DREAM JOB TURNED NIGHTMARE Mr Forsdike’s deep fascination with China began in his undergraduate days while he was studying for a modern languages degree at the University of Manchester in England. After graduating in 2020, he was determined to go there and eventually landed a role at NetEase in 2022 where he worked as a translator interpreting in meetings and translating documents to English. While the role was not an ideal position for him, it was an entry point into the industry. At first, everything seemed perfect. Mr Forsdike even commented in a post about his new job that he did not have to work overtime and encouraged others to apply for roles at the company. He is fluent in Chinese. At the start of this year, he was given the opportunity that he had always hoped for: A role in the company’s planning department. This position placed him at the core of NetEase’s operations, contributing directly to the development of the video game powerhouse’s mobile games. Soon, though, the dream job began to reveal its darker side. The demanding work culture that came with the role was relentless and Mr Forsdike found himself working long hours and overtime.’996’ WORK CULTURE Before Mr Forsdike officially stepped into his new role at NetEase, the human resources team delivered a blunt reality check to him. He was told that his team operated on a “996” schedule. This notorious work culture, prevalent in many Chinese tech companies, mandates that employees work from 9am to 9pm, six days a week. Such a relentless work schedule has led to many young workers ditching 996 roles to “lie flat” or enjoy a slower pace of life. With a major game release just six months away, Mr Forsdike said that he was warned of needing to “adapt” to the demanding hours. His new manager made an effort to accommodate him since foreigners often found it challenging to keep pace with the rest of the Chinese workers, but Mr Forsdike said that he soon found himself subject to the relentless pace and constant deadlines of the 996 cycle. In an interview with Chinese state-owned English-language online magazine Sixth Tone on Sept 5, Mr Forsdike revealed that there was always an urgent deadline to meet and once, he even worked 20 days straight, often finishing well after 9pm. In his posts on Xiaohongshu, Mr Forsdike also said that he had no time to exercise and would often find himself replying to messages past midnight. “No one ever said to me, you need to come in on Sunday as well. But if I hadn’t, my stuff wasn’t going to get finished. I wasn’t the only one. It was maybe 20 per cent of the overall team,” he added. BEAST OF BURDEN’ Online users responded with a mix of empathy and humour to Mr Forsdike’s plight, with many expressing amusement at his struggle to adapt to the harsh reality of China’s hyper-competitive work culture. One comment went, “A foreigner came to China and became a foreign beast of burden”, referring to him becoming like the Chinese who are subject to tough labour like cows and horses. Another user remarked that even foreigners are unable to withstand the harsh work culture in China, while someone pointed out that Mr Forsdike has finally experienced firsthand what it means to endure a 996 schedule in the country. When the expat announced his resignation in July this year, the contrast between his exhausted state and his newfound freedom sparked a wave of memes. Online users humorously made comparisons between a previous picture he posted of himself as a beleaguered employee where he wrote “my face shape is like a potato” to photos of him enjoying a coffee while sporting a Hawaiian-design shirt. In his interview with media, Mr Forsdike said that he wished to encourage more young people to avoid the 996 lifestyle. “People lose the chance to spend time on their hobbies. They lose the chance to have fun and meet new friends, or even get into a relationship and start a family. “They lose the chance to do so many things in their lives because they feel completely drained by their work.”
Mr Forsdike’s deep fascination with China began in his undergraduate days while he was studying for a modern languages degree at the University of Manchester in England. After graduating in 2020, he was determined to go there and eventually landed a role at NetEase in 2022 where he worked as a translator interpreting in meetings and translating documents to English. While the role was not an ideal position for him, it was an entry point into the industry. At first, everything seemed perfect. Mr Forsdike even commented in a post about his new job that he did not have to work overtime and encouraged others to apply for roles at the company. He is fluent in Chinese. At the start of this year, he was given the opportunity that he had always hoped for: A role in the company’s planning department. This position placed him at the core of NetEase’s operations, contributing directly to the development of the video game powerhouse’s mobile games. Soon, though, the dream job began to reveal its darker side. The demanding work culture that came with the role was relentless and Mr Forsdike found himself working long hours and overtime.’996’ WORK CULTURE Before Mr Forsdike officially stepped into his new role at NetEase, the human resources team delivered a blunt reality check to him. He was told that his team operated on a “996” schedule. This notorious work culture, prevalent in many Chinese tech companies, mandates that employees work from 9am to 9pm, six days a week. Such a relentless work schedule has led to many young workers ditching 996 roles to “lie flat” or enjoy a slower pace of life. With a major game release just six months away, Mr Forsdike said that he was warned of needing to “adapt” to the demanding hours. His new manager made an effort to accommodate him since foreigners often found it challenging to keep pace with the rest of the Chinese workers, but Mr Forsdike said that he soon found himself subject to the relentless pace and constant deadlines of the 996 cycle. In an interview with Chinese state-owned English-language online magazine Sixth Tone on Sept 5, Mr Forsdike revealed that there was always an urgent deadline to meet and once, he even worked 20 days straight, often finishing well after 9pm. In his posts on Xiaohongshu, Mr Forsdike also said that he had no time to exercise and would often find himself replying to messages past midnight. “No one ever said to me, you need to come in on Sunday as well. But if I hadn’t, my stuff wasn’t going to get finished. I wasn’t the only one. It was maybe 20 per cent of the overall team,” he added. BEAST OF BURDEN’ Online users responded with a mix of empathy and humour to Mr Forsdike’s plight, with many expressing amusement at his struggle to adapt to the harsh reality of China’s hyper-competitive work culture. One comment went, “A foreigner came to China and became a foreign beast of burden”, referring to him becoming like the Chinese who are subject to tough labour like cows and horses. Another user remarked that even foreigners are unable to withstand the harsh work culture in China, while someone pointed out that Mr Forsdike has finally experienced firsthand what it means to endure a 996 schedule in the country. When the expat announced his resignation in July this year, the contrast between his exhausted state and his newfound freedom sparked a wave of memes. Online users humorously made comparisons between a previous picture he posted of himself as a beleaguered employee where he wrote “my face shape is like a potato” to photos of him enjoying a coffee while sporting a Hawaiian-design shirt. In his interview with media, Mr Forsdike said that he wished to encourage more young people to avoid the 996 lifestyle. “People lose the chance to spend time on their hobbies. They lose the chance to have fun and meet new friends, or even get into a relationship and start a family. “They lose the chance to do so many things in their lives because they feel completely drained by their work.”
如今各种病都在年轻化，30多岁得糖尿病 心脏病 猝死，拼命是要付出代价的
作为一名打工组，无脑反对这种压榨行为。屁股决定立场，看来这位是老板了。
我和你说，打工的人和所谓的老板，思维是不同的。 老板会说，是我给了你赚钱的机会。 打工会说，是我帮了你赚钱的结果。 不要那么绝对，只要资本不要贪婪，其实对大家都是有益的。
当老板了果然不同，来教育打工人了，我谢谢你啊
主要是资本家太贪婪了。监管部门也对这种歪风邪气不作为。光洗打工人的脑没用的，这是摧残。