Ex-TikTok Employee Criticizes ‘996’ Workplace Culture

A previous TikTok worker has criticized the social media firm’s workplace culture—claiming that managers would stress personnel to get the job done extended hours and weekends in a nod to China’s “996” lifestyle.

Pabel Martinez, a former world wide account director at TikTok, advised Enterprise Insider that professionals at the Culver City-based company—which is owned by Chinese guardian company ByteDance—would encourage workforce to operate into the night and ask them to attend meetings during the weekend.

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“I do imagine that the lifestyle of working as well much or not getting as a great deal of the work-life balance does permeate during the organization, and it is normally encouraged you do the job ‘after hours’,” Martinez reported. “The 996 policy’s infamous.”

The “996 policy” in concern stems from China, where firms are recognized to demand that staff members get the job done from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 6 times a week. While ByteDance has reportedly created attempts to counteract that lifestyle, Martinez stated he and other colleagues have been pressured to show up at weekend meetings—and that when he objected, he was advised by a manager: “That’s not how we do business enterprise listed here.”

“I was created to feel like I was under no circumstances doing more than enough,” Martinez told Small business Insider. “At TikTok, no discussion started off with ‘How are you?’ It was like, ‘How’s the profits? What are we executing to generate a lot more development?’”

Representatives for TikTok declined a ask for for remark by dot.LA.