On 13 July, Chinese e-commerce giant JD Group announced that they will be increasing their employees’ annual salary by an average of 14% over the next two years. By 1 July 2023, employees will receive an extra two months salary on top of the previous 14 months. This will make their total annual income, including bonuses, equivalent to 16 months of their yearly rate.
The hashtag “#JD announced that they will give employees an extra two months salary” (#京东宣布全员涨薪两个月) hit 350 million views on Weibo.
Many netizens responded jokingly:
“How can I inform my boss about this news?”
“I want to tag my boss.”
“I’m so jealous of JD’s employees.”
JD.com’s ’16 month salary’ aims to attract talented workers and incentivise current employees. Indeed, JD Group was the only e-commerce company to make Forbes China’s top 10 “Best Employers” list last month.
A growing number of tech giants are addressing their work culture. In recent months, Tencent, Kuaishou, and ByteDance have all announced changes to their working schedules.
These moves come as young people are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the heavy burdens from work and social pressures. These often come to a head on social media platforms, such as Weibo, as young workers complain about long hours, working conditions, and pay. The death of an employee at social commerce platform Pinduoduo earlier this year kicked up a storm online as netizens criticised the overtime expectations at China’s internet companies.
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