ByteDance, which owns TikTok, has directed all its employees in China, to end their day by 7 p.m. The Company has made a policy around having shorter working hours. As per the guidelines, the employees are required to start work at 10 a.m. and call it a day by 7 p.m. on all five working days. The employees who wish to work for extended hours will have to take prior approval a day earlier.
As part of the new policy, employees are only allowed to extend their working hours by a maximum of three hours in a day and eight hours in a week. It is also reported that ByteDance employees will be compensated three times their normal wage for overtime.
The Company has taken this decision as a step towards creating a better and stress-free workplace. A few months ago, the Company had also scrapped a policy where employees were only allowed to take two offs within two weeks.
The tech culture in China is very much known for its 996 work ethic, where employees are encouraged to work from 9 in the morning to 9 in the evening, six days a week. The 996 formula is very much appreciated and hailed by big business personalities, including Jack Ma, founder, Alibaba and Richard Liu, founder, JD.com. Earlier this year, the Chinese government outlawed the 996 work concept, as it was leading to major mental-health issues amongst the masses.
