Like hundreds of millions of workers in China, Hao Zeyu, an algorithm engineer at an electric vehicle manufacturer, will have five days off this week due to the international Labor Day holiday. But he’s not in the mood to party.
To take a vacation, Hao is required to work an extra day each weekend, immediately before and after his break.
To make matters worse, two of the official vacation days fall on Saturday and Sunday. This means that only one of those five days counts as a genuine holiday.
The practice of moving workdays to weekends to create longer vacations during major Chinese holidays is known as “tiaoxiu” or adjusted rest.
Introduced in 1999 to stimulate consumer spending following the Asian financial crisis, the practice has been the subject of much anger online in the weeks leading up to this year’s May Day holiday.
“I really don’t like it,” Hao told CNN. “I think this policy was intended to promote consumption at a certain stage in the country’s development, but I no longer support it,” he added.
Why has a decades-old policy caused so much disruption in a country whose Communist Party leadership annually pays homage to International Workers’ Day?
Workers say the post-Covid recession in the world‘s second-largest economy has heightened fears of losing their jobs if they dare to ask for additional leave on top of the officially sanctioned holidays – which they previously felt comfortable taking.
The Chinese public still says they are being asked to work harder than ever because their employers are trying to do more with fewer resources as the economic slowdown – a housing crisis, declining foreign investment and tepid consumption – takes hold. deepens.
‘Trending topic’
In recent weeks, complaints about this year’s May Day leave arrangements have exploded on Chinese social media.
Many have criticized the government for prioritizing business over something they desperately need, which represents a real disruption.
People have been voicing their frustration under the hashtags “you shouldn’t pretend you don’t hear voices that oppose tiaoxiu policy” and “tiaoxiu policy for May Day,” which have collectively attracted more than 560 million views.
One user wrote that the online discussion was not just a political debate, but an embodiment of the “physical and mental exhaustion caused by crazy overtime.”
“What we crave is an effective, urgently needed break from overwork,” the person added.
Another internet user wrote on the social network Weibo that “[os trabalhadores] they want more holidays, without changing things to get those long holidays”.
“Who will want to spend money if they don’t have a vacation? [de verdade]?”, he wrote.
To make matters worse, “orchestrated” vacations often result in a scramble for hard-to-get train tickets, inflated hotel deals and chaos at popular tourist spots, Hao told CNN.
Labor Day is not the only holiday to have its rest policy adjusted.
Authorities also change work days around the Spring Festival, celebrated in January or February; and National Day, which takes place on October 1st, to create seven-day intervals known as “Golden Weeks”.
Working more
Christian Yao, a professor at the University of Wellington, said China’s economy is “in the midst of very turbulent years” as it struggles to transform itself from an industrial powerhouse into a knowledge-based economy.
Yao said workers are starting to question where the country is headed.
The slowdown in the economy, in turn, put pressure on companies to improve their productivity and, at the same time, reduce costs.
“Workers are forced to work longer, afraid of losing jobs and, at the same time, afraid of not finding another job that offers them better wages,” he said.
While some workers are accustomed to working long hours under China’s “996” work culture, the practice of working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week that is common among China’s technology companies, startups and other private companies. country – others are refusing to tolerate the adjusted work policy, Yao said.
Under the policy, China can designate more than 25 days as official holidays. However, without the maneuvers, workers receive 11 days, which is still in line with many other countries.
The United States, for example, offers 11 federal holidays, while the United Kingdom has eight days.
But the problem for Chinese workers is that their paid time off, or annual leave, is just five days a year, which is much less than in many other countries.
When times were good, Chinese companies were more generous in granting these rewarded days off. But it’s a different story during an economic downturn.
Max Teng, a business analyst in the internet industry, told CNN who worked for a foreign company. But the truth is that it wasn’t better, he said.
“If you take a long leave, everyone will have some negative feedback for you. Many people don’t dare to take a vacation even if it is offered,” he said.
Exceptions to the rule
A minority of companies are doing things their own way. Yaer Tuerdi, 26, works in the marketing division of Kentucky Fried Chicken, managed in the country by fast food giant Yum China.
Yum China does not require its employees to work during the two designated “special work days”.
“I like it,” Tuerdi said. “You can organize your vacation freely. If you want to travel, you can take annual leave to make up for the gap. If you don’t want to travel, you can still have two days off at the weekend.”
A movement among independent companies is combating the obsession with excessively long working hours.
Among the most prominent proponents is Pang Dong Lai, a supermarket chain known for its customer service based in the central province of Henan.
In March, its founder and president, Yu Donglai, announced that it was offering 10 days a year of “sad leave” to employees who did not feel well enough to work, the state-run People’s Daily newspaper reported.
“Everyone inevitably feels depressed from time to time, and if they can make that sadness go away, they can feel good again,” Yu said. Managers, she added, cannot reject these leave requests.
He has been one of the rare advocates of work-life balance in a culture that values “swallowing bitterness” or enduring hardship to succeed, and he frequently speaks at business forums to preach his beliefs.
A CNN reached out to the grocery chain to ask about its plans for Labor Day.
As for Teng, he will have to work on May 11th, a Saturday, as part of the standard holiday.
“I feel very depressed because I have to work at least six days in a row,” he said.
This content was originally created in English.
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