Key Takeaways
- The term “996” refers to a popular tech industry work schedule: 9am to 9pm, six days per week.
- It was popularized by businesses in China, but has since been co-opted by Silicon Valley entrepreneurs.
- This kind of work schedule operates in direct opposition to the growing trend of providing employees with a four-day workweek instead of the standard five.
If you want work-life balance, you should probably stay out of the tech industry, with a new term being used to justify the extreme lengths by which these entrepreneurs want their employees to commit to the grind.
The term 996 — which describes a work schedule of 9am to 9pm, six days per week — has gained a lot of popularity over the last few years, starting in China but now gaining traction in Silicon Valley.
In this guide, we’ll explain what the term means, where it came from, how popular it is, and how different it is from other work schedule trends that are gaining traction in 2025.
What Is 996?
The term 996 describes the lengthy and intense work schedule of tech entrepreneurs and their employees. More specifically, it refers to working from “9am to 9pm, six days per week.”
If you do the math, that’s 72 hours per week, nearly double the standard full-time work schedule.
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Where Did 996 Come From?
The term 996 originated in the Chinese tech industry, wherein many established companies and smaller startups employ the work schedule in order to get ahead of the competition.
However, the term has gained popularity beyond China, with Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs embracing the grind that this schedule demands.
The use of the rigorous work schedule has become particularly popular among tech entrepreneurs and employees who work in the burgeoning AI industry. It seems that a lot of companies think they’ll become the next big name if their employees simply work harder and for longer periods of time.
How Common Is 996?
The exact number of US businesses partaking in a 996 work schedule is hard to nail down, because the legality of forcing your employees to work for 72 hours per week is a bit of a grey area.
However, one study found that 31% of Silicon Valley startups have admitted to utilizing the rigorous work schedule for their teams, which is to be expected of such a competitive area for the tech industry.
Silicon Valley isn’t alone when it comes to the 996 work schedule, but it is definitely the area where it’s most prevalent. Startups in other cities, such as Austin, Boston, and Seattle, reported using the 996 work schedule less than 10% of the time.
The Pros & Cons of 996
As with any work schedule, there are definitely some benefits and downfalls, depending on how you look at it. Here are the pros and cons of the 996 work schedule:
The pros
For the pros, the study mentioned above from Stem Search Group found that companies employing the 996 work schedule generally pay a lot more than their counterparts, with salaries 25-30% higher than the market.
Generally speaking, these jobs also offer a lot more perks (to the tune of approximately $15,000-25,000 more) and these companies offer double the equity when signing on their employees.
To be fair, though, you are working a lot more than your average position, and those increased salaries might not be enough to make up for it.
The cons
Unsusprisingly, it’s not all sunshine and roses with 996. The cons are pretty substantial and could have a far worse impact on your business than the added productivity.
For starters, employees aren’t sticking around at 996 businesses for very long, with voluntary exits coming, on average, after 14 months. On top of that, these businesses see a sky-high turnover rate of 45%. The industry average is only 12%.
Companies employing the 996 work schedule are also a lot more prone to errors. According to the study, error rates at these businesses are up 23-35% and code quality generally falls 15-28%.
More importantly, there is one serious con to the 996 work schedule that can be devastating for your workforce…
What About Work-Life Balance?
You probably can guess, but this work schedule does not exactly open the door for any work-life balance. 72 hours per week is essentially all of your waking hours, except for maybe a stop by the farmer’s market on Sunday.
In fact, this schedule is so demanding that many critics view it as not only demanding but also downright unhealthy. The Chinese Supreme Court even made the 996 work schedule illegal in 2021, citing staff deaths linked to overwork.
Suffice to say, employing the 996 work schedule is far from recommended, especially if your business is based in China.
996 vs Four-Day Work Week
While some tech entrepreneurs are getting on board with the 996 work schedule, it’s not as common as they would like. Fortunately, there is a far more common work schedule trend that continues to gain traction, and it both improves productivity and employee wellbeing: the four-day work week.
That’s right, working on 32 hours per week for the same pay has been tested and retested at companies around the world, and the results are notable. Fewer sick days, higher productivity, better turnover rates, higher revenue, lower operation costs, all are shown to be a direct result of reducing the number of hours employees work, not increasing them.
All that to say, if you’re debating which method can ensure your business sees long-term success, we’d highly recommend going with the proven work schedule with mountains of evidence on its effectiveness, rather than the one that was made illegal by the Chinese Supreme Court.
