Beijing: Chinese e-commerce tycoon Jack Ma has long been an example of how the power of big dreams, strong leadership and sheer elbow grease can create massive fortunes in China’s go-go economy. Yet, recent remarks by the head of Chinese tycoon Alibaba that young people should be prepared to work 12-hour days, six days a week, ‘996’, have prompted a public debate over work-life balance in the country. .
Even the newspaper People’s Daily, the ruling Communist Party’s mouthpiece, in an editorial this week, said mandatory overtime reflects managerial arrogance and was “impractical and unfair” to workers. Online complaints included blaming long work hours for a lower birth rate.
