Overview

• New job listings and interviews at tech firms now flag 70-plus-hour workloads, with examples like Rilla stating a 70-hour minimum and Fella & Delilah offering higher pay and equity for volunteers who adopt a 996 schedule.
• Corporate card data from fintech firm Ramp shows a small rise in San Francisco Saturday spending on meals and takeout, suggesting more weekend work.
• High-profile voices have normalized longer hours, with Google’s CEO urging a 60-hour week and former executive Eric Schmidt saying U.S. workers must make tradeoffs to compete with China’s 996 norm.
• Researchers and labor experts warn that extended schedules elevate health risks and can cut productivity, with studies indicating performance drops beyond roughly 55 hours per week.
• Reporting indicates 996 functions largely as an expectation and signaling device rather than a formal policy, even as coverage notes China declared such schedules illegal in 2021.