Last week, Wired reported a troubling trend among AI startups: the rise of the “996” work schedule. Named for its grueling hours—9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week—996 was popularized by Alibaba founder Jack Ma and later condemned as “modern slavery.” Yet, fearing they’ll fall behind their Chinese rivals, some AI companies are adopting this punishing routine.
Does 996 actually boost productivity? In the short term, perhaps. But research consistently shows that extreme work schedules hurt long-term performance. The Kansas Journal of Medicine published a 2021 study linking high worker stress to lower organizational productivity. In other words, pushing employees to the brink may yield a temporary spike in output—but it ultimately backfires.
Ironically, just two years ago, U.S. tech workers were embracing “quiet quitting,” working fewer hours to protect their mental health. Now, the AI race has flipped the script. But if founders think mimicking China’s overwork culture is the key to winning, they’re betting on the wrong strategy.
Even in China, the tide has turned against 996. In 2021, the country’s supreme court moved to regulate excessive work hours after several high-profile deaths of tech workers, including two employees at e-commerce giant Pinduoduo. The tragedies sparked a nationwide reckoning over the human cost of nonstop labor.
So, what’s the smarter approach? Counterintuitively, it may be to reduce hours instead of increasing them.
Just last week, the largest study of a four-day workweek concluded, spanning 141 companies and nearly 3,000 employees across the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Ireland. After six months, the results were striking: workers reported higher well-being, companies saw no loss in productivity, and 90% of participants chose to make the shorter week permanent.
Momentum is building in the U.S. as well. New York State Assemblywoman Phara Souffrant Forrest recently introduced legislation to pilot a four-day workweek for state employees and provide tax incentives to private companies that follow suit. “Studies from around the world show that a shorter workweek increases productivity, reduces absenteeism, and improves morale,” Forrest says.
The lesson for AI startups is clear: the path to sustainable productivity isn’t longer hours—it’s smarter hours. After all, wasn’t the promise of AI to free up human time, not consume more of it?