Bankers Puzzled Over Complaints About 996 Work Culture
While the 996 work culture debate rages on, some bankers are wondering what the fuss is about. Perhaps, they are missing the point that tech staff is in huge demand by both financial and technology firms.
As the debate rages on the Internet regarding the 996 culture at most tech firms in China, bankers are wondering what the complaint is about. A blogger, who works in a Chinese bank has commented that the 996 work culture - work that starts at 9am and ends at 9pm, six days a week is common at many positions within banking. This is accompanied by a «miserable» starting pay 0f about 3,000 yuan, he said.
«A lot of people think that a bank's operational hours are from 9 am to 4.30 pm, and feel that banking staff are so fortunate. However, not many people realize that this is the front-office work. In the morning, we have to wait for the deposits to come in and have morning meetings. In the evenings, we have to do settlements and attend night courses. A portion of these jobs require working 12 hours daily,» said the blogger on «wemedia» (in Mandarin).
Online Debates
In China, the laws limit work to 44 hours a week and require overtime pay for anything above that. However, many firms in China's booming tech sector are not abiding by these rules.
This has prompted debates online recently: technology workers in China are actively posting on a discussion group called 996.ICU on code-sharing platform GitHub, drawing an inference that people working such long hours could end up in a hospital intensive care unit with burnout.
Bankers Puzzled, But Tech Staff Aren't
According to 2018 data from Wall Street Oasis (WSO), average working hours at banks ranged from 60 hours to 85 hours a week. Major banks such as Credit Suisse and UBS see average workweek at around 75 hours, according to career portal «efinancial careers», which cited 2018 WSO figures. This works out to be 12.5 hours a day if spread over 6 days.
Unlike bankers, technology staff these days are in high demand by both banks and technology firms, providing them a choice of where to work. Not all are convinced that the hourly rate at banks is on par with technology firms, or that the upside is better. Although many banks are spending big on technology, they do not necessarily translate to higher wages for internal staff.
«In a tech company, the bosses understand project life cycles and manage project time frames better for the team, so the per-hour rates (versus banks) could work out better. Plus there are stock options,» said a solutions architect at an Asian technology firm, who spoke to finews.asia.
Alibaba Group's Founder Chipped In
Alibaba Group founder and billionaire Jack Ma on Sunday made new comments in response to the ongoing debate of the 996 work culture on Sunday, this time calling enforced long hours «unsustainable». While his comment appears to contradict earlier remarks last Thursday that working over time could be a «huge blessing» for young workers, he meant that workers should be motivated by the passion.
«If you find a job you like, the 996 problem does not exist; if you’re not passionate about it, every minute of going to work is a torment,» Ma said in a post on his Weibo account on Sunday, as reported by «South China Morning Post».
