It’s a new time; it’s a new age.
Gone are the traditions of old, when employees were expected to toil day and night just to secure a shabby paycheck.
No, those days are long gone.
Rather, it’s a new era now. Workers have their own rights, and there are certain laws in place to make sure that they get the compensation they deserve. And for the record, nobody’s gonna be able to stop that revolution from going on.
Not even the co-founder and executive chairman of the Alibaba Group himself.
Criticism
Over in China, Jack Ma’s getting criticised. Badly.
Why? Well apparently, the criticism came after he said that workers in Alibaba will need to put in 72-hour work weeks to even be considered for the job.
Lest you haven’t latched on, that’s twelve hours a day, six days a week.
Indeed, according to Bloomberg, Ma said at an internal meeting that workers who hope to make it at Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. will need to commit 12 hours a day, with one day off a week.
On the other hand, people who crave for a typical eight-hour office lifestyle, according to a post on Alibaba’s official Weibo account, are not needed.
Ma’s statement is perceived as support for the tech industry’s infamous 996 work culture: 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., six days a week.
“To be able to work 996 is a huge bliss,” China’s richest man said.
“If you want to join Alibaba, you need to be prepared to work 12 hours a day, otherwise why even bother joining.”
What criticisms, exactly?
The average layman might not be aware of it, but apparently, China’s tech industry is filled with stories of workers passing young from overwork. Indeed, it’s little wonder why Ma’s comments drew flak, considering how overtime work culture’s slowly being seen as a clear violation of workers’ rights.
One commenter on Weibo, in particular, was stoic in his stand against Ma’s demands.
“A load of nonsense, and didn’t even mention whether the company provides overtime compensation for a 996 schedule.”
“I hope people can stick more to the law, and not to their own reasoning.”
“We work 996 because we’re exploited without overtime compensation,” another comment said.
“The bosses do 996 because they’re working for themselves and their wealth is growing.”
Also, exploitative work culture has been a scrutinized aspect in recent times. In March, under the banner 996.ICU, programmers in China protested on the online code-sharing community Github, condemning exploitative work conditions.
“By following the ’996’ work schedule, you are risking yourself getting into the ICU [Intensive Care Unit],” a description reads on the “996.ICU” project page.
According to Mothership, Alibaba representatives have yet to get back to Bloomberg’s request for comment.
Though I just wanna know;
What about you?
Do you advocate Jack Ma’s policy?
Tell us in the comments section!
Here’s a simplified summary of the South Korea martial law that even a 5-year-old would understand:
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