Billionaire Richard Branson says 9-to-5 workdays will disappear
Dreams of working 9 to 5, five days a week, with the weekends off are going to be a thing of the past, according to billionaire Richard Branson.
In a blog post, the Virgin Group founder wrote that the way “we all work is going to change” due to the rise of technology and it is all good news.
“As Google’s Larry Page and others have said, the amount of jobs available for people is going to decrease as technology progresses,” Branson wrote, citing innovations such as driverless cars, advanced drones and even pilotless planes as examples.
“On the face of it, this sounds like bad news for people. However, if governments and businesses are clever, the advance of technology could actually be really positive for people all over the world,” he added.
Young stressed secretary in the office overwhelmed by work and desk full of files, her boss is bringing more paperwork to her
Branson, who started his first business at the age of 15, after dropping out high school, and has since created more than 400 companies and employs more than 70,000 people from around the world, said the change could help accelerate the marketplace to create “much smarter working practices” instead.
One idea, he noted, is for the government to provide tuition for workers to gain the technical skills needed for the future marketplace, in exchange for public service.
He said the changes could create shorter work weeks for U.S. workers and would create an overall better work-life balance for Americans.
“People will need to be paid the same or even more for working less time, so they can afford more leisure time. That’s going to be a difficult balancing act to get right, but it can be done.”
Branson said he fully embraces flexible work weeks at Virgin Management and truly believes giving people more options on how and where they work is the key to success and it empowers people to be better workers.
In March, Holly Branson, the daughter of Richard Branson, told FOX Business that the key to her father’s success relies on two key traits.
“I'd say the main thing that he does is that he listens to everybody. It doesn’t matter if he’s talking to CEOs, the cleaner or the receptionist,” Branson said.
And, the second is that he always writes everything down so he doesn’t forget.