Overview

• AI firm Rilla’s job listings explicitly require six-day, 12-hour schedules and provide office meals to support roughly 70-hour workweeks across its 80-member staff.
• Telehealth startup Fella & Delilah has offered a 25% pay increase and doubled equity to employees signing up for 996 hours, yet fewer than 10% accepted the deal.
• Employment compliance experts caution that many of these practices conflict with California and federal labor regulations, exposing startups to potential lawsuits and fines.
• Organizational psychologist Caitlin Collins argues that sustained 9-9-6 schedules undermine innovation by causing burnout, cognitive fatigue and employee disengagement.
• Gen Z workers are pushing back against burnout culture by advocating for flexible, human-centered work models that emphasize wellbeing and work-life balance.