996 Written on September 04, 2025 --- “Amazing salary, hackerhouse in SF, crazy equity. 996. Our mission is OSS.” — Gregor Zunic “The current vibe is no drinking, no drugs, 9-9-6, […].” — Daksh Gupta “The truth is, China’s really doing ‘007’ now—midnight to midnight, seven days a week […] if you want to build a $10 billion company, you have to work seven days a week.” — Harry Stebbings --- Reflections on the 996 Work Culture Armin Ronacher shares his thoughts on the widely debated 996 work schedule—working 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week. He loves work, including late nights and hacking deeply. However, he values his personal life: his wife, kids, contemplative walks, good coffee, and meaningful conversations which would not be possible under such intense work schedules. He emphasizes that building a company is a marathon, not a sprint. Critique of 996 and Similar Models Particularly for employees at startups, dedicating 72 hours a week to someone else's company is risky and demands thoughtful consideration. Ronacher finds it irresponsible for founders to promote the 996 model. Founders and employees have very different risks and leverage, so applying the same expectations is not fair. Healthy Work Ethic vs. Burnout Intensity and caring about work matter, but not measured by hours spent or physical presence. Productivity and output should be the focus. Burning out on twelve-hour days over six days weekly has no reward—it's unsustainable and should never be normalized or glorified as company culture. All-nighters can be enjoyable when chosen deliberately but lead to unproductive following days if habitual or enforced. Call to Action When such extreme work schedules are promoted, there should be pushback against normalizing them. Healthy work culture respects balance and sustainability. --- Tagged: thoughts --- © 2025 Armin Ronacher Content licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike Contact via mail, bluesky, x, github Sponsor on GitHub Subscribe to the Atom feed