The ‘996’ work trend comes with dire health warnings
A standard 9-to-5 may no longer be enough to compete in Silicon Valley’s high-stakes artificial intelligence boom.
Increasingly, young tech firms are embracing the so-called “996” work schedule — 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week.
Once a hallmark of China’s intense tech industry, the 72-hour workweek was banned there in 2021, but in California, it’s gaining new attention. Workers are posting about it on LinkedIn and X, using it as a badge of ambition and dedication, according to the New York Times and Bloomberg.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/996-work-trend-hours-meaning-b2849392.htmlOpen linkView original on lemmy.nz126
Comments17
Linkedin is just a hive of people trying to one up each other for internet points. If you work a 996 job and you're not paid hourly, ie you're salaried, you are 1000% getting taken advantage of. Even if you are paid hourly, the paycheck might look good but you're just going to burn yourself out to a company that will replace you in a week
Depending on that hourly rate a lot of that extra money gets taken away from you anyway, trying to keep up with that lifestyle. If you're working 9-9 you don't have time to cook dinners or exercise or really do anything to keep yourself healthy, so you'll either be buying take out meals, or home delivery, etc. Probably gain weight, then need a gym membership.
Then you start questioning why you're living in a larger apartment/house when you barely use the space or nice location you're paying a premium for..
It all gets fun real fast once you start burning out and can't keep up the charade anymore.
If these companies need 72 hours a week, they need to hire two people.
Who would agree to that?
I know someone who did, she was running out of money and needed to make rent.
You can't be productive 72 hours a week. It's idiotic.
We've more than doubled productivity over the past 40 years, but it's still not enough? Let that sink in. We're long overdue for a proletariat uprising. I hope it happens soon before I get too old to participate.
Nothing will meaningfully improve until the rich fear for their lives
Shows how decrepit capitalism is.
Why not 997? Or 9237? You know, 9am to 11pm, seven days a week?
Nope. Nuh uh. Fuck everything about that. I’d sooner quit the industry and flip burgers.
You can flip burgers from 9am to 9pm 6 days a week!
"Trend"
Lol!
This is where quality of life is about to intersect and muddle into "paid" slavery.
Karoshi culture
The 996 myth needs to be stopped. It's been debunked. It was never a thing. It was more an exaggeration, workers exaggerating that if work demands got any worse it would become 996.