Chinese Tech "996" Work Schedule

Chinese tech firms like Alibaba, ByteDance, and Pinduoduo normalized the "996" work schedule—9 AM to 9 PM, six days a week—until employee deaths and government crackdowns forced a public retreat. Under this policy, employees worked an average 72 hours weekly, with one study finding a 30% rise in cardiovascular incidents among software engineers. Compared to #7 WeWork's Mandatory Fun Events, which wastes time on optional parties, this schedule eats into 40% more of employees' personal lives and reduces sleep duration by 2 hours per night. ByteDance reported a 15% productivity increase during 996 implementation, but long-term burnout rates doubled within two years.