- Brutal work routine in the tech industry
- Researchers report milestone in 6G research
- IfW alarmed: too much dependence
- Continental upholds investment in Lithuania
- Sanctions against US companies over Taiwan arms deal
- Hong Kong: supermarkets off-limits for unvaccinated
- Beijing denies laser attack
- Opinion: China benefits from Russian Ukraine invasion
The number 996, which so aptly describes China’s work environment, has long become known in the West as well: Slaving away from nine in the morning until nine in the evening, six days a week. However, testimonials from workers who have gone through this grind are rare. The fear of repression or being fired is far too great.
Fabian Peltsch has managed to speak with a former employee of the Chinese delivery service Meituan about the exploitative everyday work routine in China. It quickly becomes clear that 996 is merely the lower limit in many companies. The workload and psychological pressure have long since become far greater. And some Chinese CEOs seem to be proud of it.
There is also pride in China’s leadership in the 5G mobile communications standard. And while there is still a dispute in Germany about whether Chinese companies such as Huawei should be allowed to build the necessary infrastructure for a 5G network, China is already one step ahead: Researchers have now reached new milestones in the development of 6G.
Our author team in Beijing shows what extremely high data transmission speeds 6G can achieve and what strategic economic and military advantages China could gain from it. A revolution in communications technology is dawning.
I hope you enjoy today’s issue!
Michael Radunski
Feature
Work culture in China: eat and be eaten
At the end of January, Zhang Yifei’s post went viral in China. In it, the 25-year-old Chinese publicly condemned the working conditions at his employer Tencent. “Have you ever considered that it’s a matter of life and death for your employees when you set up such work schedules?” he ranted in an internal company chat group with 600 members.
One of Zhang’s colleagues had previously been praised by management for working more than 20 hours at a stretch, making around 200 changes to a product design. As a result, it was still able to launch as planned. “To reinterpret a gradual death as an honorable motivation might be considered black humor. But any decision-maker who makes such a thing possible is an accomplice,” the programmer, who had been hired only a few months earlier, scoffed and submitted his resignation shortly afterward. His refusal to compromise made Zhang the hero of many overworked Chinese practically overnight.
Many complain about the sometimes inhumane working conditions in China’s tech industry. However, only very few of them dare to take action, let alone resign. On the contrary, there have been repeated tragic deaths in recent years, which can also be traced back to the consequences of overwork.
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