Chinese IT Workers Toil 12 Hours a Day, Six Days a Week
"Tormented by Work Until Death" Netizens Outraged
Public outrage has erupted after it was belatedly revealed that a Chinese programmer, who died suddenly after years of heavy workloads, received a "work instruction message" from his company just eight hours after his death. Criticism is also mounting against the Chinese IT industry’s notorious high-intensity work culture known as the “996 work schedule,” a neologism meaning working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week.
Recently, Hong Kong media outlet the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the story of Gao Guanghui, a programmer in his 30s who worked in IT and died suddenly. He passed away in November last year. On the day of his death, he was reportedly feeling unwell but still got up early and went to work. However, he suddenly began convulsing, lost consciousness, and died later that afternoon.
The cause of Gao Guanghui’s death was found to be acute heart failure. Medical staff determined that overwork was a possible cause. Gao’s wife, Ms. Li, told the media, “On the day he died alone, my husband logged into the company’s work system five times,” adding angrily, “Even while he was being treated, his messenger account was added to a new work group chat, and eight hours after he died, he even received an urgent work instruction message.”
Gao was also known to have been under heavy workloads on a daily basis. Ms. Li explained, “Before he died, my husband came home at 9:30 p.m. every weekday,” adding, “This kind of schedule became his everyday routine after he was promoted to team leader in 2021.”
Ms. Li tried to stop him, but Gao refused to take time off, saying, “There is too much work, and I have to work with my team members.” The Chinese IT industry is notorious for its extremely high work intensity. Although Chinese labor law prohibits working more than eight hours a day and 44 hours a week, the 996 work schedule, under which employees work 12 hours a day from 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., six days a week, has spread throughout the IT sector.
As a result, the company where Gao worked is reportedly under investigation by local labor authorities. After hearing the story, online users have posted sharp criticism such as, “How tragic it is that he was tormented by work right up until the end of his life,” and “If a company cannot make a profit without forcing people to work overtime to the point of death, it deserves to go bankrupt.”
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