You could always choose to work less, but would have less as a result.
These days, that choice is more viable than ever, as the basic level of living supported by even a few hours a week of minimum wage affords you luxuries unimaginable 50 or 100 years ago.
the system is built in a way that you need to run in order to stay still. you cant just "work less" because you will not have stability this way. new slaves using new shiny tools will work more and more and outcompete you in whatever domain you are working. so you will be forced to work more, to learn more in order just to keep your current lifestyle.
without basic morality and gov regulation capitalism would exploit humans like cattle. 996 should be outlawed everywhere
You are correct; however, it should be noted that even the top 1% overworks themselves to some extent (e.g. American CEOs work on average 63h per week). They do it for a different reason, though.
"Throughout human history", approximately 90% of all work was to produce food. More work meant more food, which meant more people could survive.
We don't have to do that anymore. We have enough food for everyone.
Now, we're just being whipped to work harder to produce more profits for the people who already have more than they will ever be able to spend. We're just increasing their dollar-denominated high scores.