In a refreshing move to combat the rat race, leading Chinese companies are saying goodbye to endless overtime. Well-known names like Haier, Midea, and DJI are championing a serious shift in work culture by encouraging their teams to leave on time and truly enjoy life outside work.
At Midea, innovative policies ensure that team leaders avoid unnecessary after-hours meetings while emphasizing the importance of personal time. In a similar vein, DJI now requires its staff to clock out by 9 pm, giving everyone a chance to reset and recharge.
Haier has taken the initiative even further by instituting a mandatory two-day weekend and disallowing Saturday work. Additional measures include limiting overtime on working days to no more than 3 hours—unless special circumstances are pre-approved a week in advance. Even the canteens join the movement by not serving meals on Saturdays!
Experts like Xu Fenghui from the Capital University of Economics and Business and Wang Peng from the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences commend these steps. They note that this approach not only safeguards workers’ rights and well-being, but also promotes fair employment and social justice amid market pressures.
This trend resonates strongly with a new generation that values balance and well-being over endless work hours. With policies like these, the golden days of free evenings and vibrant weekends might just be making a comeback. 😎
Reference(s):
Chinese companies object to 'rat race', stop staff working overtime
cgtn.com
