The burned-out Chinese tech workers becoming ‘Buddhist entrepreneurs’ in a bid for work-life balance
- Not everyone working in China’s tough tech industry subscribes to its hectic work schedule, with some deciding to adopt a more relaxed style
- While tech-giant founders such as Kuaishou CEO Su Hua are counted among them, others believe this ‘Buddhist’ approach to the tech business cannot be successful
The long hours and gruelling schedules of the so-called “996” work culture have been the scourge of workers in the Chinese tech industry for many years.
The term, which means working from 9am to 9pm six days a week, has led many white-collar professionals to start self-identifying as “labourers,” or dagong ren – a term commonly used by blue-collar workers.
But not everyone working in the technology industry is subscribing to this hectic work schedule, with some deciding to take the opposite approach in their quest for work-life balance. They have become known as “Buddhist entrepreneurs”.
They include founders of tech giants, such as Su Hua, the CEO of TikTok-like short video app Kuaishou, and Chen Rui, the CEO and chairman of Bilibili, one of China’s most popular video platforms.
So far, however, there has been little agreement about what exactly makes tech workers Buddha-like. The moniker has also been used to deride those who are less inclined to make work their main priority, and by Chinese journalists to describe start-up founders who abandon the often-overheated competition in China’s tech market to develop their products at a slower pace, while maintaining a healthier work-life balance.