US, UK founders push for 7-day work week, ignite debate on China's infamous '996' culture

US, UK founders push for 7-day work week, ignite debate on China's infamous '996' culture. (Representational image: Unsplash)

A leading UK startup founder has sparked a debate on workplace intensity, suggesting a "7 days a week" work model is now crucial for European founders to succeed globally. This call has brought into focus China's infamous "996" work culture, with fellow venture capitalists commenting on how the Western tech world has begun to normalise it.

Harry Stebbings, a London-based startup founder, recently declared on LinkedIn that "7 days a week is the required velocity to win right now." He emphasised that "there is no room for slip up" as European companies are "not competing against random company in Germany etc but the best in the world."

Speaking along similar lines, venture capitalist from New York, Martin Mignot, stated on LinkedIn that China's "996" work schedule — 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week — has "quietly become the norm across tech" in the West. He highlighted that "founders are no longer apologising for it."

Mignot shared anecdotes, including a CEO who tells candidates upfront: "We work 996. If you have hobbies that compete with this mission, you're not the right fit." Another founder, he noted, instituted just two weeks of company-wide vacation annually. "We can't afford productivity fragmentation when we're moving this fast," Mignot said quoting the founder. "Half his team works weekends voluntarily."

Mignot attributed this significant shift to several powerful forces. The primary driver, he explained, is artificial intelligence (AI), which he described as a "once-in-a-generation (or once-in-humanity) moment" moving "incredibly fast." The global nature of the opportunity means that "any minute not working on your product is costly," especially with competition now coming from all corners of the world. Additionally, the scarcity of exceptional talent across the tech sector has made maximising productivity from every team member "non-negotiable." The New Yorker also pointed to a "generational element," suggesting this demanding pace is particularly appealing to younger, pre-family individuals.

There were, however, several senior executives and entrepreneurs who disagreed with Mignot and Stebbings.

Alistair Malins, an entrepreneur, told Mignot that he "fundamentally" disagreed with his post.

"Everyone knows that it takes way more than a 9 to 5 commitment to get a business off the ground but 996 is a dangerous precedent to set for employees and working practices. I would prioritise quality over quantity 100 times over and don’t think working longer hours equates to a better outcome for employer or employee," Malins commented. "I hope that any CEO or founder you’ve backed would agree that FaceTime at the office doesn’t make up for a highly motivated, trusted and valued team no matter how long their working hours. You get that through teamwork and leadership not hours on the clock."

Eugenia Carrara, a global executive advisor, wrote, "I find this reflection actually quite sad — and revealing. Luckily, I know truly brilliant minds in the Bay Area who aren’t subscribing to the unsustainable cult of 996. They’re building with awareness, balance, and integrity — and I believe that’s what it will take to truly steward AGI or ASI."

She added that we urgently need clear minds, mature leaders, and spaces where creativity thrives, not just productivity. "The illusion that hours equal output ignores the nonlinear nature of insight. It takes experience, rest, emotional intelligence, and perspective to build technology that uplifts humanity — not just accelerates it," Carrara added. "The question isn't whether we can move faster. It's whether we should — and whether the direction we're sprinting toward is one we’ll actually want to arrive at. Are we taking humanity to its next evolutionary phase — or are we just optimizing the machinery of burnout?"