996 or 955? 72-hour Work-week or Work-Life Balance?

In the job-circuits, there’s a fresh new buzz (and I realize now that mightn’t be so fresh after all), which is the 996. I hear that Silicon Valley has imported the used-in-the-early-2000s version of the 996 from China (tariff-free, I suppose).

Let us begin by demystifying these numbers:

• 996 is used to imply working hours that start at 9 am and end at 9 pm (12 hours), 6 days a week, which means a 72-hour work week.
• 955 implies a 9 to 5 job, 5 days a week, which means a 40-hour work week.

The question that pops up in my mind is: Are the 996 employers honestly telling their prospective employees that they would be expected to put in a 9 to 9, 6 days a week? Do the employees make their decision to join these companies with a clear understanding of what would be expected of them? Do the employees sign a contract accepting such conditions?

If they do, then it’s fair. There are times in life when a person, man or woman, may want to do the grind, and then there are times when they wish to balance work and “life.” I put “life” in quotes because for some of us, our work is a big part of our lives. Life is not always exclusive of work – the two often intersect. When we speak of work and life balance, mentally we put work at the other end, opposite to life (death?) I know, I’m stirring the hornet’s nest but read this to the end, so that you know what I am saying here.

Emma Beddington, the writer of the article “996 work culture is sad and inhumane. Whatever’s wrong with 888 – or even 000?” believes that 996 work culture is sad and inhumane. Yes, if it’s a “culture” and pervades the entire work-universe, it is sad. However, if a few startups decide to implement it in their privately held companies, and they clearly and honestly lay down the 70-hour week in their requirements – it doesn’t become work-culture. These are two consenting adults. One might argue that this is how such “harmful” cultures start.

The example of the 996 in China, where it was banned in 2021, is being cited by all these articles. However, in China, the tech giants had adopted this system, which means it was truly cultural. I repeat from all these articles, “Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, had once called it a ‘huge blessing.'”

It’s odd that we don’t much care about a third of the jobs disappearing (Mo Gowdat of Google says, “artificial intelligence (AI) will cause massive job losses and big problems for society starting in 2027“.) But we aren’t up in arms against AI, are we? Because it makes work easier for us, we are willing to let it feed on our intelligence and creativity – but when a few startups enter a contract with a willing future employee whom they’d pay 200-300K USD a month, we bristle.

In our lives, several of us have signed employment contracts that were vague and said nothing about work timings, and then we found ourselves staying late and working the weekends. Now that was companies intentionally hoodwinking us, but this appears to be fair game. The ones who are taking those jobs are making a choice – a choice between spending time on a specific kind of job (that they are good at) vs. spending time on several other pursuits (that rate higher on their personal contentment scale.)

I think we must fight for transparency and not against the freedom to choose when and how much to work. In my books, a company with a hundred highly-paid young men and women working longer hours isn’t a villain, as long as all those employees were told what they were signing up for. We all make the decisions that are best for us, and yes, they often include making certain compromises – and we are often blind to the compromises that others may have made to get where they are. And yes, we are forgetting those, who so love their work that their work is truly their life. However tiny their percentage might be, they exist, and if they find their soulmate in such an organization, who are we to question their choice?

My Two Suggestions:

1. When you get a job, read your contract carefully. If you are an instructional designer and have a strong understanding of instructional design principles, you are already smart enough to understand its ramifications. Reflect on it and figure out whether you still want the job. If you sign the contract, and your job stays within its confines, continue to work. If your personal situation changes and your current job’s constraints are chaffing against your personal life, plan for a job change. Go through your plan step-by-step, and select a job that aligns with your personal life and goals.
2. Don’t let your BP sky-rocket because your read about 996 somewhere (maybe here). You are probably working-from-home three-days-a-week, and trying to retain that flexibility. Stay focused on that.

Remember, your choices are different from the choices of those who are tickled pink by the idea of 996. They have the right to choose what they think is best for them; and so do you.

Exercise your right.

Note: We do owe something to ourselves, though. We must keep our brains sharp.

That’s all for now.