全国政协委员指出，当前我国的996问题处于企业失控、监管失序、工会失灵的状态，要改变996工作文化，不是那么简单的事。

 

Members of China's top political advisory¹ body have proposed reinforced and effective supervision² to stop companies overworking their employees.

 

Since 2019, the 996 work culture－which means working from 9 am to 9 pm six days a week, a schedule widely used at tech companies－has sparked public debate, with some industry insiders calling it a "blessing³".

 

The issue of overworking employees is getting worse, said Li Guohua, a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, pointing out that the absence of official supervision and protection by labor⁴ unions has led to the current situation.

 

"Some companies require employees to work more than 380 hours a month－even more than 996, under which 300 working hours a month are required," he said. "More hectic⁵ working schedules are prevailing⁶ in areas including short-video sharing, online education, ride-hailing and e-commerce."

 

Wang Meihua, also a CPPCC National Committee member and deputy chief engineer at Shanghai Construction Group, said that official work hours have also been blurred⁷ at companies that rely on calls or instant messaging services for their business. For such enterprises, some employees are required to remain on standby 24 hours a day.

 

"Missing any calls or not replying to instant messages immediately will be regarded as a breach⁸ of duty "that has led some to lose their jobs, Wang said.

 

Li urged authorities to pay more attention to the problem while enhancing regulations to protect workers' well-being⁹.

 

The problem is complex.

 

On the one hand, authorities have made some headway. In November 2019, the Ministry¹⁰ of Human Resources and Social Security released a labor contract guideline stating that work time is not allowed to exceed eight hours a day or 40 hours a week.

 

Work time can be stretched after negotiations¹¹, but overtime¹² should not exceed one hour a day in general or three hours a day in special circumstances. Further, no more than 36 working hours can be added over a one-month period, according to the guideline.

 

"The nation's high-quality development is an endurance race, driven by the labor force's physical and psychological health," said Lyu Guoquan, also a member of the CPPCC National Committee.

 

"Valuing people and protecting their health is the right way to generate fortunes."

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