Amid Rumors Tencent Will Implement “965” Workweek, Many Employees Haven’t Been Notified or Prefer Flexible Schedule

An employee at Chinese tech giant Tencent said on Monday via domestic career-focused social media platform Maimai that the firm has officially issued a document revealing plans to implement a “965” working schedule (from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., 5 days a week). Under this arrangement, employees will need to apply for overtime work after 7 p.m. if necessary and the overtime hours will influence the evaluation of their leaders’ performance.

According to a report by Southern Plus on November 3, more than one employee from several departments of Tencent said they haven’t yet received such a notice. Another Tencent employee said that the “965” working schedule is unrealistic, as it is too early to go to work at 9:00 a.m. when traffic tends to be most severe. The “1075” working schedule (from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., 5 days a week) is more suitable, according to the employee.

It is reported that most departments of Tencent currently implement a flexible working schedule that doesn’t require employees to sign in and be present during office time, and employees can leave relatively more flexibly. This way, many employees can avoid rush hour in their commute. An employee said that if Tencent implements the “965” working schedule, signing in on time would become necessary, which is a step backwards in their eyes.

SEE ALSO: ByteDance Rumored to Start “1075” Working Schedule

It is worth noting that in October this year, Tencent Administration, a WeChat inquiry platform for Tencent‘s administrative services information, issued a notice saying that dinner for employees would be free from October 18, 2021, while the supper coupons that used to be issued after 20:00 would no longer be available. The remaining supper coupons in employees’ accounts would still be valid. The free dinner policy would be applied in Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Chongqing and Wuhan. This has also been interpreted by some Chinese netizens as “indirectly encouraging leaving work on time.”