A tech firm in China has sparked controversy by launching a “Striving for 100 Days” campaign, mandating an extreme overtime schedule that surpasses the infamous “996” work model. Screenshots of work group chats reveal that the company has instructed employees of a certain level to adhere to an “896 work schedule” for 100 days, according to Sohu Finance, a mainland media outlet. This schedule requires employees to work from 8 am to 9 pm, six days a week, starting from mid-June.
The affected employees reportedly include mid-to-senior level and technical staff. The firm, believed to be located in Fujian province, remains unidentified. Attempts to reach the company for comments have been unsuccessful. One employee informed Cailian Press that the 896 work schedule was communicated verbally during a departmental meeting on June 14. Another employee told Caixin Media that while the company does not officially enforce the 896 schedule, employees frequently work these hours, especially in the research and development department where overtime has become the norm.
A representative from the company told Chengdu Economic Daily that although the “Striving for 100 Days” call was issued, the 896 policy was not officially implemented, dismissing it as a rumor. However, they emphasized the importance of perseverance and hard work in thriving within a booming industry.
The firm’s expectations have reignited the debate about China’s overtime culture and the controversial 996 model, which requires employees to work from 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week. In 2019, an anonymous online protest on GitHub, a global developer platform owned by Microsoft, argued that the 996 work schedule jeopardizes the health of tech workers. The demand for such extensive work hours became a hot topic in China, with workers feeling pressured to comply due to unwritten rules and peer pressure.
In August 2021, China’s top court ruled that the 996 policy was illegal. According to China’s labor law, employees should not work more than eight hours a day and 44 hours a week, with overtime not exceeding 36 hours a month. Despite this, excessive overtime culture remains a frequent complaint on mainland social media.
One worker shared with the Post that he had been involved in a project for a month, working until 11 pm daily with no days off, essentially doing the work of two to three people. Some employees in China endure such demands only if compensated well. Fu Peng, chief economist at Northeast Securities, noted that while China’s youth are willing to work hard, they expect fair compensation. He remarked, “If the pay is 10 times the usual wage, young people will work overtime until the boss goes bankrupt.” An online observer echoed this sentiment, writing on Weibo: “We are not afraid of hard work, we are afraid that the effort and the reward do not match.”
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