As the week begins on 10 March, several topics surrounding corporations’ “anti-involution” policies went viral on Chinese social media. Involution (内卷) refers to the fruitless competition and performative working that happens in the toxic environment of “workplace PUA” (职场PUA, PUA stands for ‘pickup artist’, here mostly meaning manipulation to the degree of mind control).
Electrical appliances maker Midea had reportedly enforced a “mandatory logoff” at 6:20 PM every day, as well as a “six don’ts” policy to simplify working, including banning meetings after working hours and performative overtime. On Weibo, the Chinese Twitter equivalent, the topic “Midea is reported to force logoff at 18:20” (#美的被曝强制18点20下班%#) topped the Hot Search list with 7.76 million views.
On the other hand, drone maker DJI had begun to “kick people out” at 9 PM with line managers and human resources asking workers to leave the office in three rounds. The company has now stopped asking people to start at 9 AM sharp but is enforcing that everyone logs off at 9 PM. This is a stark departure from the usual “996” (9 to 9, 6 days a week) work schedule known in the tech sector. The topic “DJI does not mandate 9 AM start time but 9 PM logoff” (#大疆不强制9点上班开始强制9点下班#) also topped the Hot Search list on Weibo with 7.15 million views.
The concept of “anti-involution” has been mentioned in government documents since the beginning of the year and during the “Two Sessions” meetings. Middle and high schools across China are also implementing compulsory two-day weekends. Many believe the “anti-involution” and “anti-workplace PUA” measures in the workplace will help reduce stress on individuals and improve consumer sentiment while requiring more workforce due to lessened overtime, which will benefit the employment market.
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