TikTok owner ByteDance says employees must not work after 7 PM, aims to improve working culture

ByteDance has become one of the first tech companies in China to officially mandate shorter working hours.

TikTok’s parent company ByteDance has ordered its employees in China to not work beyond 7 PM from Monday to Friday and will require permission to work beyond those hours. The new policy is the latest effort by ByteDance to improve worker welfare. ByteDance has become one of the first tech companies in China to officially mandate shorter working hours. Earlier this year, the tech giant cancelled an alternating system where employees take 1 day off per week every 2 weeks.

As per an online report, authorities in China have stepped up warnings against employers to refrain from unreasonable overtime and other violations, as President Xi Jinping called on the country to work toward common prosperity. The new policy requires employees to apply for work overtime for not more than three hours on a weekday or for eight hours on a weekend, according to an internal document seen by Bloomberg. They will receive extra compensation of up to 3 times their normal wage for the overtime.