Go read this report about long hours and stressful work conditions at TikTok

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

A harrowing report from The Wall Street Journal gives us a look at what happens behind the scenes at TikTok, with former employees describing long work hours, stress, and a cultural discrepancy between the US and Chinese branches.

Employees at TikTok's Los Angeles-based outfit say they have experienced sleep deprivation due to working late and attending meetings in China. According to the WSJ, some employees need to make more time to finish their work because they spend so much time in meetings. Since Sunday in the US is already Monday in China, many workers report working on the weekends so they can be on par with their colleagues on the other side of the globe.

The WSJ reports that this type of working environment had an impact on employees. A former senior employee said he got out of working after showing proof to his boss that he had a potentially life-threatening condition. She lost weight due to the sleep deprivation and personal life being unbalanced. Chu had to seek marriage therapy because she couldn't spend time with her husband.

Employees at TikTok's China-based operations described an immense amount of pressure to keep up with their colleagues. The company had several teams rushing to finish the same project to push employees to get their jobs done faster, but this led to paranoia about falling behind colleagues, or frustration when their projects never saw the light of day.

CNBC described the same work schedule that the WSJ mentioned in its report last year. The schedule in which employees worked from 9AM to 9PM six days per week was common practice for some companies in China until the Chinese government banned it last year. ByteDance established a 63-hour workweek with 10AM to 7PM workdays five days per week. Many employees say the longer hours remain the expectation, but it's unclear if this schedule is expected outside of China.

The full report from the WSJ on TikTok's work culture and how other workers are affected by it is well worth the read.