China is trying to put an end to the "996" culture

According to Reuters, China is making efforts to limit the habit of working overtime, known as "996" — from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week — amid public and international pressure. More and more companies, including home appliance manufacturer Midea and drone giant DJI, have begun to impose curfews on their employees, sometimes even until 21:00, although previously they were used to working until midnight.

The 996 culture has long been associated with major Chinese technology companies such as Alibaba, Tencent or ByteDance (owner of TikTok). In 2021, after a 22-year-old employee of the Pinduoduo e-commerce platform died on the way home from a night shift, these companies announced the abandonment of the practice of hard working hours. However, overtime remained a common reality in the industry, which was facilitated by fierce competition and ambitious goals set for employees.

Although Chinese labor law sets a maximum working day of eight hours and a week of 44 hours, as well as a monthly overtime limit of 36 hours, the reality is different: according to official data, for the first five months of 2025, the Chinese worked an average of 48.5 hours per week.

Such pressure has a direct negative impact on health — from exhaustion and problems with the cardiovascular system to a decrease in labor productivity and a deterioration in the balance between work and personal life.

However, many researchers emphasize that the problem lies in low labor productivity and fierce competition between companies, which makes changing the organizational culture a slow and complicated process. The culture of long-term work continues to be fueled by low minimum wages, productivity pressures and the desire of employees to secure stable jobs. The Beijing government has stepped up campaigns against 996, including through special TV shows, and analysts say these changes are also taking place against the backdrop of European rules against forced labor that will come into force in 2027.