Microsoft Employees Condemn Jack Ma’s “996” Philosophy – 9am To 9pm & 6 Days A Week

Microsoft employees have just had a new move to protect Chinese technology workers out of the ‘996’ culture given by Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba. They wrote a petition to Microsoft’s web-hosting service to defend the GitHub repository which is now under censorship in China.

According to a report from The Verge on April 22, these employees hoped Microsoft to ensure the GitHub repository of “996.ICU” will be kept uncensored.

For those unknown, the “996” philosophy means 9 am to 9 pm and 6 days per week – the working hours the tech employees in China are following. Of course, they are also opposed to the rigorous schedule. As per the “996.ICU” repository, it is built precisely based on the prototype of the above Chinese philosophy.

The ICU points out that employees who work hard after a long period of time will have the same destiny: see themselves in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) at hospitals.

According to the report, "The "996.ICU" repository was established in March by Chinese tech workers who were protesting extreme overwork."

Many of the local browsers in China have decided to block access to the “996.ICU” repository, such as Alibaba, Qihoo 360, Xiaomi, and Tencent.

Until now, the tech giant Microsoft hasn’t shown any sign that it will block the repository. In the petition, its employees said,

They further said,

In addition, the employees from Microsoft also appeal to tech companies in China to follow local labor laws that require workers to work in only 40 hours per week. These employees said,

Because 996.ICU is saved on GitHub, Microsoft won’t be able to block the repository at a network level while letting the site keep operating. According to the report,

The founder of Alibaba Jack Ma was the one to propose the idea that Chinese employees should work continuously in 12 hours per day for 06 days, equivalent to 72 hours per week. In his blog post, Ma said,