 "The unhappy leave: What’s the new policy introduced by a Chinese firm?")
“Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life,” said American singer and actor Dolly Parton.
With an aim to tackle workplace anxiety, Chinese supermarket chain Pang Dong Lai has started offering up to 10 days of ‘unhappy leave’ annually.
And, no manager approval is needed!
Let’s take a closer look.
‘Unhappy leave’
According to the South China Morning Post, Dong Lai announced during China Supermarket Week last month that employees of the retail chain based in Henan province can take up to 10 days of additional leave if they are feeling unhappy.
“Everyone has times when they’re not happy, so if you’re not happy, do not come to work,” Chinese retail tycoon Yu Dong Lai, the founder and chairperson of Pang Dong Lai, told Straits Times.
“This leave cannot be denied by management. Denial is a violation,” Yu said, adding that the new policy will empower employees to determine their own rest time.
He said that the employees will have the freedom to plan when they want to take leave, according to Straits Times.
It should be mentioned here that under the company’s policy, employees are required to work only seven hours a day, have weekends off, and are entitled to 40 days of annual leave, along with five days off during the Lunar New Year, as per Business Standard.
Although it only has 13 stores in Xichang and Xinxiang, Henan province, the retail giant has garnered nationwide attention as “the ceiling of China’s industry” because of its exceptional customer service since 1995.
Impact Shorts
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Impact and challenges
According to the Indian Express, which quoted senior psychologist and executive director Neha Cadabams at Cadabams Hospital as saying, ‘sad leaves’ could help employees address their personal or emotional issues and lead to increased focus and productivity when they return to work.
However, implementing such a policy could also lead to its potential misuse, such as employees engaging in other professional activities, like moonlighting, meaning working an extra job without letting your primary employer know about it.
Thus, Cadabams says the policy requires robust management strategies to handle potential scheduling challenges and ensure the work responsibilities are not compromised.
“It should be implemented in a way that clearly discourages using this time for professional activities outside the primary employment,” the newspaper quoted her as saying.
Toxic work culture in China
The supermarket’s latest ‘sad leave’ policy contrasts with the popular gruelling ‘996’ work culture prevalent at some Chinese firms, where workers toil from 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week.
Low wages, workplace politics, and a prevalent overtime culture have often contributed to negative emotions among employees in China.
According to a 2021 survey on workplace anxiety in China, more than 65 per cent of employees feel tired and unhappy at work.
As per the 2023 survey by dtcj.com. over 90 per cent of employees had invisible overtime, including 60 per cent who experienced it frequently. The poll suggests over 73 per cent of people said they worked overtime to finish their workload.
To protect the workers from unpaid overtime, China is mulling over offering legal protection to employees forced to stay online even after work hours. Last month, Lyu Guoquan, head of the general office of China’s trade union federation, recommended the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) that guidelines and a legal framework be made for “working overtime online.”
Yu Donglai has been vocal in condemning the culture of Chinese bosses advocating for long working hours, according to NDTV, stating, “Making staff work overtime is unethical and an expropriation of other people’s opportunities for growth.”
Work culture in other countries
With advanced technology, global businesses are grappling with the rise of flexible work.
Many countries are tightening how much bosses can contact employees outside of working hours to tackle this.
In the UK, about 3.8 million people did unpaid overtime last year, putting in an average of 7.2 unpaid hours a week, as per the TUC survey published on 23 February. The poll estimates that was equivalent to £7,200 a year of wages going unpaid.
The High Court in Singapore heard a case involving a worker who requested overtime compensation over the legally mandated threshold but was not reimbursed. The court determined that the Employment Act does not preclude an employee from seeking compensation for overtime hours exceeding the stipulated limit, according to HCAMAG.com.
Australia is mulling over the planned legislation, known as the “right to disconnect,” which aims to limit the amount of unpaid overtime for staff.
The country is taking a cue from Belgium and other European countries, which introduced measures in 2022 to prohibit bosses from contacting workers outside of working hours.
According to the World Economic Forum, Belgium granted around 65,000 public sector employees “the right to disconnect” to promote a better work-life balance.
While Europe has taken significant steps to address such work-related issues, the US, the UK, and even India are still lagging.
With inputs from agencies
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