China

• Despite being against the law, working 72-hour weeks still common
• Aggressive performance targets, low wages, and desire for job security key factors
• Recent drive to tackle '996' partly due to EU Forced Labour Regulation, which includes excessive overtime
• Intense price wars in key industries also seen as factors

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Many Chinese employees are expected to work a 72-hour week under the country’s gruelling “996” culture: 9am to 9pm, six days a week. The work style has been endorsed by some of China’s most successful entrepreneurs, including Alibaba’s founder, Jack Ma. But some critics have described it as labour exploitation, even modern slavery.

For the past few years, the Chinese government has attempted to stamp out “996”, including by outlawing it in 2021. That year, tech giants including TikTok parent company ByteDance and Tencent also tried to halt “996” after a 22-year-old woman at e-commerce firm Pingduoduo reportedly collapsed to her death on her way home from work past midnight.

But intense overtime has remained a common practice in China.

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