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Rubén Andrés
WriterWriter at Xataka. I've been working remotely for more than a decade and I'm a strong advocate of technology as a way to improve our lives. Full-time addict of black, sugar-free coffee.
Karen Alfaro
WriterCommunications professional with a decade of experience as a copywriter, proofreader, and editor. As a travel and science journalist, I've collaborated with several print and digital outlets around the world. I'm passionate about culture, music, food, history, and innovative technologies.
Many countries have embarked on a path of no return in shortening the workday. Some, like Greece, aren’t taking it lightly. Others, whose devotion to work seemed immovable, are surprising the world with measures to reduce working hours. China is one such country that has unexpectedly decided to cut its working hours.
996 work culture. While much of the West now sees the eight-hour workday as a vestige of the last century, with people fighting for shorter hours, the 996 culture still holds in China: working from nine in the morning to nine at night, six days a week.
This work rhythm is pushing Chinese society to the breaking point and lowering the birth rate in a country that has worked for years to increase it. Chinese authorities have tried for years to eliminate the 996 culture from the workplace without much success.
DJI is serious. According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), something strange has happened at Chinese drone manufacturer DJI since February. When the clock strikes nine at night, a squadron of human resources managers roams the company’s headquarters in Shenzhen.
Their mission is to ensure that all employees, without exception, leave their workstations and go home as if it were a fire drill. Instead of evacuating the building for safety, employees are “invited” to leave their cubicles to comply with a new rule: No one is allowed to stay past their workday.
Neijuan’s fault. No, neijuan isn’t the name of the company’s human resources manager. The term could be translated as “involution,” and, according to SCMP, refers to the need to reduce excessive competition in some regions of the economy.
The measure is part of a new economic policy in China that aims to reduce excessive competition that causes companies in certain sectors, such as technology or renewable energy, to invest an unnecessary amount of resources without seeing a corresponding improvement in profitability or R&D. Therefore, it is a matter of exhausting the labor force without making significant progress, creating inefficient competition.
An unprecedented situation in China. Until recently, it was common to see DJI’s offices lit until the wee hours of the morning, with employees stretching their workdays indefinitely.
The picture is very different now and has shocked many who have commented on social media platforms. SCMP highlighted an employee’s post, surprised by the measure, who wrote, “It was the first time I was kicked out of the office.”
Other tech giants are following suit. Although the 996 work culture has the support of prominent names in the Chinese tech industry, such as Alibaba CEO Jack Ma, more international companies, such as Haier and Midea, are joining the Chinese government’s call to limit working hours.
According to SCMP sources, Haier has ordered all employees at its headquarters to respect two-day weekend breaks. At the same time, Midea has begun requiring workers to clock out at 6:20 p.m. instead of 9 p.m.
Image | LYCS Architecture (Unsplash)
Related | Sergey Brin Calls for 12-Hour Workdays Five Days a Week to Boost AI Development
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