With the quickening pace of work in modern society, the 996 workweek – that is, working from 9 AM to 9 PM, six days a week – has gradually become a phenomenon in China’s Internet industry. To gain insight into this phenomenon and its impact on employees’ mental health and work-life balance, we conducted a series of questionnaires and in-depth interviews.
I. Survey method and sample profile
This survey adopts two methods: questionnaire survey and in-depth interview. We designed a detailed questionnaire for several well-known Internet companies and some small game enterprises in China. A total of 194 questionnaires were collected, of which 186 were valid. The contents of the questionnaire involved the employees’ views on 996 work system, their feelings on work-life balance, and their mental health status.
In terms of interviews, we interviewed a total of 14 people in various capacities, including rank-and-file employees, middle and senior managers, company owners, government officials, and journalists concerned with labor issues. These interview subjects provided us with multiple perspectives and helped us to understand the reality of 996 work more fully.
II. Summary of questionnaire survey results
The results of the questionnaire survey show that the 996-work schedule does exist in Chinese Internet enterprises and has different degrees of impact on the mental health of employees. With the increase of working hours, this effect shows an increasing trend. In addition, gender difference is also particularly obvious in the questionnaire, suggesting that we need to pay more attention to the impact of gender factors on work experience in future studies.
III. In-depth interview findings
Through in-depth interviews, we found that most employees and middle-level leaders have a clear understanding of the phenomenon of overtime in the company and sympathize with the situation of employees. However, faced with the pressure of project schedule and business survival, they often have to choose a more intensive mode of work. This choice partly reflects institutional issues from the top down.
Within the limited authority, middle managers try to provide necessary support and help for employees by constructing psychological counseling mechanism, providing holidays and benefits. However, these measures are inadequate in the face of high-intensity work.
IV. The 996-work system from different perspectives
In the in-depth interview, the interviewees with different identities provided their views on the multi-dimensional work system of 996. The difficulty of work-life balance is widely felt by ordinary employees, with long working hours resulting in a squeeze on personal space and rest time, putting pressure on physical and mental health. Although middle and senior managers understand the dilemma of employees, they often must require or acquiesce in the existence of overtime culture because of performance pressure and market competition. From the perspective of enterprise development and competitiveness, the owners of the company think that 996 can ensure the rapid development of the company and the efficient completion of the project to a certain extent. Government officials and journalists questioned the legitimacy and rationality of the 996-work system from a social and legal point of view, arguing that attention should be paid to the protection of workers’ rights and interests, and at the same time expressed concern about the mental health problems of workers under the 996-work system. These different perspectives reflect the complexity and multi-faceted nature of the 996-work system, which needs to be considered and solved by all sectors of society.
V. Mental health and work-life balance
In the survey, mental health and work-life balance emerged as common concerns for respondents. Under the 996-work system, employees face not only physical fatigue, but also psychological burdens. Long-term overtime makes it difficult for employees to spend enough time with their families, limit social activities, and compress the space for personal interests and self-development, which affects their emotional and mental health. In addition, the blurring of the boundary between work and life makes it difficult for employees to truly relax and recover psychologically. This state, if not improved, can lead to psychological problems such as job burnout, anxiety and depression, and even affect the quality of work and life of employees in severe cases. Therefore, how to pay attention to and improve employees’ mental health while ensuring work efficiency has become an important issue for enterprise management and society.
VI. The influence of system and culture
The existence of 996 work system is not an isolated case, but deeply influenced by corporate culture and social values. In some enterprises, overtime is regarded as dedication to work and loyalty to the enterprise, and even becomes one of the criteria for evaluating employee performance. In this culture, even when employees face excessive work pressure, they often choose to suffer in silence, lest they be seen as not trying hard enough or being disloyal. At the same time, society’s excessive emphasis on success and expectations of personal struggle also contributed to the popularity of the 996-work system to a certain extent. In order to pursue professional success and financial security, employees have to accept and adapt to this work mode. However, whether this success, which comes at the expense of personal time and health, is truly sustainable is worth pondering. The shaping of corporate culture and the guidance of social values are crucial to the formation of a healthy and reasonable work system.
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