Alibaba head's remarks spark debate over China working hours

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 online business giant Alibaba that young people should be prepared to work 12-hour days, six days a week have prompted a public debate over work-life balance in the country.

Ma is one of China's richest men and his comments brought both condemnation and support as China's more mature economy enters a period of slower growth and young people look to escape the drudgery their parents often had to endure.

Even the newspaper People's Daily, the ruling Communist Party's mouthpiece, issued an editorial this week, saying mandatory overtime reflects managerial arrogance and was also "impractical and unfair" to workers. Online complaints included blaming long work hours for a lower birth rate.

"Companies' anxiety is understandable, but the way to alleviate anxiety is not making employees work overtime as much as possible," the People's Daily said.

The debate has exposed contradictions in modern Chinese society, where the Communist Party was officially founded on improving conditions for workers and peasants but also calls for huge sacrifices to build a powerful and prosperous nation.

Ma, 54 and with a fortune estimated at around USD 40 billion, has responded to the criticism by saying work should be a joy and also include time for study, reflection and self-improvement.

"Real '996' is not simply working overtime," Ma posted on his Weibo microblog this week, referring to the concept of working from 9 a.m. to 9: p.m., six days out of the week.

"It's not tedious physical work and not related to exploitation."
"The need for skills and creativity is getting higher," said Han. "Asking employees to work too long will cause work quality and employee efficiency to decline."