Silicon Valley embraces ‘996’ work culture amid AI boom

The traditional nine-to-five workday may still define mainstream employment, but in Silicon Valley’s AI gold rush, a much more intense schedule is gaining popularity: the “996” workday.

The term, borrowed from China’s tech industry, describes a 9am to 9pm workday, six days a week. Although China’s courts banned mandatory 72-hour workweeks in 2021, the idea has recently gained attention in California’s tech community, where employees are openly discussing it on platforms like X and LinkedIn.

Evidence of the trend remains anecdotal, but signs are emerging. Job listings from some AI-focused organisations have flagged 70-hour weeks as part of the role. Executives have reportedly asked prospective hires if they are willing to adopt such schedules. Meanwhile, fintech start-up Ramp observed a notable rise in corporate card transactions on Saturdays in San Francisco during the first half of 2025, which it attributed to increased weekend work.

Historians and sociologists suggest this push towards “996” reflects long-standing elements of Silicon Valley’s culture. “It’s a high-octane version of something that has been around in the tech industry for a while,” said Margaret O’Mara, Professor at the University of Washington and author of The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America. Since the semiconductor boom of the 1960s, she added, organisations have projected a relaxed exterior while sustaining demanding work cultures.

Carolyn Chen, Sociologist at the University of California, Berkeley, described the phenomenon as part of Silicon Valley’s DNA. She said, “There’s a strain of heroic masculine culture that enforces the expectation that people should be working all the time.”

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For employees with caregiving duties and other responsibilities, such expectations may create barriers to entry and further entrench the industry’s lack of diversity. But for those able and willing to participate, the potential rewards remain considerable, particularly as AI investment reaches unprecedented levels.

The rise of “996” also coincides with a shift in employee sentiment. After years of layoffs, rising interest rates, and reduced perks, Silicon Valley’s reputation for generous benefits has waned. Elon Musk’s much-publicised “extremely hardcore” approach to work is increasingly aligned with the prevailing tone across the industry.

The Silicon Valley of 2025 and 2025 have “a different set of priorities,” O’Mara observed, reported The New York Times.