“ a huge blessing that many companies and employees don’t have the opportunity to have. For instance, Alibaba’s billionaire founder, Jack Ma, said this about the 996 schedule: Management, as you would probably suspect, is pushing back strongly. While older workers are resigned to the 72-hour week, some of China’s younger workers are seeking a work/ life balance that would allow them more time off for personal activities, and more rest. These pronouncements, pointed at firms where 996 is in place, remind managers about Chinese labor laws that limit the work week to just 44 hours, not 72. However, the growing discontent has recently (August 2021) resulted in a series of communications from the PRC. Increasingly, these burnt-out employees are advocating for ‘lying flat’ rejecting the pressure and ambition that defined the lives of earlier generations.Ĭommunication about the 996-work week has been closely managed so that it does not become a movement that would alarm China’s central government. Posts like these are most often left by younger employees. Developed by Microsoft, it’s the one Western social media site that the PRC has not blocked. Even if workers are not dropping dead, most are experiencing significant ‘burn-out’ and some have begun communicating their frustration and exhaustion on Github, an opensource community for software developers. In 2018, a 25-year-old employee at drone manufacturer DJI also died from a cardiac arrest. A year later, a 34-year-old deputy chief editor of the Tianya online forum suffered a fatal cardiac arrest at a Beijing subway station. In 2015, a Tencent developer collapsed and died while walking with his pregnant wife. Maintaining or expanding global market share requires tight control of labor costs – and the 996 schedule became the status quo, regardless of labor laws guaranteeing a 44-hour work week.Ī few anecdotes will explain the situation that many tech workers have faced since then. They had set customer expectations that basically backed themselves into a corner. Additionally, China’s main economic advantage over other nations was lower wages. In various corporations, temporary stop-gap solutions, such as increasing overtime hours gradually became the norm. It was so rapid, in fact, that the firms could not hire new workers fast enough to keep pace with expanding sales. The prevalence of a 996 work schedule has been creeping into China’s tech sector since the early 2000’s. This was the period when Chinese tech companies started experiencing rapid growth. While this massive effort has helped propel the success of many Chinese tech giants, it has also taken a human toll. There are variations on this schedule, including a 995 schedule, alternating weeks of 996 followed by a 995 schedule, and even a 997 schedule. ![]() From management’s perspective, the 996 schedule also played a major role in the rapid growth of the Chinese economy. ![]() Employers, Alibaba for example, believe it is a critical part of the success they’ve enjoyed. Millions of Chinese employees work a 9 a.m. If you think you’ve been working long hours since the pandemic began, or maybe just generally, you should see what Chinese, white-collar tech workers have been facing for years! In another, an unidentified pharmaceutical company said all paid overtime needed a manager sign-off.Please see the writer’s editorial statement at the end of the article before closing. In one case published by the supreme court on Friday, an unnamed internet firm told employees it only counts overtime starting 9pm - no earlier. While Chinese labour laws require extra pay for overtime outside an 8-hour workday, employers have found workarounds and the enforcement of such rules has long been in question. Mr Yan said he tried to help tech workers file labor lawsuits or complaints against their employers throughout 2019, but got a tepid response from courts and regulators. This is about politics as much as it's about rule of law given the recent crackdowns on companies like Alibaba and Meituan," said Mr Suji Yan, a startup founder who helped initiate the GitHub campaign. "It's a good sign that the supreme court is finally paying attention. The two short-video giants, for their part, have cancelled an alternating system where employees take just one day off per week every two weeks. ![]() Internet companies including ByteDance and Kuaishou Technology have in recent months taken initial steps to dial down working hours. One woman collapsed while walking home with colleagues at 1.30am and could not be resuscitated, while another employee committed suicide. The controversy culminated earlier this year with the deaths of two workers at Pinduoduo. It dates back years: In 2019, a group of Chinese programmers took to GitHub to banish startups accused of mistreating employees from using their open-source code.
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