China's richest man Jack Ma has said young staff members should see 72 hour working weeks as a 'blessing'.
The '996' work schedule , which refers to a 9am to 9pm workday, six days a week, has become the target of
online debate and protests on some coding platforms, where workers have swapped examples of excessive overtime demands at some firms.
Jack Ma, Alibaba Group founder told the company's employees in a speech that the opportunity to work such hours was a "blessing" because other companies didn't get the chance to do so.
The billionaire said he and co-workers regularly worked long hours and said everyone strives for success, a better life and to be respected.
According to an Alibaba chat platform , he said: "I personally think that being able to work 996 is a huge blessing.
"If you don't work 996 when you are young, when can you ever work 996?"
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He added: "In this world, every one of us wants to succeed, we all want a better life, and we all want to be respected. I ask everyone, you don’t have to work hard and time beyond others, how can you achieve the success you want?"
Ma said there are many people who work even longer hours.
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He said he thinks it's a blessing to work so much because there are people who don't have a job, or whose companies are at risk of closing.
Ma said he has never regretted working such long hours and feels he is very lucky.
He said his work life has been his own choice and he has no complaints about it.
