Hoping AI will give you more work-life balance in 2026? Fortune 500 CEOs warn otherwise

Workers may be hoping that AI can finally take over their drudge work in the new year—ease their loads and shorten the workweek, or at least make more space for life outside the office. 

And it’s something young people in particular are eager to have: 74% of Gen Z rank work-life balance as a top consideration when choosing a job in 2025—the highest of any generation—according to Randstad. And in the more than 20 years of producing its Workmonitor report, it’s the first time work-life balance outranked pay as the top factor for all workers.

But as AI has reshaped corporate structures and enhanced productivity levels, many executive leaders are working harder than ever—and expecting everyone else to follow.

From pushing return to office mandates to praising around-the-clock availability, CEOs are modeling a culture where the lines between work and life blur. Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang, for example, said he worked seven days a week this year—including holidays. Zoom’s CEO Eric Yuan conceded simply: “work is life.” 

And looking toward 2026, it’s unclear whether dreams of work-life balance will come true.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang

As the leader of the world’s most valuable company, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has a lot on his mind. Relaxation, however, does not appear to be part of the plan.

His work schedule is nothing short of rigorous—beginginng from from the moment he wakes up until he’s back on the pillow—seven days a week, including holidays. It’s a grind fueled not only by the intensity of the AI race, but by a lingering fear of what happens if he ever lets up.

“You know the phrase ’30 days from going out of business,’ I’ve used for 33 years,” Huang said on an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience released in December. “But the feeling doesn’t change. The sense of vulnerability, the sense of uncertainty, the sense of insecurity—it doesn’t leave you.”

That mindset extends beyond Huang himself. His two children, who both work at Nvidia, follow in his footsteps and work every day for the semiconductor giant. For the Huang family, work isn’t just a job—it’s a way of life.

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan

Video communications giant Zoom has had one of the biggest indirect impacts on the work-life balance debate, thanks to making it possible for workers to log on from the comfort of a bed, beach, or anywhere in between. 

However, the journey to scaling the company to over $25 billion in market capital has revealed to Zoom CEO Eric Yuan that work-life balance is a farce.

“I tell our team, ‘Guys, you know, there’s no way to balance. Work is life, life is work,’” Yuan said in an interview with the Grit podcast over the summer.

Yuan even admitted that he doesn’t have hobbies, with everything he does dedicated to “family and Zoom.” However, when there’s a clash and he has to choose between the two, the 55-year-old gives life some slack: “Whenever there’s a conflict, guess what? Family first. That’s it.”

TIAA CEO Thasunda Brown Duckett

Thasunda Brown Duckett, the CEO of financial services company TIAA, has long not been a fan of the term “work-life balance”—often calling it an outright “lie”—and this year was no exception.

On a Mother’s Day social media post this past spring, Duckett doubled down on the assessment once more.

“Let’s drop the work-life balance charade,” she wrote. “The truth? Balance suggests perfect—and that’s a trap.”

“Instead, think of your life like a diversified portfolio. You only have 100% to give, and many places to allocate. So give with intention. If motherhood gives 30% today, make it a powerful, present 30%,” she added.

For Duckett, having a constant evaluation of how much time to dedicate to everything needing attention in her life is what true a healthy relationship between work and life looks like.

“Some days you won’t feel like the best mom, leader, partner, or friend. But over time, when you lead with purpose—you’re more than enough.”

Palantir CEO Alex Karp

This year has been a breakout year for Palantir, with its stock price up some 140%. 

For young people looking to get their careers off the ground, CEO Alex Karp sent a word of warning this year: skip out on some of life’s superfluous things if you want a shot at success.

“I’ve never met someone really successful who had a great social life at 20,” Karp said at the Economic Club of Chicago in May.

“If that’s what you want, that’s what you want, that’s great, but you’re not going to be successful and don’t blame anyone else.”

While Karp’s comments might sting for Gen Z—especially since they are the generation who place the most value on work-life balance, Karp believes that if you put in the time when you’re young, it’ll all be worth it when you’re older and have a more cushy job.

“Most people have something they’re talented at and enjoy. Focus on that. Organize your whole life around that,” Karp added. “Don’t worry so much about the money—that sounds like hypocrisy now, but I never really did—and stay off the meth and you’ll do very well.”

Former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos

Jeff Bezos may no longer run Amazon day to day, but he remains deeply involved as board chair—while also growing Blue Origin and backing new AI ventures.

Like several of his peers, Bezos has long taken issue with the idea of balance itself.

“I don’t love the word ‘balance’ because it implies a tradeoff,” Bezos said at Italian Tech Week in October. “I’ve often had people ask me, ‘How do you deal with work-life balance?’ And I’ll say ‘I like work-life harmony because if you’re happy at home, you’ll be better at work. If you’re better at work, you’ll be better at home.’ These things go together. It’s not a strict tradeoff.”

It’s not the first time Bezos has expressed his grievances with the concept of work-life balance. In 2018, Bezos called it a “debilitating phrase” because it implied that one has to give, in order for the other to thrive. Instead, he likes to use the word “harmony” and likened the concept to a “circle.”

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon

Jamie Dimon has been one of Wall Street’s most outspoken champions of full-time, in-office work. Early this year, he called most of JPMorgan’s 300,000 employees back in-person and capped the push by opening the bank’s new $3 billion Manhattan headquarters.

Yet even as Dimon has taken a hard line on where work gets done, he has long argued that maintaining balance is ultimately an individual responsibility—not a corporate one.

“It is your job to take care of your mind, your body, your spirit, your soul, your friends, your family, your health. Your job, it’s not our job,” he said in a clip originally from 2024 that resurfaced this year.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com