How is work life balance in ByteDance in Singapore ?

[myquestionsg]

I recently got an offer in ByteDance in Singapore. I was excited in the beginning but then I read about people working in 996 (9am to 9pm for 6days a week) I am really worried now. I understand that it is in China and the offer I got is in Singapore, it would be great if anyone can give me some insights on work life balance in ByteDance Singapore.

[PNGMK]

Approved but stay on topic and avoid libel. Mod.

[ninox]

I was going to leave this unanswered because it's 5 months ago and OP has likely made their decision, but for the sake of others searching for this topic: 996 is an unofficial minimum for my team. One of my managers explicitly stated during onboarding that the work culture in SG is "not at the same level as China", presumably to assuage these kinds of fears. For my team, this means it is never spoken aloud, but everyone is working minimum 12 hour days and knows it is expected. This situation is created by ensuring people are assigned more work than can be delivered in a reasonable timeframe and asking why things are delayed when impossible deadlines are not met.

Good luck OP if you decided to join, and welcome.

[fonsiescu]

I was going to leave this unanswered because it's 5 months ago and OP has likely made their decision, but for the sake of others searching for this topic: 996 is an unofficial minimum for my team. One of my managers explicitly stated during onboarding that the work culture in SG is "not at the same level as China", presumably to assuage these kinds of fears. For my team, this means it is never spoken aloud, but everyone is working minimum 12 hour days and knows it is expected. This situation is created by ensuring people are assigned more work than can be delivered in a reasonable timeframe and asking why things are delayed when impossible deadlines are not met.

Good luck OP if you decided to join, and welcome.

Wow, did you know before joining? Do they fire those that try to work 8-9 hours?

[Lisafuller]

I was going to leave this unanswered because it's 5 months ago and OP has likely made their decision, but for the sake of others searching for this topic: 996 is an unofficial minimum for my team. One of my managers explicitly stated during onboarding that the work culture in SG is "not at the same level as China", presumably to assuage these kinds of fears. For my team, this means it is never spoken aloud, but everyone is working minimum 12 hour days and knows it is expected. This situation is created by ensuring people are assigned more work than can be delivered in a reasonable timeframe and asking why things are delayed when impossible deadlines are not met.

Good luck OP if you decided to join, and welcome.

Goodness, sounds awful. And very contradictory to the more relaxed approach that most companies are adopting nowadays: encouraging flexible work arrangements and mental health days.

[Lisafuller]

I was going to leave this unanswered because it's 5 months ago and OP has likely made their decision, but for the sake of others searching for this topic: 996 is an unofficial minimum for my team. One of my managers explicitly stated during onboarding that the work culture in SG is "not at the same level as China", presumably to assuage these kinds of fears. For my team, this means it is never spoken aloud, but everyone is working minimum 12 hour days and knows it is expected. This situation is created by ensuring people are assigned more work than can be delivered in a reasonable timeframe and asking why things are delayed when impossible deadlines are not met.

Good luck OP if you decided to join, and welcome.

Wow, did you know before joining? Do they fire those that try to work 8-9 hours?

https://youtu.be/qILMixQYSy4

I watched this video a while back, made by an ex employee who left bytedance after just 4 months at the company. A big reason she cited for leaving was that employees are expected to be on call all day, through apps that micromanage them. They're expected to respond to instant messages, and be ready to hop on calls any time which disrupts the workflow and prevents them from concentrating and getting work done.