New Delhi, Aug. 19 -- In 1930, economist John Maynard Keynes optimistically predicted that humans of the future would need to work only 15 hours a week because, in the next 100 years, technology would have automated many tedious and time-consuming tasks. Nearly a century later, the fantasy of 3-hour work days hasn't come true, though many companies around the world are opting for 4-day work weeks thanks to improved efficiency in their operations due to automation. The flip side of this trend is, of course, a surge in layoffs as well as proportional reduction in the salaries of employees working shorter shifts to maximise the company's topline.

Even where an artificial intelligence (AI) mandate is yet to be formally adopted at the organis...