staff who live far from offices, operating a relatively flexible work arrangement. In that context, Yuan's remarks show that AI-driven productivity gains could influence not only work efficiency but also corporate design of work systems.

Key points to watch include how reliably AI can actually replace repetitive tasks and how concerns about a reduction in entry-level jobs can be absorbed in the process. Even if shorter working hours become reality, the task remains for both companies and the labour market to pursue retraining and role redesign together.