China’s youth are rebelling against long hours
The backlash over a series of viral videos says a lot about shifting attitudes
It is a time-honoured tradition for bosses to grumble about the supposed laziness of their underlings. Doing so publicly, however, is rarely wise. China offers no exception to this rule. Earlier this month Qu Jing, the head of communications at Baidu, a local tech giant, took to social media to defend the company’s gruelling culture. The resulting firestorm has highlighted the growing dissatisfaction among China’s young white-collar workers with the punishing hours common in the country.
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This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Clocked off”
Business May 18th 2024
From the May 18th 2024 edition
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