Eric Schmidtwho was Google’s main head for a decade in the early 2000s, said during an interview released by the podcast All-In that he does not believe in remote work, in part because he is not helping US technology companies to compete with the relentless work culture From China.
“If you’ll be in technology and win, you will have to make some concessions,” said Schmidt. “Remember, we are competing with the Chinese; the balance between the Chinese’s personal and professional life consists of 996which is from 9am to 9pm, six days a week. ”
read more
Continues after advertising
Schmidt added that homework is especially harmful to young people who can be highly instructed but have little or no experience in the job market.
He said he learned a lot in the early days of his career at Sun Microsystems (where he became CTO) being present in the office and listening to your older co -workers to discuss personally.
“How do you recreate this in this new thing?” He asked about the remote work.
Continues after advertising
A Schmidt spokesman refused to comment on the statements.
12 hours of work, 6 days a week
The working day 996 From China was banned in 2021, but Schmidt insisted on the podcast that all Chinese technology companies still practice it. This kind of obsession with work is also coming to Silicon Valley.
An increasing number of startupsand especially startups of IAin the area of the bay now expects employees to work 72 hours a week, according to the Wired.
Continues after advertising
For some young people fansthe gradual change of the Silicon Valley of nap capsules to sleeping in the office It’s welcome news.
Many young people in their early twenties, created in culture hustle (agitation) inspired by Zuckerberg and famous in the movie A Rede Social, happily renounce the balance between personal and professional life for the success of startupinformed the Wall Street Journal Earlier this month.
A startup of fintech Ramp stated a few days before his data show a peak work on Saturdaysindicating that “996 is real” because “staff based in San Francisco are working more and more on Saturdays.”
Continues after advertising
On the other hand, the change in transactions with corporate cards to restaurants, deliveries and delivery It recorded an increase of 0.4%, which may not be statistically significant.
Criticism of Google for seeking balance at work
Schmidt had already criticized its old company, Google, for its flexible policies about remote work and productivity.
In a talk at Stanford University last year, he said: “Google decided that the balance between personal and professional life, and going home early, and working at home, was more important than winning.”
Continues after advertising
Stanford later deleted the video, and Schmidt back in your comments.
“Eric expressed himself badly about Google and his work hours and regrets his mistake,” said a Schmidt spokesman in a statement to Business Insider.
After implementing liberal work policies at home during the pandemic, Google reduced the remote work And it required some remote employees to come to the office three days a week.
As the IA race intensifies, Sergey Brin Google himself told employees that they work on their Ia Gemini model to work at the “at least” office every day of the week, and added that 60 hours a week was “the ideal productivity point,” informed The New York Times.
Schmidt, during the interview released in the podcast, referred discreetly to the ia and crypto of the White House, David Sackswhile playing that the balance between personal and professional life has its place in at least one line of work.
“I am in favor of balance between personal and professional life, which is why people work for the government,” he said.
2025 Fortune Media IP Limited
