AI, automation and work hours: Can technology finally deliver shorter workweeks

For more than a century, economists, futurists, and social reformers have envisioned a future where advancing technology would shorten work hours and enrich human life. From the 19th-century push for the eight-hour day to today’s experiments with four-day weeks, the dream has remained consistent, even as the means evolve. Now, with artificial intelligence (AI) and automation reshaping the workplace at a pace never seen before, that dream is being reignited: Could AI finally usher in a future of fewer work hours and more meaningful lives?

The answer, however, is far from straightforward. While tech leaders like Bill Gates believe so, and countries like the UK, Germany, and Japan are embracing shorter workweeks, others—like India—remain tied to a culture that equates long hours with national progress. Leaders like Narayana Murthy have framed extended work weeks as patriotic, reinforcing a grind-centric narrative that diverges sharply from global shifts toward flexibility and well-being.

This evolving debate around productivity, AI, and the future of work will take center stage at People Matters TechHR India 2025, where industry leaders, policymakers, and change-makers will come together to explore human-first innovation in the age of automation.

The economic argument: AI-driven efficiency without exhaustion

AI and automation are transforming industries in real-time, with major implications for work design and hours. Also, the economic case for AI-enabled shorter workweeks is compelling. According to McKinsey’s 2025 report, 'Superagency in the Workplace', AI could automate up to 30% of work hours by 2030, potentially unlocking $4.4 trillion in productivity. Rather than just replacing workers, AI is amplifying their capacity—streamlining processes, enabling faster decisions, and removing low-value tasks from the day-to-day schedule.

Fields like healthcare, STEM, and construction are set to grow alongside AI integration, while repetitive jobs in office support and customer service continue to decline. A 2023 study by MIT and Stanford reveals that AI tools can improve productivity by 14%, while Goldman Sachs estimates that AI could automate 25% of job tasks globally. This technological uplift gives rise to a powerful opportunity: maintaining—or even boosting—output while reducing the time needed to achieve it.

Further, Goldman Sachs estimates that AI could replace or augment 300 million jobs globally while also creating new roles that don’t exist today. The real promise lies not in replacing workers, but in reducing rote, repetitive work—freeing people to focus on higher-order tasks like strategy, creativity, and problem-solving.

Gates envisions a future where AI makes intelligence ‘freely available and commonplace,’ allowing people to live more balanced, fulfilling lives. He has long maintained that AI-driven productivity could make two- or three-day workweeks viable within the next decade. “What will jobs be like? Should we just work two or three days a week?” he said, speaking on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. 

TechHR India 2025 will dive deeper into this intersection of AI, automation, and reimagined work structures, with global experts discussing how to harness AI not just for performance—but for purpose.

From theory to practice: The four-day workweek is already here

While the idea of a shorter workweek may seem futuristic, it is already being tested—and thriving—in many parts of the world. In the US, UK, Germany, and parts of Europe, AI is viewed not just as a tool for performance, but as a lever for wellbeing. Government-backed trials in Iceland and company-led pilots in New Zealand and the UK have shown that shorter workweeks can sustain or increase productivity, while significantly improving worker satisfaction.

• Iceland (2015–2019): In one of the largest real-world experiments, over 2,500 public sector workers moved to a 35–36 hour workweek without loss of pay. Productivity remained the same or improved, while stress levels fell and work-life balance and health improved.
• Japan’s Microsoft Experiment (2019): A four-day week trial at Microsoft Japan led to a 40% increase in productivity, along with significant reductions in electricity use and paper consumption.
• UK Four-Day Week Trial (2022): Sixty-one companies and 2,900 employees participated in a six-month pilot. Post-trial, 92% of organisations continued the four-day model. Revenue rose by 1.4%, absenteeism dropped, and job retention improved.
• Germany Four-Day Week Trial (2023): In a six-month pilot with 45 companies using the ‘100-80-100’ model, 73% adopted the model permanently. Supported by 4 Day Week Global and the University of Münster, the trial boosted productivity, cut meetings, and improved employee well-being, with 90% reporting better work-life balance.
• Tokyo Government Initiative (2025): Starting April 2025, Tokyo will roll out a four-day workweek for government employees. Part of Japan’s broader ‘work-style reform,’ it includes flexible hours and childcare leave policies aimed at improving work-life balance and addressing demographic challenges.

“AI will improve access to services like medical advice and education. Humans won’t be needed for most things.”  — Bill Gates

This sentiment reflects a growing belief in the West: AI will liberate human effort, not just reallocate it. A 2023 report by UK think tank Autonomy estimates that 90% of UK workers could have their working hours reduced by 10% over the next decade, thanks largely to AI and automation. Up to 28% could shift to a 32-hour workweek with no pay cut.

India’s contradiction: Digital leadership, cultural lag

India, often touted as a global IT powerhouse, seems paradoxically resistant to conversations around reduced workweeks. The country ranks among the world’s most overworked nations:

• 51% of Indian workers put in more than 49 hours per week (ILO)
• Average work hours: 47.7 hours/week (compared to 36.4 in the US, 35.9 in the UK, and 34.7 in Germany)

Prominent voices like Narayana Murthy and S.N. Subrahmanyan have advocated longer work hours as a patriotic duty and economic necessity. Murthy’s 2023 call for a 70-hour workweek sparked national debate. Though he later softened his stance, the broader narrative remains: long hours = national growth.

This framing reinforces a cultural model of ‘grind equals growth’, creating friction against more progressive work design models flourishing globally.

So why isn’t AI enabling flexibility in India?

Despite India’s dominance in tech talent and digital services, four structural barriers limit AI's potential to transform work hours:

• Low AI Maturity: According to McKinsey, only 1% of global organisations are ‘AI mature.’ India likely lags further due to uneven adoption outside tech hubs.
• Digital Skill Divide: A 2024 NASSCOM report finds that only 12% of Indian enterprises are actively reskilling their workforce for AI. In Tier 2 and 3 cities, the gap is wider.
• Cultural Beliefs: Long hours are equated with dedication, especially in traditional industries. Many employers still believe ‘face time’ equals performance.
• Nature of Work: A significant portion of India’s workforce is in informal, gig, or manufacturing sectors—roles less amenable to AI automation or hybrid work.

Leadership: The real bottleneck

AI provides the tools. Whether we use them to build humane, flexible work environments—or just squeeze more output—is a leadership choice. Interestingly, McKinsey’s research shows that employees are largely ready to embrace AI, but leadership is holding back. While 92% of executives say they plan to invest in AI, only 1% say they’ve achieved maturity in implementation. In fact, many underestimate employee openness to AI. And nearly half of global workers say they’ve received insufficient training to adopt AI effectively. This misalignment threatens to stall the broader transformation AI promises—not just in hours, but in work quality, innovation, and morale.

What leaders can do now: From hype to habit 

To realise the true potential of AI in shaping a better future of work, business leaders need to act with intention, not just interest.

• Evaluate AI Readiness: Are teams trained to use AI responsibly? Do they have access to productivity tools, not just surveillance ones?
• Redesign Workflows, Not Just Roles: Use AI to elevate human strengths—creativity, empathy, innovation. Don’t reduce it to cost-cutting.
• Pilot Reduced-Hour Models: Test shorter workweeks in creative, digital, and service functions. Evaluate performance and well-being metrics.
• Embed Ethical AI Governance: Ensure transparency, accountability, and fairness in how AI tools are deployed and monitored.

The future of work is the future of time

The arrival of AI doesn’t guarantee a four-day workweek. But it does make it possible—if we align technology with vision, values, and policy. As Bill Gates mused in 2024:

“If you eventually get to where you only have to work three days a week, that's probably OK.”

The goal isn’t simply fewer hours. It’s better hours, where human intelligence is complemented by machine learning, and work becomes not just faster, but more fulfilling.

India has a unique opportunity. If it can overcome its cultural and infrastructural hurdles, it could leapfrog into a more sustainable, humane work culture—one that leverages AI not just to grow the GDP, but to grow lives.

Join this vital conversation at People Matters TechHR India 2025, where the future of work meets the forefront of AI and human potential.

Explore how AI, automation, and leadership can co-create a more humane future of work at TechHR India 2025. Register now at https://india.techhrconference.com/.