It is no secret that AI enhances productivity and efficiency and makes businesses more cost-effective. As organizations adopt agentic AI, it can free up employees to handle more strategic and complex tasks. 

For example, instead of responding to customers, generating content, or even booking a flight, employees can now focus on drafting a marketing strategy, segmenting customers to increase sales, or producing creative work. 

In fact, according to Adecco Group’s 2024 Global Workforce of the Future survey, AI saves workers an average of one hour each day globally, enabling them to focus on other priorities. 

Despite its transformative power, employees still work long hours and struggle to manage their workload. According to a recent survey by Perspectus, UAE professionals work an average of seven extra hours a week, adding 3.5 days of unpaid overtime. An estimated 59% are unable to switch off, and 90% regularly respond to work calls and emails outside official working hours. 

With people increasingly using AI at work and claiming that it can make them more productive— 74% of UAE employees say they use AI in the workplace every week, according to a report by Oliver Wyman— they are still putting in more hours at work.

FOCUSING ON COMPLEX WORK

An independent marketing consultant, Carrington Malin often relies on generative AI tools to create first drafts, brainstorm ideas, edit video content, and even record his podcast. He says that AI saves him, on average, 20 hours a week, which is almost two and a half working days. But he doesn’t take this time off; he uses it to focus on other work for his business.

He likens it to the invention of the typewriter more than a century ago. The typewriter led to skyrocketing demand for documents, which was visible in paper-filled offices in the 1980s and 1990s. 

“So, you had this great technology that would make it faster to do tasks that traditionally took longer and required more skills,” explains Malin. “And I think that’s a little bit of what we’re going to see with AI because AI takes away some of the things you’re used to doing, and then it allows you to do new things you couldn’t do before. So, are you really not going to do any of those things that you couldn’t do before, and just take the time saving from the things it does? I don’t think so. It’s not going to work that way.”

Indeed, inventions such as the typewriter, computer, internet, and digital communications have significantly increased efficiency in most businesses today. What took days, weeks, or even months to do could now be done sometimes in minutes. Launching an online business, building a website, or selling products online can now be done with only a few clicks. 

Despite the ease that new inventions and technologies create, many still work full-time, meeting a company’s KPIs and working to increase its revenues.

TRANSITIONING TO A FOUR-DAY WEEK

There are, however, some governments and organizations that have successfully transitioned to a four-day working week. In 2022, Sharjah started following a four-day work week, making it the first emirate in the UAE to do so, and the results have been encouraging. 

According to a case study conducted by the Sharjah government, 90% of employees reported feeling satisfied, 86% were more productive, and 89.9% increased their work performance. 

TishTash Communications, a boutique communications agency in Dubai, started following a four-and-a-half-day working week about three years ago, long before it was trending and before the AI hype. 

“For us, it was pretty much a move towards giving our team more time to be more balanced in how they were living their lives,” says Polly Williams, Managing Director of TishTash. “We work in a business where we do a lot of events and evening work. How we communicate on WhatsApp, Instagram, and all those things means we are always on duty and working. So, we wanted to acknowledge that you don’t necessarily need to be in a working space, like an office, to excel at your job.”

Williams says the team relies on AI to handle administrative tasks, like managing their inbox and doing preliminary research. This way, the team can focus on creative and strategic work for clients—something that AI cannot yet do.

But despite AI freeing up the team’s time, Williams is cautious about giving them more work. “In an ideal world, great, you’ve 20 extra hours a week, I will add that to your timesheet. You can take on five new clients,” she says. “But the point is we shouldn’t just be using that and squeezing people even more. The point should be to give people more space to do better. It’s not about adding more tasks to their day; it’s about creating space so you can do your current job better.”

ALL ABOUT CULTURE

One key element to transitioning to a shorter week for TishTash Communications was creating a culture of trust among the team. 

“If your business isn’t set up to trust your employees that the work needs to be done within the time frame, or if you don’t work to ensure that they have set boundaries so that clients are aware that you’re doing a four-and-a-half-day work week, then it will be difficult to make that transition. You have to be culturally set up and ready to do it.” 

Darren Streete, founder of Deconstructing HR, also agrees that culture is key in helping companies adapt to new working methods. 

Regardless of new technologies or tools being introduced, a company’s culture will ultimately determine an organization’s direction and values. “If you’re in a culture that is aggressive, hard-hitting, or more workaholic, then by introducing AI, all you’re doing is introducing a tool where they can get more done in less time,” he says. “That doesn’t necessarily reduce the working hours. It means these people will work the same hours but produce more.”

The key is in how companies use such tools. They can use it to enhance and streamline workflow or overburden their employees with more work. It depends on a company’s culture, which seeps into management and team behavior. “While AI can aid productivity and be a tool to help reduce time spent getting work done, companies need to take ownership of their strategy of introducing work-life balance into their companies. AI does not make that go away,” adds Streete.