Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin is urging employees to work 60-hour weeks and return to the office daily as the tech giant races to maintain its edge in artificial intelligence development.
At a Glance
- Sergey Brin recommends a 60-hour workweek as “the sweet spot of productivity” for Google employees working on AI projects
- The company Co-Founder advises staff to be in the office “at least every weekday” to boost collaboration
- Workplace experts warn the approach could lead to burnout and diminishing returns on productivity
- Other tech giants including Meta and Amazon are also implementing stricter work policies and in-office requirements
Brin’s Call for Longer Hours
In a leaked memo to employees working on Google’s Gemini AI projects, company Co-Founder Sergey Brin advocated for significantly longer work weeks than the standard 40 hours. The billionaire executive, who returned to an active role at Google following the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, is pushing for extended hours as the company battles to lead in artificial general intelligence development.
“In my experience, about 60 hours a week is the sweet spot of productivity,” Sergey Brin said in the internal communication.
Brin also took aim at employees he perceives as underperforming, stating that those who put in minimal effort damage company morale. “A number of folks work less than 60 hours and a small number put in the bare minimum to get by. This last group is not only unproductive but also can be highly demoralizing to everyone else,” Sergey Brin said.
Return to Office Mandate
Beyond the call for longer hours, Brin is pushing for a full return to in-person work, going beyond Google’s current hybrid policy that requires employees to be in the office at least three days per week. The memo emphasizes physical presence as crucial for innovation in the competitive AI landscape, where Google is working to advance its Gemini model to compete with rivals like OpenAI.
“I recommend being in the office at least every weekday,” Sergey Brin said.
The directive comes as several major tech companies implement similar policies. Amazon now requires a five-day office return to enhance collaboration, while Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced plans to cut roughly 5% of staff to eliminate underperformers, signaling a broader industry shift toward heightened productivity expectations and stricter work arrangements.
Mixed Reactions and Expert Concerns
Brin’s recommendations have sparked divided responses among business leaders and workplace experts. While some executives view the approach as necessary in the competitive tech landscape, others have raised serious concerns about the sustainability and effectiveness of such demanding schedules.
“The hustle-centric 60-hour week isn’t productivity—it’s burnout waiting to happen,” Catherine Eadie, a workplace mental health educator, said.
Management Professor John P. Trougakos points to research showing diminishing returns from extended work hours. “We see people taking longer to do the same amount of work than they would do when they were fresher,” Trougakos said. Some critics have also noted the irony in pushing for longer hours to develop technology that could ultimately replace human jobs.
“It’s strange to push for longer hours when the very AI models they’re building might replace their jobs,” said a marketing executive familiar with the industry.
Silicon Valley’s Productivity Race
The push for increased working hours reflects the intensifying competition in Silicon Valley’s AI sector, where companies are aggressively recruiting top talent and increasing resource allocation to gain advantages. Experts suggest focusing on work quality rather than quantity may yield better results, with time management author Laura Vanderkam noting that breakthrough moments can justify periods of lower productivity.
“That minute where they got that breakthrough is worth 50 hours of sitting around doing nothing else,” Laura Vanderkam said.
Whether Brin’s productivity prescription will help Google win the AI race remains to be seen, but the shift toward more demanding work environments appears to be gaining momentum across the tech industry as companies compete for dominance in next-generation artificial intelligence.
