If someone doesn’t know what I’m referring to, 996 refers to working 9am-9pm 6 days a week, which some Chinese companies enforce (or enforced) on their employee. Jack Ma, for example, has spoken in support of it.
Wikipedia says that the Supreme People’s Court deemed it illegal in 2021. I don’t know about China’s court system in detail (or any country’s, really) but my understanding is that cases go to a higher court if someone successfully appeals the decision of a lower court. Shouldn’t something like a 72 hour workweek be stricken down before reaching the supreme court?
I’ve heard that Huawei still enforces this, for example. I don’t have sources because I’ve heard it from someone with Chinese acquaintances, so some fact-checking is appreciated.
It’s illegal to enforce, so it gets couched in terms like “company culture” and “encouraged” instead. Companies use weasel words to get around contracting workers for 9-9 six days a week while still having the culture.