"The agent keeps working all night": How the work week is changing

A century after Henry Ford established the 40-hour work week, the model is unraveling. Technology, the pandemic, hybrid work, a new generation of employees, and AI are breaking down the boundaries. Sharon Steiner from Fiverr describes a shift to "life blend" and resource management involving agents working 24/7. Attorney Hadas Rakach Dvir from Shiboleth explains that regulation lags behind the market, but the EU AI Act represents a first step.

A century after Henry Ford introduced a five-day, eight-hour work week in his factories, this standard model is increasingly being undermined. Technology, the pandemic, hybrid work, a new generation of employees, and now AI are dismantling the boundaries on which it was built: when to work, from where, how many hours, and who performs the work. Sharon Steiner, CHRO at Fiverr, describes a shift from "life balance" to "life blend" — a complete intermingling of work and life. According to her, agents (AI agents) allow work to continue 24/7 even when the human worker goes home, and the human role becomes managing and integrating these resources. Attorney Hadas Rakach Dvir, head of the labor law department at Shiboleth, notes that the market is changing before regulation, and that the EU AI Act, enacted in August 2026, provides a first framework for regulating artificial intelligence in the workplace. The article reviews the change from a human resources and legal perspective, highlighting the gap between organizational flexibility and employment contracts and regulation still based on human working time.