A standard 9-to-5 may no longer be enough to compete in Silicon Valley’s high-stakes artificial intelligence boom.
Increasingly, young tech firms are embracing the so-called “996” work schedule — 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week.
Once a hallmark of China’s intense tech industry, the 72-hour workweek was banned there in 2021, but in California, it’s gaining new attention. Workers are posting about it on LinkedIn and X, using it as a badge of ambition and dedication, according to the New York Times and Bloomberg.
Depending on that hourly rate a lot of that extra money gets taken away from you anyway, trying to keep up with that lifestyle. If you’re working 9-9 you don’t have time to cook dinners or exercise or really do anything to keep yourself healthy, so you’ll either be buying take out meals, or home delivery, etc. Probably gain weight, then need a gym membership.
Then you start questioning why you’re living in a larger apartment/house when you barely use the space or nice location you’re paying a premium for…
It all gets fun real fast once you start burning out and can’t keep up the charade anymore.