I'm Not Doing 996

Elena Verna argues that the AI industry’s growing celebration of “996” - working 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week - mistakes constant availability for ambition, commitment, and talent. AI may let teams produce more in less time, but companies often respond by increasing expectations rather than reducing work. Routine extreme hours can therefore amount to borrowing from employees’ future health, relationships, and ability to perform, while the company collects the immediate gains. Intense periods may be justified for a launch or emergency, she says, but making permanent sprints the norm suggests poor prioritization, not superior competitiveness.

A 996 culture also excludes parents, caregivers, people with health constraints, and others with meaningful lives outside work, narrowing teams’ experience and talent. Verna describes working at fast-growing Lovable while generally protecting evenings and weekends for her children and personal needs; she says those limits are respected, but recognizes that junior employees may not have the same power to refuse. Companies must make boundaries safe for people at every level, yet workers also need to defend their own time because organizational demands will keep expanding to fill it. Rather than pursue a fixed daily “work-life balance,” she recommends accepting that life has changing seasons: some periods call for greater work focus, while others require more time for family or recovery.