Key Takeaways
- The “996 work culture,” a grueling 72-hour work week (9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 6 days a week), is no longer a distant phenomenon but a measurable trend emerging in the United States, particularly within the San Francisco tech scene.
- Recent data from corporate spending reveals a significant increase in Saturday work activity in 2025, providing quantitative evidence that the 996 schedule is taking hold beyond just a few isolated startups.
- Despite its adoption by companies racing for a competitive edge, a substantial body of research demonstrates that prolonged overwork leads to diminished productivity, burnout, and serious health risks, challenging the “more hours, more output” myth.
- A strong counter-movement, largely championed by the Gen Z workforce, is pushing for healthier work-life integration, with data-backed alternatives like the four-day workweek gaining significant traction and proving to be effective.
In the relentless pursuit of innovation and market dominance, a controversial work schedule once confined to China’s booming tech landscape is quietly taking root in the United States. Known as the “996 work culture,” this demanding schedule entails working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week—a staggering 72-hour commitment. While some leaders champion it as a necessary sacrifice for greatness, a closer examination reveals a complex and concerning trend that pits ambition against well-being. This article delves into the data-backed reality of the 996 effect in the U.S., scrutinizes its impact on productivity, and explores the growing resistance that advocates for a more sustainable future of work.
The Unsettling Rise of the 996 Work Culture in America
The concept of a 72-hour work week is not entirely new, with tales of CEOs burning the midnight oil being a long-standing part of corporate folklore. However, the formalization of this expectation into a named, structured schedule—the 996 work culture—and its adoption by U.S. companies is a recent and startling development. Originally popularized in China, where it sparked widespread debate and government intervention, the 996 model is now being explicitly promoted by some American startups, particularly in the hyper-competitive artificial intelligence sector.
For instance, the AI startup Rilla openly states in its job listings that employees are expected to log over 70 hours a week, framing it as a commitment for those “excited” about the schedule. The company provides all three daily meals, including on Saturdays, to facilitate this intense environment. Similarly, the telehealth company Fella & Delilah offered significant pay and equity boosts to employees willing to adopt the 996 schedule, with a portion of the staff accepting the terms. This shift represents a dramatic swing from the pandemic-era focus on flexibility and burnout prevention, echoing the “extremely hardcore” work ethos championed by figures like Elon Musk.
A Data-Driven Look at the “996 Effect”
What was once anecdotal evidence and social media chatter has now been substantiated by hard data. An analysis of corporate card spending by Ramp, a financial automation platform, provides a quantifiable signature of the 996 trend in San Francisco. By comparing employee transaction data from 2025 to previous years, the study uncovered a distinct and recent surge in work-related activity on Saturdays.
This isn’t just a case of employees catching up on a few emails. The data shows a pronounced increase in spending at restaurants and on food delivery services beginning around noon and continuing through midnight on Saturdays—a pattern that did not exist in 2024 or prior years. This suggests that full workdays, complete with catered team meals, are becoming a weekend norm.
| Key Data Finding | Description |
|---|---|
| Saturday Work Surge | A significant and measurable jump in employee spending on food and delivery from Saturday noon to midnight in 2025. |
| A Recent Phenomenon | This pattern is unique to 2025 and was not observed in data from 2024, 2023, or earlier. |
| San Francisco Centric | The trend is heavily concentrated in the San Francisco Bay Area, with other tech hubs like New York City showing only a minor uptick. |
| Cross-Industry Impact | While prominent in tech, the Saturday activity increase is visible across various sectors in San Francisco, indicating a broader cultural shift. |
As Ara Kharazian, the Ramp economist who conducted the analysis, concluded, “The 996 schedule now has a measurable signature in San Francisco’s spending data. It’s recent, it’s local, and it extends beyond tech”.
The Productivity Paradox: Why More Hours Don’t Mean More Output
The core justification for the 996 culture is that it accelerates innovation and output. However, a wealth of research points to a starkly different reality. The belief that extreme schedules drive success is what organizational psychologist Caitlin Collins calls a “deeply misguided” notion.
“Research consistently shows that extreme schedules don’t fuel productivity; they erode it. Sustained overwork leads to burnout, cognitive fatigue, and disengagement, which directly undermine the creativity and focus AI companies rely on to innovate.” – Caitlin Collins, in Forbes
This is not merely opinion; it is backed by scientific evidence. A 2021 study published in the Kansas Journal of Medicine found a “significant inverse relationship” between worker stress and a firm’s productivity. Other studies have highlighted the severe health consequences of overwork. Research has shown that employees who consistently work more than 11-hour days are significantly more likely to suffer from heart-related issues, and those working over 54 hours a week face a higher risk of karoshi, a Japanese term for “death from overwork”. The very country that originated the 996 term has faced its tragic consequences, with the deaths of overworked employees at companies like Pinduoduo prompting China’s supreme court to declare the practice illegal in 2021.
The Resistance: Gen Z and the Push for a Healthier Future of Work
Even as some companies embrace the 996 model, a powerful counter-current is gaining momentum, largely driven by the next generation of the workforce. Gen Z is increasingly rejecting the “burnout as a badge of honor” mentality and is instead championing a more humane and sustainable approach to work. This generation, predicted to dominate the workforce by 2030, is advocating for clear boundaries, mental health prioritization, and purpose-driven careers.
This resistance is not just about preference; it is about finding a more effective way to work. The most compelling alternative to the 996 grind is the four-day workweek. In one of the largest trials to date, involving nearly 3,000 employees across 141 companies, a six-month experiment with a four-day work week resulted in improved employee well-being with no drop in productivity or revenue. An overwhelming 90% of the participating companies chose to make the four-day schedule permanent. This data-driven success has inspired policy considerations, such as proposed legislation in New York State to pilot the schedule for state employees and offer tax incentives to private employers who adopt it.
Conclusion
The emergence of the 996 work culture in the United States presents a critical inflection point for leaders. While the pressure to compete in a fast-paced global market is undeniable, the data and research strongly suggest that adopting a culture of burnout is a shortsighted and ultimately self-defeating strategy. The evidence points not to longer hours, but to smarter, more engaged, and healthier work practices as the true drivers of long-term innovation and success. The future of work is not a race to the bottom of well-being, but a strategic move towards building resilient, motivated, and highly productive teams. Leaders who recognize this will not only attract and retain top talent but will also build the enduring companies of tomorrow.
