Will a 3-Day Workweek Be Possible in the AI Era? Former U.S. Tech Engineers Reveal the 'Real Situation'

Technology giants have been investing billions of dollars annually in developing various artificial intelligence (AI) tools, with company executives insisting that AI will eventually reduce human working hours. However, tech employees report that their workloads have actually increased, with some working over 90 hours per week during peak periods.

According to a BBC report, a Google engineering director predicted four years ago that AI would enable a 'three-day weekend' by the end of 2025. Earlier this year, OpenAI somewhat embraced this vision by formally urging companies to trial a three-day workweek without salary reduction, claiming that AI will soon dramatically boost human productivity and that businesses should prepare accordingly.

Yet, a former technical employee who left OpenAI last year told BBC that during their tenure, the company never actually implemented the very policy it advocated. The former employee described OpenAI’s work culture as extremely demanding, with frequent 'crisis meetings,' weekend overtime, and 'extremely harsh' performance reviews being commonplace—employees could be suddenly terminated based on evaluations.

Anthropic also emphasizes that its popular programming assistant and chatbot, Claude, can operate autonomously for seven consecutive hours—equivalent to a full human workday. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that the company is entering a period where 'AI is dramatically changing how we work,' and these tools will allow fewer employees to accomplish more than ever before.

Meta has already cut about 10% of its workforce, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned that as AI tools become more capable, job losses could intensify.

Despite this, employees at tech companies that both develop and use AI tools—tools expected to replace some human tasks—report that their working hours far exceed the traditional five-day, eight-hour workweek.

Workloads Exceed 90 Hours Per Week During 'Sprints'

The U.S. tech industry, which for years favored a 9-to-5 office culture, has seen a shift where 14-hour workdays are no longer uncommon.

A former OpenAI employee said they worked at least 70 hours per week—significantly more than in previous tech roles. They now work at another AI-focused startup, logging 50 to 60 hours per week outside of 'sprint' periods.

'Sprint' is a common tech industry term referring to the intense, extended work periods in the weeks leading up to a new feature or product launch. Employees interviewed by BBC revealed that sprints at OpenAI and Anthropic can last for several weeks, with some weeks exceeding 90 hours of work.

Employees 'Drafted' into AI Teams

Former and current Meta employees described being abruptly reassigned from other teams to urgent AI-related projects this year. They referred to these reassignments as 'drafted,' as employees had no choice in the matter.

The former employee said, 'You can’t say no, or you have to quit.' They noted that while Meta has recently softened its 'take it or leave it' approach, many employees have still been forced to change roles.

According to current and former employees, teams at Meta often face long hours, with employees regularly working late into the night or on weekends, and feeling 'on call' even during non-working hours.

Even tech employees not directly involved in AI tool development are experiencing increased workloads.

Amin Shali, a former Google employee, said he left in May because he believed AI negatively impacted his work. For example, when internal engineering functions failed due to AI projects consuming resources, he often had to work overnight.

As Google redirects critical resources like processors and memory toward AI projects, such incidents have become increasingly frequent.

Shali told BBC that after leaving, his sleep and overall health improved significantly. He realized that large tech companies' heavy reliance on AI tools has 'created a culture of over-exploiting engineers.'

Time Saved by AI Is Being Consumed Elsewhere

New research suggests AI tools may actually be increasing employee workloads.

A University of California, Berkeley study tracked hundreds of employees at a U.S. tech company over eight months, observing their use of AI. The study found that these employees 'worked faster, took on broader task scopes, and worked longer daily hours.'

MIT innovation scholar Neil Thompson noted that even companies leading AI development are unlikely to tell employees they can go home early after using AI to complete tasks.

Thompson said, 'Even if time is genuinely saved, that time gets consumed by modifying systems, implementing changes, and ensuring they function properly.'

The UC Berkeley study also found that tech employees' workloads increased partly because they must constantly verify AI tool outputs.

Thompson added, 'People assume a 20% reduction in workload means a three-day weekend, but new work keeps emerging.'