Brilio.net - Having decent working conditions is important for workers' mental health. Good working conditions include a comfortable environment. Where the company has reasonable working hours, fair salaries, and harmonious relationships with colleagues and superiors. That's what one supermarket in China did. They implement a policy that strives for their employees to be mentally healthy.
Reporting from Firspost.com Pang Dong Lai Supermarket officially announced a policy during the China Supermarket Week event. In his statement, employees of retail chains based in Henan Province can take additional leave of up to 10 days if they feel unhappy. Previously, the company had provided 40 days of leave a year. This policy is also considered to make things easier for workers because they are allowed to take leave without approval from their superiors.
"Everyone has moments when they are unhappy, so if you are unhappy, don't come to work," said the boss of the company, Yu Dong Lai, who is the chairman of Pang Dong Lai. The statement was quoted from Firspost.com on Wednesday (25/6).
Chinese company gives sad leave
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The entrepreneur also said that management should not refuse this leave. If that happens, then management has committed a violation. Of course there are consequences that management will accept.
"This leave cannot be rejected by management. Refusal is a violation," said Yu.
Yu also said that this new policy would allow employees to determine their own rest times. Apart from that, workers also have the freedom to plan whenever they want to take leave.
Apart from 40 days of leave with an additional 10 days, the company also has a policy that employees must work 7 hours a day and have holidays on weekends. They are also given five days off during Chinese New Year.
Although the retail company only has 13 stores in Xinchang and Xinxiang, Henan province, its policies have drawn national attention. They are predicted to be an industry in China. Apart from empowering employees, they are also known for their exceptional customer service since 1995.
For this policy that cares for employees, senior psychologist and executive director Neha Cadabams at Cadabams Hospital then praised it. He said that sad leave can help employees deal with their personal or emotional problems. Apart from that, employees can also increase focus and productivity when returning to work.
The policy has pros and cons
Chinese company gives sad leave
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However, it turns out that implementing this policy can also lead to potential abuse. One of them is employees who are involved in other professional activities, such as working part-time. This is a bad move because it takes on additional work without informing the company.
Therefore, Cadabams said that this policy requires a strong management strategy. This is done to address potential scheduling challenges and ensure work responsibilities are not disrupted.
"This should be implemented in a way that clearly discourages the use of this time for professional activities outside of the primary job," Cadabams said.
Chinese company gives sad leave
freepik.com
In essence, the 'unhappy' additional leave policy is in stark contrast to the work culture prevalent in Chinese companies. The reason is, there are still many workers who have to work from 9 am to 9 pm, and this is done 6 days a week.
This was directly proven through a survey in 2021 which contained anxiety in the workplace in China. As a result, more than 65 percent of employees feel tired and unhappy at work.