Working overtime has become a common phenomenon in China. IT companies even have the “996” work style (work from 9 am to 9 pm for 6 days a week). An Internet article provided an analysis of the “China-style overtime.” It said that according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, Chinese workers work on average 2,272 hours a year (or 9.2 hours per day). It listed eight characteristics of this “China-style overtime.”
- Overtime is usually forced though it may be called “voluntary.”
- Overtime usually applies to all employees (and therefore people won’t benefit from it since it is required of everyone).
- Overtime workers’ hours are usually unpaid or insufficiently compensated.
- Overtime in many instances occurs over a long term and is of a high intensity.
- Overtime can just be a formality and the work is not efficient.
- Overtime is a result of management’s lack of capability or low efficiency.
- Overtime sometimes is a vehicle to please the upper management or to suppress subordinates.
- Overtime may morph into a test of an employee’s obedience.
Source: China Digital Times, April 24, 2023
https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/695261.html