This is my response to the interviewer regarding the topic of 996 during my first job interview.
I didn't think much about it during the interview; this is a reflection afterward.
When I first heard about 996, an indescribable feeling surged within me. Should I say it was a sense of oppression? Or suffocation? The question "What do I think about 996?" triggered some thoughts in me.
What kind of 996 can I not accept? Is it working continuously six days a week from 9 AM to 9 PM, constantly thinking about work-related matters? For example, if I am fixing company bugs every day from 9 AM to 9 PM, I believe there is no freedom of thought in that. I think I need some time "to read technical books," "to write some journals," "to summarize certain things," and "to work on some personal projects."
What kind of 996 can I accept? My ideal work model is to focus on "battling" during the day, handling business and work issues within the company, and then starting at 6:30 PM, having the freedom to do the things I mentioned above.
In fact, even if the company does not require 996, I would still have another level of 996. Is 996 really a problem? I don't think so; every ambitious and hardworking young person should embrace 996. At least during my university years, I was basically 8107 (except for Saturday afternoons), studying or attending classes in the library. I wouldn't say I played games or watched anime there. I didn't feel it was inappropriate because I could decide how to use that time for learning. I just can't accept having 12 hours in a day dedicated to thinking about work-related matters. I can accept working and studying for 12 hours a day; I just want to have 3 of those hours to decide what I learn.
What I care about the most is that I want to develop in area A (which is technical), but because the company does not utilize that technology, or it is used very little, I have to learn during my time outside of 996. Is it possible to have some freedom in the evenings of 996 to learn the technologies I want to explore? For example, I want to understand Spring and Spring Cloud, or the big data technology stack?