Charlie Hustle in the AI industry
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Would You Work ‘996’? The Hustle Culture Trend Is Taking Hold in Silicon Valley.
The number combination refers to a work schedule — 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week — that has its origins in China’s hard-charging tech scene.
By Lora Kelley, NYT (Sept. 28, 2025)
The inverse of involution.
Working 9 to 5 is a way to make a living. But in Silicon Valley, amid the competitive artificial intelligence craze, grinding “996” is the way to get ahead. Or at least to signal to those around you that you’re taking work seriously.
The number combo refers to a work schedule — 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week — that has its origins in China’s hard-charging tech scene. In 2021, a Chinese high court barred employers from compelling employees to work 72-hour weeks. But that hasn’t stopped California tech workers from fixating on the approach — and posting about it nonstop in recent weeks on X and LinkedIn.
Judging from what my former students say about their working conditions in China, it doesn't matter what a high court may rule, the impetus to work hard(er) and long(er) is omnipresent.
Selected readings
- "'Involution', 'working man', and 'Versailles literature': memes of embitterment" (12/23/20)
- "Involution, part 2" (12/25/20)
- "Involution, part 3" (1/15/23)
- "'Lying flat' and 'Involution': passive-aggressive resistance" (6/4/21)
- "'Lying flat' and 'Buddha whatever' (part 2)" (6/24/21)
- "The growing supinity of Chinese youth" (7/11/23)
- "WU2WEI2: Do Nothing" (3/10/09)
- "Blindly busy" (8/26/18)
[Thanks to Mark Metcalf]
Bob Ladd said,
September 29, 2025 @ 11:57 am
"it doesn't matter what a high court may rule, the impetus to work hard(er) and long(er) is omnipresent."
As indeed it is in academia in most of the Western world, where legal fictions like a 37-hour work week are omnipresent.
Stephen Goranson said,
September 29, 2025 @ 12:22 pm
Curveball comment. If Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford in 1963 dubbed Pete Rose Charlie Hustle, the hustle part is clear but why Charlie, rather than, say, Joe or Mack…or Pete?
I guess not as white guy nor North Vietnamese.
Maybe because intended as humorous, a hat tip to Charlie Chaplin?
J.W. Brewer said,
September 29, 2025 @ 7:01 pm
There are conflicting stories about exactly why Pete Rose got dubbed Charlie Hustle, but it certainly wasn't because he worked more hours than any other ballplayer did. Nor for that matter does working long hours appear to be the message of Van McCoy's #1 hit song (from 1975) "The Hustle." Today's so-called hustle culture may reflect some semantic drift.
JPL said,
September 29, 2025 @ 11:31 pm
I thought the word 'hustle', used verbally, described the performance of a task in a fast and energetic manner, especially to beat a time constraint, even hurrying. (E.g., contestants in "The Amazing Race" can be said to be hustling.) As a nominal, as in "She sells cosmetics as a side hustle.", it seems to refer to a second way of making money during the time not taken up by one's primary job. Also it can refer to the selling of wares or services, anything to get a buck, on the street by an individual (e.g., in New York City). Amongst other meanings. I don't see how just choosing to work long hours to "get ahead" fits under any of those categories, so why are they using the term "hustle culture" to describe simply "the impetus to work hard(er) and long(er)"? This is the question I want an answer to. The vigorous activity sense applies to Charlie Rose going for an extra base, but I don't see how the term 'hustle' applies to this phenomenon, especially to tech workers mostly sitting at computers. Just "working hard" doesn't qualify for "hustling. I don't think the phenomenon is new, even in the tech industry (posting about it nonstop in recent weeks). Is there a better translation equivalent for whatever Chinese term is being used to refer to the phenomenon? Or better yet, an English term capturing the essence of the recurrent young- male mania for single-mindedness while ignoring other values, which is more than just omnipresent. Maybe a borrowing is called for.
Jerry Packard said,
October 1, 2025 @ 2:35 pm
“There are conflicting stories about exactly why Pete Rose got dubbed Charlie Hustle…”
Watching Pete Rose play baseball was what gave him that attribution in my mind. He had (at some point anyway) more hits than anyone else at least in part due to his aggression and speed, and he was of course famous for his headlong slide into any base, even first.
Stephen Goranson said,
October 1, 2025 @ 3:46 pm
Tech workers today aside, the Pete Rose example, despite a J. Brewer deflection, indicates, as in Benj. Frankin's autobio, work that is hard and showy.
JPL said,
October 1, 2025 @ 5:46 pm
I just noticed that I put "Charlie Rose" instead of "Pete Rose" in my comment above, so it should be "Pete Rose going for an extra base". That is a weird substitution; of course I know the difference between Pete Rose and Charlie Rose, and the image of the latter going for an extra base is not what I intended. It must have been subconsciously borrowed from the "Charlie Hustle" nickname.
Karl Weber said,
October 1, 2025 @ 6:25 pm
The baseball veterans dubbed Peter Rose "Charlie Hustle" in 1963 with the intention of mocking him. They watched him do things like run full-speed to first base after drawing a walk and considered his style a pointless and self-centered display of showmanship.
Mick O said,
October 1, 2025 @ 7:11 pm
In response to JPL, the hustle in the context of hustle culture comes from the fact that its practitioners see themselves as "first movers" — if there is extra work, they hustle to get after it. If there is a client waiting for a call, they are the first to make it. If the boss asks for something by tomorrow morning, they will stay late to make sure it is sent before 1 AM. For me, this is a natural extension of the "side hustle" where, if you're selling something on the sidewalk, you get there first to get the prime location. You peruse TikTok for endless hours to be among the first to identify the next trend that can be the difference between success and failure. To be successful in each of these realms, you always have to be hustling to find the incremental advantage before your fellow strugglers, and that is very, very time-based.
JPL said,
October 1, 2025 @ 8:32 pm
@Mick O:
Sounds good. I can understand how that aspect of the activity is describable as "hustling", at least as a bit of metaphorical extension. (Pete Rose sliding into first base to perusing TikTok) I would still like to know about the meaning of the Chinese term that is used to refer to the trend, if that meaning, or the usage, can be described without using translation.