Exclusive | Nobel Laureate Pissarides: Why a Four-Day Workweek Is Our AI-Driven Future

A Nobel Prize-winning economist has predicted that a four-day workweek — and a three-day weekend — will become a global trend, driven by the convergence of industrialization and artificial intelligence. Christopher A. Pissarides, speaking in an exclusive interview with The Storm Media, argued that the historical pattern of shrinking workweeks points clearly toward that outcome.

"Looking at 200 years of industrialization, people have always sought more leisure time," Pissarides said. "The number of working days per week fell from seven to five. The next step is four days — a three-day weekend will become the norm."

Pissarides is a professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science and at the Institute for European Studies at the University of Cyprus. He specializes in labor economics and is a leading authority on market friction theory.

Together with Dale Mortensen and Peter Diamond, Pissarides developed an analytical framework for market frictions, examining how government interventions affect unemployment, job vacancies, and wages. The three shared the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2010. Pissarides was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2013.

On December 9, the "Taiwan Bridge Program" held its inaugural lecture — "NCKU Meets Nobel: AI x Sustainability: Insights for the Future" — at National Cheng Kung University (成功大學, NCKU) in Tainan. Pissarides delivered a talk titled "AI and the Future of Work and Well-Being" to an audience described as record-breaking for the university's Chenggong Hall. The Taiwan Bridge Program is a joint initiative of Academia Sinica, National Taiwan University, and 11 other domestic academic and research institutions, partnered with the International Peace Foundation, to facilitate in-depth exchanges between Taiwan and leading global scholars.

Students attending the lecture expressed anxiety about AI displacing future employment. NCKU collected questions from students in advance; Pissarides, 77, engaged them directly and accessibly. Following the event, he sat down with Storm Media for an exclusive interview, offering unique insights on the three-day weekend trend and Taiwan's semiconductor industry prospects.

Under the leadership of President Shen Meng-ru (沈孟儒), NCKU recently ranked 35th globally and first in Taiwan in the Times Higher Education (THE) 2026 Interdisciplinary Science Rankings. Shen, who holds a doctorate from the University of Oxford, met with Pissarides after the forum to thank the laureate for bringing new perspectives on navigating the AI era to NCKU's faculty and students.

Pissarides was born in Cyprus and left for the United Kingdom at 17 after completing secondary school. Initially drawn to architecture, he pivoted toward economics or accounting at his parents' suggestion, eventually developing a deep interest in economics and labor markets.

His research centers on how to ensure high-quality employment and well-being in an age of AI and automation. He is also co-founder and co-chair of the Institute for the Future of Work in London. His bookEquilibrium Unemployment Theory remains a foundational reference in labor economics.

Addressing the AI and automation wave in his lecture, Pissarides noted a sharp divide within the technology community. Geoffrey Hinton (傑弗里·辛頓), the 2024 Nobel laureate in Physics widely known as the "godfather of AI," has argued that AI will eventually dominate the world and that humanity does not yet know how to control it.

On the other side, Demis Hassabis, the 2024 Nobel laureate in Chemistry and CEO of Google DeepMind, has said that within 10 years AI could deliver cures for all diseases. Both Hassabis and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have argued that artificial general intelligence (AGI) — systems capable of performing every human task, and performing it better — could arrive within five to ten years.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk  has claimed that AI will eventually replace all human jobs, leaving people with nothing to do. Pissarides disagrees with that assessment.

From a historical standpoint, Pissarides argued, new technologies have always restructured labor markets rather than simply eliminated work. "We destroy some jobs, and at the same time we create new ones elsewhere," he said. "The key challenge is that workers must move from the sectors where jobs are disappearing to the sectors where new jobs are being created. That is how the world moves forward."

He cited China as a case study. In the 1980s, approximately 68% of China's workforce was employed in agriculture. Following a series of economic reforms, manufacturing's share of employment rose to around 20% of the labor force within two decades, while agriculture's share fell to a similar level. Pissarides described this as the largest labor migration in history — workers shifting not only their occupation but also their place of residence, moving from rural areas to cities. He noted that comparable structural transitions have occurred across many parts of the world as new technologies emerged.

In addressing the current AI wave, Pissarides identified the central challenge as ensuring that workers can transition smoothly from old roles to new ones. A secondary problem, he noted, is the information asymmetry and skills mismatches that slow the pace of transition. He emphasized that quality education, workplace training, and lifelong learning are the essential tools for managing this shift.

"Lifelong learning is becoming increasingly important in the AI era," Pissarides said. "The most critical skill is learning how to learn. The formula for success lies in building strong STEM foundations — science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. That knowledge helps you learn more throughout your working life."

He argued that AI will fundamentally reshape workers' roles. "Every time your role changes because of AI, you will be able to adapt quickly — because you have already learned how to learn new things," he said.

Pissarides cited a McKinsey Global Institute survey finding that companies providing employees with at least 75 hours of on-the-job training per year show a significantly higher rate of business success.

Asked what capabilities young people should develop for the AI era, he framed his answer from the perspective of what companies are looking for: people who can interpret and analyze data; those with effective communication and decision-making skills; and candidates with soft skills including empathy and strong interpersonal communication.

AI, Pissarides noted, may displace some human roles while also serving as a matching mechanism — connecting job seekers with employers, or even helping people find romantic partners. "AI can genuinely help match job seekers with jobs," he told students. "It can also be applied to social matching, including helping people find partners."

Pissarides also recounted a lighthearted anecdote. Noting that the United Kingdom faces serious fiscal challenges — high public debt and limited room to raise taxes — he revealed that his son once asked ChatGPT whether his father was suited to serve as UK Chancellor of the Exchequer. The response, Pissarides said, was instructive: "Pissarides would perform very well in Parliament. He would do this, and he would do that — but I do not have sufficient evidence to conclude he would make a good Chancellor." Pissarides laughed: "So I did not apply for the job."

Citing an annual survey by the American Psychological Association on workers' attitudes toward their jobs, Pissarides noted that employees increasingly view employers' commitment to mental health as a key factor in their assessment of work. Workers, the survey found, prioritize flexible hours, a workplace culture that respects leisure, remote work options, and a three-day weekend.

Viewed against long-run historical trends, Pissarides argued in his The Storm Media interview that a three-day weekend is not merely aspirational but structurally probable. "Looking back over 200 years of economic development, we can see that industrialization has consistently pushed people to seek more leisure," he said. "Working days per week fell from seven to five. Working hours have been on a gradual downward trend. The next step is four days a week — three days off."

He posed a thought experiment: given the choice between working six half-days per week with one day off, or working three full days per week with four days off, which would people prefer? "People generally choose the second option," he said. "Fewer working days — three days of work, four days of rest."

Despite his own advocacy for shorter workweeks, Pissarides acknowledged with a laugh that he currently works six days a week, taking only one day off. Asked why, he shrugged: "What can I do? I just hope the four-day workweek arrives soon."

He noted that some UK companies have already adopted four-day workweek arrangements, though no uniform national policy exists. "The three-day weekend will gradually spread around the world," he said. "With one exception: the United States, where many high earners are workaholics."

Pissarides, who has visited Taiwan on multiple occasions, said he has been impressed by Taiwan's development of its semiconductor industry. Asked whether Taiwan's high economic concentration in semiconductors and AI poses structural risks, he offered a measured assessment. "Taiwan has been very successful in semiconductors," he said. "Given that global demand for semiconductors continues to rise, Taiwan is well-positioned from that perspective."

Pissarides nonetheless sounded a note of caution. "There is an old principle: don't put all your eggs in one basket," he said. "If you concentrate everything in one basket, the risks are real." （Related： Taiwan's GDP Just Hit a 39-Year High. So Why Is Lai Ching-te's Approval Rating Underwater? ｜ Latest ）

He drew on the examples of Cyprus and Greece — both economies structured entirely around tourism. "When war breaks out, or when a pandemic strikes, tourists stop coming, the economy collapses, and the country ends up fiscally insolvent," he said. "That illustrates the danger of concentrating an entire national economy in a single sector."