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Some firms now impose mandatory clock-off times, shorter

work

weeks

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Recent changes have stemmed from new EU labour laws

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Chinese government also wants consumers to work less and

spend

more

By Farah Master and Sophie Yu

HONG KONG/BEIJING, April 9 (Reuters) - A handful of

major Chinese companies like home appliance maker Midea

have new badges of honour this year: mandatory

clock-off times for staff and bans on after-hours meetings.

Staff at Midea once toiled till late in the evening, but now

they're told to leave by 6:20 p.m. The company's page on social

media app WeChat even shows a photo of people listening to a

band with a caption that reads: "What do you do after work? It's

after work when life really starts."

In China, this counts as radical corporate messaging, a

sharp contrast to "996" or the practice of working from 9 a.m.

to 9 p.m. six days a week - famously called a "huge blessing" by

Alibaba ( BABA ) co-founder Jack Ma and an integral part of its tech

sector for much of the past 15 years.

Other companies have also made changes, even if not quite as

dramatic. At fellow appliance maker Haier, employees

have celebrated on social media the introduction of a five-day

work week. Workers at DJI, the world's largest drone

manufacturer, have posted about their joy at a new policy

declaring offices must be vacated by 9 p.m.

"No more worrying about missing the last metro, no more

worrying about waking up the wife when I get home," wrote one

DJI worker who said he often used to work past midnight.

Haier and DJI did not respond to requests for comment.

In another sign of how the zeitgeist for China Inc is slowly

changing, a Beijing law firm was fined in March for not taking

corrective measures after it illegally extended staff working

hours - a rare imposition of a penalty by authorities that drew

widespread praise on social media.

But whether these nascent corporate efforts will turn into

winds of change remains to be seen.

Analysts say the mandatory clock-offs seem to have been

prompted by changes to European Union labour laws rather than a

welling up of social pressure within China. And while "996" was

deemed illegal by China's top court in 2021, many people in tech

and finance still work extraordinary long hours. Recent years

have even seen the emergence of a new term "007", referring to

being either at work or on call all day every day.

Significantly, however, China's government is calling for

companies to abide by the country's 44 hour weekly work limit.

A State Council action plan to boost consumer spending

unveiled in March said workers' rights to rest and vacation

should be guaranteed and paid leave should be encouraged. State

media have also run articles making those points.

That fits with Chinese policymakers' desire to see the

world's second-largest economy driven more by consumption and

less reliant on exports - a goal that has only taken on more

urgency with the imposition of additional hefty U.S. tariffs

under President Donald Trump.

Shujin Chen, China economist at Jefferies, says that while

the government is earnest about promoting change, it won't be

easy given how the country's sputtering economic growth and lack

of jobs have fed financial insecurity.

"They want people to like relax more, have more holidays and

consume more," she said. "If you don't have enough income, and

if you hardly keep your job, it's very hard for people to do

that."

A LONG WEEK

China has a long average working week - at 46.1 hours in

2024, according to the International Labour Organisation. That

compares with 38.6 hours in South Korea, 38 hours in the United

States and 36.6 hours in Japan.

Chinese government data puts the number even higher at 49.1

hours in January, up from 46.2 in April 2022, the earliest date

for which data is publicly available. The sharp increase can be

explained by rising job insecurity, spurring people's

willingness to do more overtime.

Before this year, there had been some, albeit rare, pushback

within China against excessive working hours.

Tech workers launched online protests against "996" in 2019

and 2021. And last year, a PR executive at search engine giant

Baidu ( BIDU ) was made to apologise after demanding employees

have their phones on 24 hours a day and be always ready to

respond.

One tech behemoth, social media and gaming firm Tencent ( TCTZF )

, has also cut way back on overtime in at least some of

its units, meaning many workers no longer stay back, two

employees said. Tencent ( TCTZF ) did not reply to a request for comment.

This year's shift to mandatory clock-off times by some

companies stems from the EU's adoption of new rules in December,

said Liu Xingliang, a Beijing-based independent industry

analyst. The rules ban the sale of products made with forced

labour, a definition that encompasses excessive overtime.

"These big companies fear losing overseas orders due to

violations," said Liu, noting that while manufacturers of goods

were feeling pressure from this law, China's internet and

software firms are less likely to be impacted.

Midea formalised its new rules which ban "performative

overtime" in January and employee feedback has "definitely been

very positive," Zhao Lei, vice president of the company's home

air conditioning division, said in a statement.

"We want to focus on generating innovation and creating

value within the eight-hour work day, rather than after," he

said.

Not all employees are completely convinced, however.

"I am not sure the changes are sustainable," said one

employee who declined to be identified for fear of

repercussions.

The employee said he was typically on call 24 hours a day

and has previously been pulled into meetings even when on

vacation.

($1 = 7.2632 Chinese yuan)