Zoom CEO Eric Yuan Dismisses Work-Life Balance: 'Work Is life, Life Is Work'—With One Important Caveat

Zoom CEO Eric Yuan is the latest addition to the long list of business leaders and tech executives who have denied the existence of work-life balance. Yuan shared his thoughts in detail during a recent podcast interview:

What Happened: Speaking on the Grit podcast, Yuan stated, "There's no way to balance. Work is life, life is work." "I don't have any hobbies. My whole life is Zoom and my family," he added. When asked how he manages competing demands, Yuan said: "Whenever there's a conflict, guess what? Family first. That's it."

Looking ahead, Yuan predicted that advances in artificial intelligence could lead to significantly shorter workweeks. "Imagine down the road, let's say we have very mature AI technology. Do we really need to work for five days a week? Maybe three days, maybe two days," he said. Microsoft Founder Bill Gates made the same prediction earlier this year.

See Also: Google, Microsoft, Elon Musk’s xAI Reportedly Cut Ties With Scale AI After Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Buys Stake

Why It Matters: Yuan's comments on work-life balance mirror those made by other leading figures in the tech and business landscape. Billionaire investor Mark Cuban recently highlighted the amount of work needed to succeed in a given field. "People are like, ‘I need a work-life balance.' If you want to work 9-to-5, you can have work-life balance. If you want to crush the game, whatever game you're in, there's somebody working 24 hours a day to kick your a**," he said.

In 2024, former President Barack Obama made a similar observation: "If you want to be excellent at anything—sports, music, business, politics—there’s going to be times of your life when you’re out of balance, where you’re just working and you’re single-minded."

Meanwhile, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos shared a slightly different perspective, advocating for "work-life harmony," where being satisfied with one's career and fulfilled at home positively impacts both spheres.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman compared work-life balance in the twenties with the principle of compound interest, highlighting the benefits of hustling hard in the early stages of one's career and reaping the rewards later.

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