Why Mark Cuban Predicts the 40-Hour Work Week Is Coming to an End
The 40-hour work week has been the standard for workers for generations, Nine to five, five days a week. With increasing automation, thanks to the rapid advancement of AI, this could change for many workers. Billionaire Mark Cuban says that he sees the potential for these new AI technologies to improve productivity and shorten workers' days.
Smart, bigger companies will enable their employees to create and use agents (within security guardrails ), improve their productively but MOST IMPORTANTLY, they will reduce their work day by an hour to start. Same pay.
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) March 22, 2026
Reward people doing the daily with more time.
I get… https://t.co/jmuc2qqvIG
Cuban believes that as AI helps workers produce more, companies should require their workers to spend less time in the office, to reward them for their work. Cuban has been a big advocate for AI technology, often sharing on X how it could reshape the business world. According to Cuban, AI allows workers to learn anything at no cost.
"Today, ANYONE can go to their browser, to the AI LLM website of their choice, and type in the words 'I’m a novice with zero computer background, teach me how to create an agent that reads my email'" said Cuban in a post on X.
Cuban compared this to when he started to code, saying that a PC cost $5,000 back then, which was a significant financial barrier for many. Computers are now significantly cheaper an AI models are easily accessible, removing that barrier.
Cuban's prediction is optimistic, which is in contrast to much of the discourse surrounding AI. Even in the replies to Cuban's post, many doubted his claims. Many believe rather than rewarding workers, companies will look to cut costs by terminating workers, as AI can match their production.