{"id":788,"date":"2021-11-08T02:20:00","date_gmt":"2021-11-08T02:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qa.angelink.com\/blog\/?p=788"},"modified":"2023-02-13T23:22:07","modified_gmt":"2023-02-13T23:22:07","slug":"shes-challenging-chinas-996-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qa.angelink.com\/blog\/shes-challenging-chinas-996-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"She&#8217;s Challenging China&#8217;s 996 Culture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-normal-font-size\">Okay, let\u2019s start with the basics: What is China\u2019s 996 culture?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2018996\u2019 is a reference to the expected work schedule in many Chinese tech and internet companies\u2014employees arrive at 9 am and work until 9 pm, 6 days a week.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This all-too-common 72 hour weekly grind breeds intense exhaustion, isolation, and depression for the millions trying to keep up with it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s how one woman is challenging the system and fighting for rights and rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Extreme 996 Work Culture in China\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/l8wWoQ3_F00?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What\u2019s Happening in The Factories?&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Jenny Chan is an associate professor of Sociology at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, a former lecturer at Oxford University, and currently serves as the Vice President of the International Sociological Association\u2019s Research Committee on Labor Movements. (In short, she\u2019s legit.)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a borrowed staff card and worker\u2019s uniform, Dr. Chan went undercover to observe and experience the 996 culture in China\u2019s two largest tech manufacturing companies. She snuck into the factories, interviewed countless workers, and researched for ten years before co-authoring her book <em>Dying For an iPhone<\/em>\u2014a thorough expos\u00e9 on 996.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her <a href=\"https:\/\/scheerpost.com\/2021\/06\/13\/on-contact-hedges-with-jenny-chan-on-dying-for-an-iphone\/\">findings<\/a> were equally enlightening and devastating.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Millions of young and ambitious Chinese people migrate from rural communities to urban hubs where they can earn money for their families by working in factories that supply tech for Fortune 500 companies. Upon arrival, \u201cmany of their dreams are shattered\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>New workers undergo a military-like training&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Factories are crowded, high-pressure environments, with 24-hour production<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>All are expected to work 12 hour shifts, six or seven days a week, year-round<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Working conditions are dangerous, particularly the use and handling of aluminum dust&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They\u2019re housed (8 to a room) in dormitories that neighbor the factories&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Roommates oftentimes do not speak the same dialect, disallowing friendships to form<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Husbands and wives are separated, as dorms as split by gender<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Chan identified overarching trends through her interviews with hundreds of factory workers. One heartbreaking commonality was high rates of suicide. In one <a href=\"http:\/\/www.responsibleglobalvaluechains.org\/images\/PDF\/CHAN_Jenny\/Spring_2021_DISSENT_Chan_w_Levinson.pdf\">interview<\/a>, she shares that many of the factories and adjoining dormitories are lined with anti-suicide nets. \u201cThat tells us that the problems, the pressure, and the hopelessness are still there.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, she simply won\u2019t allow things to stay this way.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>\u201cActivists around the world need to insist on global trade rules that protect worker rights and consumers need to understand that companies are responsible for the conditions under which their products are produced.\u201d<\/p><cite>Dr. Jenny Chan<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Chan is using her book, and the accompanying press opportunities to spread awareness on the haunting realities of the 996 culture\u2014calling it \u201cthe most meaningful project of her life.\u201d Through interviews, podcasts, and articles, she\u2019s starting a movement and inviting us to join:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Change is in The Air&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since Dr. Jenny Chan\u2019s book was published in September 2020, the world is waking up to China\u2019s 996 culture. And the government is responding.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The BBC\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-china-58381538\">recent article<\/a> \u201cChina steps in to regulate brutal &#8216;996&#8217; work culture\u201d informs us that Chinese authorities have begun enforcing labor laws more strictly and holding tech giants accountable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-1 wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/qa.angelink.com\/start-fundraiser\">Start a fundraiser<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Okay, let\u2019s start with the basics: What is China\u2019s 996 culture?&nbsp; \u2018996\u2019 is a reference to the expected work schedule in many Chinese tech and internet companies\u2014employees arrive at 9 am and work until 9 pm, 6 days a week.&nbsp;&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":864,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[27,10,28],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.12 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>She&#039;s Challenging China&#039;s 996 Culture - AngeLink Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Get to know Dr. Jenny Chan, an associate professor of Sociology at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. 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