According to an article from PCMag, the 996 schedule is gaining “popularity” in Silicon Valley.
996 is where workers are “on the clock” from 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week. An absolute grind that can kill motivation, kill innovation, kill *any* semblance of work/life balance, and will lead to mental health problems for many employees. While I am all for capitalism and letting adults choose what they do with their own lives and bodies, this is not something that should be so easily accepted.
Many of these employees are willing to take on the risk, based on a hope and prayer that early equity in a start-up will more than pay for their efforts. They will take literal salary pay cuts for the “opportunity” to work these 72-hour work weeks. I feel that any work, above and beyond a typical 40-hour work week should include a clear salary base increase to accommodate the extra work.
With all the hype and expectations around AI, startups, and Silicon Valley, people will fall into traps where they are essentially buying lottery tickets- but the cost of entry is their work/life balance, and the number of hours they work each week. Substantial work beyond 40 hours needs to be paid with cash now, not promises of wealth beyond your imagination *IF* our company manages to pull off a huge win in time. If AI is a bubble, a lot of 996ers are about to be exhausted and unemployed, with nothing to show for the work they put in. And that isn’t to say that company equity should be off the table. But I am just not seeing the protections in place for individuals working THAT hard for THAT long with no clear payoff at the end. It’s all for the HOPE of a big payoff.
How bad is 996? Well, China (of all places…) outlawed 996 work schedules in 2021. China. It sounds like a lot of industries ignore the law, due to poor enforcement, or some require it during certain busy periods, but Chinese companies PAY their employees for the extra work. Not open and unknown promise of stock-backed windfalls to hopefully make up for the long hours.
Trading your mental health for equity promises isn’t hustle; it’s a lottery ticket with terrible odds.
It’s also notably bad for your brain and body. Working long hours to wrap up a project: not so bad. Working long hours as part of your weekly routine: bad. Working 996 indefinitely can “impair decision-making and memory, weaken metabolic function, cause inflammation, increase the risk of cardiovascular issues, and slow recovery from illness and injury. It can also make you grumpy (or, as Kaufer puts it, increase the risk of “mood disorders”), less effective at work, and more likely to burn out.” Forlini, Emily China Outlawed 996 Work Culture. 996 is the worst kind of “work hard, play hard” mentality out there right now. Because the play part might not come, if the company tanks and there is no windfall, or if you simply die from working too hard.
Companies need to look at the science, understand what they are DOING to their employees, and start to care again. Burning through people should not be rewarded. And when a company feels that it is the only way forward, it is time for the industry to rethink priorities.
