OpenAI, Meta and Google workers say AI jobs mean 90-hour weeks, not the four-day workweek companies promised

Q: How did the eight-month U.S. study characterize the effect of AI tools on employees’ task load and working hours?

The eight-month U.S. study found that employees using AI worked faster, took on more tasks, and extended their work into hours that previously served as downtime. It also found that the need to check AI-generated output added to employees' workloads rather than reducing them.

Q: What reasons does the article provide for why AI output verification can increase, rather than decrease, workload?

The article says checking AI-generated output adds extra tasks because people must verify and correct what the systems produce, which increases total work rather than reducing it. An eight-month study cited found AI users worked faster, took on more tasks, and extended work into previously downtime hours, so verification becomes additional labor. MIT scholar Neil Thompson summed this up by noting that efficiency gains lead to new work emerging rather than shorter workweeks.

Workers at OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and Google say AI projects bring weekend shifts, crisis meetings and 90-hour weeks, not less work.

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Hassam Nasir

Tech Reporter

Published Aug 11, 2026 6:35 PM CDT

1 minute & 30 seconds read time

TL;DR: Employees at OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and Google report AI projects have increased workloads, with crisis meetings, weekend shifts and weeks exceeding 70-90 hours, reassignment to AI teams without choice, and added review tasks-contradicting promises that AI would shorten workweeks.

Voice: Hassam NasirSpeed

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While AI companies have spent years promising that their technology will make work easier, the people building that technology are describing something very different. Current and former employees at OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, and Google told the BBC they are working longer hours than ever, with intense release periods pushing some past 90 hours in a single week.

A former OpenAI technical employee said they worked at least 70 hours most weeks before leaving last year. They described regular crisis meetings, weekend shifts, and a cut-throat performance review process that could end in sudden layoffs. OpenAI was also the same company that earlier this year formally urged other companies to start testing a four-day workweek, citing AI's ability to accelerate human labor. The former employee said the company never tried that approach itself while they were there.

OpenAI, Meta and Google workers say AI jobs mean 90-hour weeks, not the four-day workweek companies promised 1

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At Meta, workers described being reassigned to AI teams through a process employees called being "drafted." "They just move you over," one former employee told the BBC. "You can't say no, or if you do, you have to quit." Those teams are working on AI tools for software engineering and infrastructure that measure how well models can replicate human tasks, work the former employee described as endless.

Read more: Meta recruits Apple's top AI engineer in multi-million dollar deal, enhancing AI supremacy

Anthropic says more than 80% of the code merged into its codebase was authored by Claude, with engineers merging eight times as much code per day in Q2 2026 compared with 2024. Those gains have also brought higher expectations. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has warned that as AI becomes more capable, broader job losses could follow, yet the people currently building those systems are working harder than ever.

OpenAI, Meta and Google workers say AI jobs mean 90-hour weeks, not the four-day workweek companies promised 2

An eight-month study at a U.S. tech company found that employees using AI worked faster, took on more tasks, and extended their work into hours that previously served as downtime. The need to check AI-generated output also added to the workload rather than reducing it. MIT innovation scholar Neil Thompson put it plainly: "People assume that 20% less work means four-day weeks. But new work emerges."

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Question #1

What kinds of extended work patterns (weekend shifts, crisis meetings, hour counts) did former OpenAI employees describe?

Question #2

How did the eight-month U.S. study characterize the effect of AI tools on employees’ task load and working hours?

Question #3

What reasons does the article provide for why AI output verification can increase, rather than decrease, workload?

Question #4

What personal health and lifestyle impacts did former Google and other employees report after leaving AI-focused roles?

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Former Google employee Amin Shali said his sleep and health improved after leaving his AI-prioritized job. "AI is supposed to be doing so much for us now, so many more people should at least have better health and better sleep." Instead, the experience described by workers across the industry suggests that, at least for the people building AI, the technology has so far done little to shorten the workweek.