The 996 Machine

Senhu Wang unveils how managers have quietly normalised relentless overwork within China's tech giants and how this same strategy is now spreading globally. From the open-plan offices of Shenzhen to remote teams worldwide, this book exposes the subtle tactics that transform ambition into exhaustion: unattainable goals masked as passion, constant surveillance disguised as collaboration, and the glorification of work as a moral virtue. Drawing on years of fieldwork, interviews, and four major theoretical frameworks, it reveals how macro-level forces shape daily realities through the often-overlooked middle layer of management. The chapters offer a detailed roadmap of the hidden mechanisms that keep knowledge workers tied to their screens long after official hours, while also providing practical insights into where meaningful resistance can emerge. Essential reading for scholars in the sociology of work, management studies, and labour in the digital age, this book will also resonate with policymakers, HR leaders, union organisers, and burned-out employees seeking the first comprehensive explanation of how overwork has endured despite laws, campaigns, and technological "solutions" and, most importantly, what it will truly take to end it.