--- title: "Richard Branson: Future of Work Is “Three and Even Four Day Weekends”" description: "## Work Hard, Play Hard" date: "2018-12-14" modified: "2018-12-14" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/richard-branson-four-day-wekeends-job-automation" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "elon musk" - "job automation" - "richard branson" - "the digest" - "virgin" --- # Richard Branson: Future of Work Is “Three and Even Four Day Weekends” ![In an interview with CNBC's Making It, billionaire Richard Branson said that three or four day weekends could be a reality for "most people" in the future.]() *\Image: Denise Truscello/WireImage\* ## Work Hard, Play Hard British billionaire Richard Branson — the Virgin CEO who [drove a tank]() through New York City and [crossed the English Channel]() in an amphibious vehicle — thinks we're all working a bit too hard. If we all worked "smarter, we won't have to work longer," he [tweeted Wednesday](). In an accompanying [blog post](), he argued that innovations like self-driving cars and drones will cause more jobs to be taken over by robots. "Could people eventually take three and even four day weekends?" he wrote. "Certainly." ## Billionaire Club Branson isn't the only one who believes the future of work will be less demanding. Google co-founder Larry Page has also called for the end of the 40-hour work week. "The idea that everyone needs to work frantically to meet people's needs is not true," Page told Vinod Khsola, a billionaire venture capitalist, as [quoted]() by *Computerworld* in 2014. ## All Work and No Play Other big names take a darker tone about automation. Elon Musk has repeatedly warned of automation and the future of employment. "A lot of people derive meaning from their employment. If you’re not needed, what is the meaning? Do you feel useless?" he [told]() an audience at the World Government Summit in Dubai back in 2017. One option: universal basic income — the concept of distributing a basic income to every citizen of a nation. In fact, he argues, it would be a [necessity](). But just because our billionaire overlords think it's a great to axe hours and give us more holidays, it's still pretty unlikely that will happen any time soon. **READ MORE:** [Billionaire Richard Branson: The 9-to-5 workday and 5-day work week will die off]() \[CNBC\] ***More on job automation: [Robots Are Coming for Service Jobs]()*** ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()