However, the "blessing" eventually revealed its darker side. By the late 2010s, stories of burnout, chronic illness, and even sudden deaths among young programmers began to saturate social media. The "996.ICU" movement—a viral GitHub project implying that following 996 leads straight to the Intensive Care Unit—became a rare moment of organized digital protest. Workers argued that they weren't just tired; they were being "involutionary" ( neijuan ), working harder and harder for diminishing returns just to stay in place.
At its peak, 996 was championed by industry leaders like Jack Ma, who famously called it a "huge blessing" for young workers. The logic was simple: in a hyper-competitive global market, sheer volume of labor was the primary advantage. For a generation of workers, the grueling schedule was the ticket to the middle class, offering high salaries and the prestige of building a "New China." However, the "blessing" eventually revealed its darker side
The sociological impact is equally profound. A 72-hour workweek leaves no room for personal development, physical health, or family life. This has directly clashed with the government’s goals of increasing birth rates and domestic consumption; exhausted workers have neither the time to raise children nor the energy to spend their earnings on leisure. Workers argued that they weren't just tired; they