OfGuido Santevecchi
Storm in the hi-tech giant Baidu over a case that reveals the ferocity of Mandarin’s “work culture”: “Whoever works here must be available 24 hours a day, the phone is always on, no holidays are asked for, no there are weekends, you work even 50 days in a row, your well-being doesn’t matter, I’m only interested in the results”
FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT IN BEIJING
The person who manages public relations for a company is imagined to be a smiling, expansive and conciliatory person. Here is an excerpt of the thoughts of Qu Jing, Director of Public Relations at Baidu, Chinese Internet services giant: «Whoever works here must be available 24 hours a day, the phone is always on, no holidays are asked for, there are no weekends, you work even 50 days in a row, yours doesn’t count well-being, I’m only interested in results: I’m not your mother.”
These are not rumors spread by rivals or lazy, frustrated employees. Qu Jing, who is also vice president of Baidu, did not limit herself to demanding unconditional dedication from her staff in a closed-door meeting, but she saw fit to communicate it with a series of pedagogical videos on Douyin, the Mandarin TikTok. At the end of the course on good corporate behavior, the kind lady said: «Always keep in mind that one word is enough for me to make you unemployed for life in this industry».
The PR chief’s statement sparked a storm on Chinese social media and in the world of industry. «Those who work for Baidu will never feel part of a family, with managers like this»; «She wanted to pose as an “iron lady” but she didn’t understand that times have changed»; «Really a nice image boost for someone who deals with public relations».
The web debate garnered 150 million views on Weibo. The director and vice-president backtracked, deleted the posts and wrote a new one full of apologies: «I read the criticisms carefully, I found them relevant, I reflected on them and I humbly accept them. I will learn from my mistakes and improve the way I communicate with the staff, I will take more interest in my colleagues.”
Someone observed that in addition to the employees she now calls colleagues, Mrs Qu should also take better care of her children, because in the videos of the scandal she had warned the staff of her department not to use the excuse of paternity or maternity for the lack of absolute dedication to corporate lawsuit: «I am not your mother and I tell you that anyway I don’t even know what grade my son is inbecause I don’t have time outside of work.”
Baidu’s mega-executive should not be considered an evil genius, an exception. China’s entire tech sector lives in a culture of overwork, not only those who want to make a career, but also those who only want to keep their jobs must sacrifice themselves to the extreme. Hi-tech companies have minted the expression «996», which means office hours from 9 in the morning to 9 in the evening for 6 days a week (excluding unforeseen and extraordinary events). And even the friendly Jack Ma, genius founder of Alibaba, intervened in the discussion in 2019, claiming that the “996” practice was “a “big blessing” for the hi-tech sector hungry for continuous innovation that must be cultivated with body and soul (of employees).
Qu Jing with his video-bullying has therefore only brought an everyday reality to the foreground in the Chinese world of work. The public relations disaster cost Baidu a 2% drop in the stock market and in the end the apologies were not enough to save the vice president, who was forced to leave her post.
May 10, 2024 (changed May 10, 2024 | 2:35 pm)
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