A composite photo comparing tech workers working on the `996` schedule and patients treated in the intensive care unit (ICU) was widely shared on Chinese social media.
Wang Shichang works 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, so busy that he rarely has time to spend with his newlywed wife.
Wang believes that his poor health stems from the so-called `996` schedule, which is implied to be a work schedule from 9am to 9pm six days a week.
This topic has sparked fierce debate on social networks.
Wang disagrees with Ma, and he’s not the only one.
Decades of endless work and excessive overtime have been a common feature of China’s manufacturing industry.
A 2018 survey by China Central Television (CCTV) and the Bureau of Statistics found that Chinese people have an average of 2.27 hours of relaxation per day, less than half the rest time of people in the US
A Chinese office worker takes a nap during his lunch break.
Zhu, a 25-year-old programmer in Shanghai, said that most employees in the company he works for suffer from `flat back syndrome` (the spine loses its natural curve), mainly due to an idle posture.
`Stress at work made my depression much worse and I had to go for treatment,` Wang said, adding that his doctor advised him to manage his work well and get more sleep.
`My wife and I sometimes have to cut our sleep short to do the things we like,` Wang shared.
Twenty Wu, a 23-year-old software developer working for a Chinese e-commerce company, said he faced similar challenges.
Jack Ma, founder of Chinese e-commerce empire Alibaba.
According to Xiang Yuanzhi, editor-in-chief of Internet Economy magazine, one reason why young people working in China’s technology sector feel they are being treated unfairly comes from the gap between expectations and reality.
`Their work is boring and monotonous, focusing only on small parts of a huge programming project,` he said.
Of the 40 Chinese tech workers CNN reached out to, very few sought help from consulting and employee support services, which not many Chinese tech companies offer.
Even companies with employee assistance programs maintain a hotline that simply listens to employee complaints without any useful advice.
China’s disregard for mental health means many workers never express their emotions or seek help.
Wang was not so lucky.