British man finds fame in China after revealing gruelling 996 work schedule at tech job
A British man’s social media posts went viral after he revealed his gruelling work schedule at a video game maker in Guangzhou
Jack Forsdike, a Yorkshire local, joined NetEase in Guangzhou in 2022, doing translation work which did not involve overtime. He was transferred to game design in January 2024, and the work load increased in April. He then realised “how difficult it might be” to keep up with the demanding hours, known commonly to run from 9am to 9pm, six days a week. As a system designer for a video gaming unit, he and his team were forced to sometimes work 80-hour weeks to meet deadlines.
“We started work at 10am every day … in April, my standard leaving time must have been after 10pm, sometimes up to midnight,” the 28-year-old said. “There was a period where I [may have] worked three Saturdays in a row.”
Although working overtime was not mandatory, Forsdike said all team members were trying to keep the ball rolling, and that he “didn’t want to let them down … didn’t want to delay the project”.
NetEase did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent during the Chinese Golden Week holidays, when many offices are closed.
In late April, he posted a picture of himself looking worn out on Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu, an Instagram-like platform, and asked rhetorically why he accepted the job. Overtime without pay is common in many Chinese companies, but few expats have publicly discussed their work experiences on Chinese social media.
