The 996: Is this work trend coming to the UK next?

The world of work has plenty of named trends, from quiet quitting (doing the bare minimum required to perform your job) to sidehustles (hobbies that generate extra cash). The latest one has been dubbed the 996.

Specifically, these digits refer to the practice of working from 9am till 9pm everyday, six days a week. Yes, that’s right: 12 hours a day, totalling 72 a week. The idea is not new, having first originated in China where it drew comparisons with modern slavery, provoked mass protests and was even blamed for a spate of deaths.

One British expat who worked a gruelling 996 schedule shared his experience of the « unbearable » stress of his Guangzhou tech job last year. Jack Forsdike, 28, told the International Business Times that he was fundamentally « relieved » when he got laid off. « We were constantly being pushed to meet impossible deadlines, and even on Sundays, many of my colleagues were still in the office, » he recalled.

There was such an outcry that, in 2021, the Chinese authorities sought to crack down on the practice and issued a stern reminder to companies that 996 work schedules are, in truth, illegal. Chinese labour laws dictate that a standard workday is eight hours, with a maximum working week of 44 hours; anything beyond that requires employers to pay overtime. Historically, such rules were rarely observed or enforced, especially in the tech industry.

But despite China’s attempted U-turn and the clearly horrific consequences of forcing employees to grind as if they were machines, not humans, some parts of America have clearly been inspired. Notably, that paragon of workaholism, Silicon Valley. Those on the ground have noted a rapid rise in the trend, particularly when it comes to startup companies in the AI space. New York venture capitalist Martin Mignot stated on LinkedIn that the 996 has « quietly become the norm across tech ». And in the Wild West that constitutes American employment law, none of this is illegal.

(Helen Coffey, The Independent, 30 September 2025)