Atom Bank CEO champions four-day workweek as AI redefines employment

NEWCASTLE, UNITED KINGDOM — Atom Bank’s CEO, Mark Mullen, is doubling down on flexibility as the future of work. 

While many major banks are calling employees back to the office, Mullen says Atom is planning for a world where employees may not need to work at all, thanks to advances in artificial intelligence.

Flexible work policy sets Atom Bank apart

Since 2021, Atom’s 547 employees have worked a four-day week—34 hours with no pay cut—and can work from anywhere. There’s no fixed office attendance policy, only occasional in-office days announced well in advance. 

This is in contrast with industry giants like JPMorgan Chase and Santander, which have tightened their office attendance rules. Mullen believes flexibility is key to attracting top talent.

“My attitude to my colleagues is that they sell their talent for hire to me. The best people get to choose. That’s always been the case. And they don’t have to choose Atom,” he told Fortune.

AI expected to drive even shorter workweeks

Atom Bank achieved its first annual profit in 2024 and is still growing, demonstrating that flexibility and business success can coexist harmoniously. Mullen, however, sees even more significant changes ahead. He argues that the rise of generative AI will make reduced working hours not just a perk, but a necessity. 

“I think a four-day week isn’t progressive, it’s bloody logical,” he said. “Project forward and ask yourself whether people are going to be working more hours or less hours.”

Mullen expects that three-day workweeks—or even “no-day” workweeks—will become common as AI transforms the labor market. Similarly, billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates envisions a future where AI drastically reduces the need for human labor, potentially leading to a two-day workweek within the next decade. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, has also hinted at shorter workweeks enabled by AI but maintains his company’s strict five-day office policy for now.

“I just don’t understand how people can say a five-day week, which is a pre-Victorian invention, still works in the digital age,” he added.

Atom’s approach signals a growing divide in the banking sector over the future of work, with flexibility and technology at the heart of the debate.