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Barry Diller thinks we're going to have 4-day workweeks — kind of

Barry Diller
Barry Diller Michael Seto/Business Insider
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Barry Diller believes all the hybrid work models adopted by different companies in the wake of the pandemic are spawning "chaos."

And while he's adamant that most employees should come into the office, he thinks four days could soon be enough — with flexibility on Fridays, the IAC and Expedia chairman said in an interview Thursday on CNBC.

On Fridays, Diller foresees a future where employees "can work from home or work at your own schedule," he said. "I think that is going to be the sensible evolution of all this — but it has to be standardized. You can't have 17,000 different programs."

Diller told CNBC he believes most employees should have gone back to the office after the pandemic subsided.

"If you have to talk to anyone else, you cannot work from home," he said. "Come into an office and be part of an environment … that betters your life, your career, and betters the business."

Diller was responding to comments made Wednesday by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen, who told CNBC he believes a four-day workweek is inevitable, fueled by the rise of AI.

The billionaire hedge fund manager said one of the reasons he invested in golf is because he anticipates people will have more leisure time.

"We hear from people that Fridays are just not — people are not as productive on Fridays," Cohen told CNBC, "and so I just think it's an eventuality."

In his appearance on CNBC, Diller also issued an urgent warning about AI and called Trump Media "a scam."

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Geoff Weiss
Geoff Weiss is a senior reporter on Business Insider’s tech team, where he covers Nvidia and AI infrastructure. His reporting focuses on the business of AI compute, emerging startups, and the people and strategies shaping the industry.Previously, Geoff was on the media desk, covering YouTube and Netflix, and themes like the intersection of Hollywood and the creator economy. His work on Netflix’s video podcasting ambitions and Mr Beast’s lessons for Hollywood won second and first prize, respectively, at the 2025 LA Press Club Awards.Prior to joining Business Insider, Geoff was the senior editor of Tubefilter and a staff writer at Entrepreneur. He graduated from New York University with a degree in English Literature.He can be reached at gweiss@jkmperu.com, on Signal @geoffweiss.25, and on LinkedIn. Have a tip? Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.