The 5-Day Week Is 100 Years Old | Will AI End It? episode artwork

EPISODE · May 17, 2026 · 26 MIN

The 5-Day Week Is 100 Years Old | Will AI End It?

from The Numbers Game · host Nick Reilly, Jason Robinson

The five-day work week hasn't changed since Henry Ford introduced it in 1926, and Nick reckons AI might be the thing that finally ends it. Thanks to AI productivity gains in service businesses are already real, and the question isn't whether people can get five days of work done in four, it's whether business owners will pass that time back or just pocket the margin. Do you think a four-day week could actually work in Australia? On this episode, we discuss: (00:00) Intro (01:00) Henry Ford and the 5-Day Work Week (02:44) Could You Do It in a 32-Hour Work Week? (03:38) Where Your Work-From-Home Day Goes (04:39) AI Job Losses vs a 4-Day Work Week (06:03) Should Bosses Share AI Productivity Gains? (12:00) Nobody Actually Works 5 Full Days (18:07) Xero Made Us Faster, Not Freer (20:27) Universal Basic Income and AI (22:54) Who's the Next Henry Ford? Check out the free resources from Inovayt here. Send us an email: [email protected] The Numbers Game is brought to you by Future Advisory & Inovayt. Hosts:Nick ReillyJason Robinson This podcast is produced by VIDPOD. Check out our new website thenumbersgamepodcast.com.au. Browse the full show catalogue, jump straight to specific moments on the topics you love, or leave us a voice note. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published May 17, 2026

Embed this episode

The five-day work week hasn't changed since Henry Ford introduced it in 1926, and Nick reckons AI might be the thing that finally ends it. Thanks to AI productivity gains in service businesses are already real, and the question isn't whether people can get five days of work done in four, it's whether business owners will pass that time back or just pocket the margin. Do you think a four-day week could actually work in Australia?

Distinct summary based on available episode metadata or transcript content.

Ready to play

The 5-Day Week Is 100 Years Old | Will AI End It?

0:00 26:51

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of The Numbers Game?

This episode is 26 minutes long.

When was this The Numbers Game episode published?

This episode was published on May 17, 2026.

Can I download this The Numbers Game episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!