{"id":156029,"date":"2025-07-16T03:55:54","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T03:55:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/china-promised-them-they-would-be-very-happy-with-day-996-until-they-realized-it-backfired-on-them\/"},"modified":"2025-07-16T03:55:56","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T03:55:56","slug":"china-promised-them-they-would-be-very-happy-with-day-996-until-they-realized-it-backfired-on-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/china-promised-them-they-would-be-very-happy-with-day-996-until-they-realized-it-backfired-on-them\/","title":{"rendered":"China promised them they would be very happy with Day 996. Until they realized it backfired on them."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2>The Rise and Fall of China\u2019s 996 Work Culture<\/h2>\n<p>You enter work at \u00a09 AM\u00a0 and leave at \u00a09 PM.\u00a0 Six days a week, totaling \u00a072 hours per week.\u00a0 It may seem extreme, but this is known as \u00a0Day 996,\u00a0 a prevalent work culture that has permeated many Chinese tech companies. However, the Chinese government has taken action against this exhausting norm, recognizing that such relentless work hours are detrimental not only to workers but also to national productivity.<\/p>\n<p><!-- BREAK 1 --><\/p>\n<h2>Culture of 996<\/h2>\n<p>A few years ago, working \u00a012-hour days\u00a0 was standard in the Chinese tech industry. Richard Liu, founder of <a href=\"http:\/\/jd.com\/\" rel=\"noopener, noreferrer nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"><u>JD.com<\/u><\/a>, lauded this work ethic as a \u00a0\u201cblessing.\u201d\u00a0 Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, controversially stated, \u201cIf you don&#8217;t work from nine in the morning until nine at night when you are young, when are you going to do it?\u201d This perspective summed up a widespread belief that extreme dedication to work was a ticket to success.<\/p>\n<p><!-- BREAK 2 --><\/p>\n<p>The term \u00a0996\u00a0 emerged in \u00a02019\u00a0 during a significant backlash against this working model, which many criticized as exploitative. Workers dubbed the protest \u00a0996-Icu,\u00a0 a clever play on words suggesting that such excessive hours would lead employees to an \u00a0intensive care unit.\u00a0 This movement sparked significant debate nationwide and is often credited with prompting governmental action against the practice.<\/p>\n<p><!-- BREAK 3 --><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-asset article-asset-normal article-asset-center\">\n<div class=\"desvio-container\">\n<div class=\"desvio\">\n<div class=\"desvio-figure js-desvio-figure\"><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>The Change<\/strong>. In \u00a02021,\u00a0 as criticism of the grueling workdays mounted, many companies began to shift their policies. Some, like Tencent, reduced their working hours from \u00a010 to 6 PM,\u00a0 effectively turning \u00a0996\u00a0 into \u00a01065.\u00a0 This change was vital for improving employee morale and well-being. But what prompted this transition?<\/p>\n<p><!-- BREAK 4 --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Fed-Up Workers<\/strong>. The 996 culture has fueled the growth of the Chinese tech sector, but its downfall arose from various factors. The most notable was employee burnout; there were even reports of \u00a0deaths\u00a0 linked to extreme working conditions. The government responded, declaring that &#8220;workers are entitled to rest and vacation.&#8221; Ironically, this came from a regime known for its \u00a0anti-union\u00a0 stances and imprisonment of activists.<\/p>\n<p><!-- BREAK 5 --><\/p>\n<p><strong>National Consumption<\/strong>. The extensive hours were a hindrance to the government\u2019s growth objectives. In \u00a02021,\u00a0 Xi Jinping introduced the \u00a0\u201cCommon Prosperity\u201d\u00a0 initiative meant to foster economic growth both domestically and internationally. However, achieving increased domestic consumption was incompatible with 12-hour workdays. Tech employees typically earned more than those in other sectors, but if they spent their waking hours at work, they couldn&#8217;t contribute to the economy effectively.<\/p>\n<p><!-- BREAK 6 --><\/p>\n<p><strong>Birth Rates<\/strong>. China faces significant birth rate challenges stemming from a historical policy of promoting a single child per family. Now, however, the opposite is true. The 996 schedule exacerbates this dilemma. Many companies endorse a \u201c\u00a0rise or perish\u00a0\u201d mentality, where workers fear being replaced if they don\u2019t climb the corporate ladder before starting families. Consequently, the punishing schedules delay parenthood, with many opting out altogether.<\/p>\n<p><!-- BREAK 7 --><\/p>\n<p><strong>All Happy?<\/strong> Ending the 996 culture benefits employees but also aligns with broader economic goals. With a more flexible labor market, broader demographics are encouraged to participate in the workforce. However, the end of 996 doesn\u2019t necessarily mean liberation for all workers. For instance, when <u>Bytedance announced that its employees would no longer work weekends,<\/u> they paired the change with a \u00a020% salary cut.\u00a0 Many workers still find themselves tethered to demanding schedules, as highlighted by a Baidu executive who lamented being required to remain available \u00a024\/7.\u00a0 The 996 culture remains entrenched in major cities, motivating some young people to seek quieter life in smaller towns.<\/p>\n<p><!-- BREAK 8 --><\/p>\n<p>Image credit: Amparo Babyloni, Xataka<br \/>In Xataka | <u>Deepseek marked a turning point in the AI race. Now another Chinese company wants to imitate its success: Kimi K2 is born<\/u><\/p>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/category\/general\/\" rel=\"dofollow\">General News &#8211; 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Rise and Fall of China\u2019s 996 Work Culture You enter work at \u00a09 AM\u00a0 and leave at \u00a09 PM.\u00a0 Six days a week, totaling \u00a072 hours per week.\u00a0 It may seem extreme, but this is known as \u00a0Day 996,\u00a0 a prevalent work culture that has permeated many Chinese tech companies. However, the Chinese government [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":156030,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36399],"tags":[38957,2397,168,7782,4332,10951],"class_list":["post-156029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-backfired","tag-china","tag-day","tag-happy","tag-promised","tag-realized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156029\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}