Imagine you’re deep into a project, racing against a looming deadline. You arrive at the office early to finish the task. At 9 am, your boss walks in and you immediately join your colleagues, chanting in unison, “Qiming branch welcomes Boss Huang! Qiming branch, whether in life or death, we will not fail our work mission.”
Precious minutes slip by as you recite this slogan. Moments later, your boss summons you to his cabin. He asks for an update, and you inform him that there’s a bit left to do, which you will be able to submit soon. Furious, Boss Huang stares at you and gestures toward a jar.
Your heart sinks, as you reach the jar, which has the infamous ‘death chillies’. You have no choice, but to do it. Fighting back tears, you take a bite. As you leave the cabin, you see your senior approach the boss’s cabin. To show respect, you lie on the floor, instead of a ‘hello’ or ‘good morning’.
Though we asked you to ‘imagine’ in the beginning, this is exactly what a normal day in the life of an employee working in one of the companies based in China’s Guangzhou looks like!\
A recent video surfacing on the internet has shed light on the toxic work culture in a company based in Guangzhou. The employees at the Chinese firm are forced to lie on the floor to respect seniors. The company also forced its employees to eat ‘death chillies’ if failed to complete the task. In 2020, a finance company in China’s Chengdu region asked the employees to eat chillies as punishment for poor performance. Two women were reportedly hospitalized after they were forced to eat death chilies at work.
The recent video of employees lying on the floor as a gesture of respect has taken the internet by storm. Reports suggest that the troubling trend has grabbed the attention of local authorities, who have launched an investigation.
The video has garnered a lot of attention and a netizen on X wrote, “It is an act of subordination almost like slaves, or is that how it is practiced in Chinese protocol – from ancient emperors transferred to the modern era?”
“This is how the Chinese want to see the world. Be careful! And Trump is doing his stupid things instead of working as a team with the other countries in his region,” another wrote.
“Humans suffer from King Syndrome. Jesus Christ speaks of this syndrome in one of the Gospels. Those who are lying on the ground do not suffer from the syndrome, but rather they do not have the opportunity to be their majesty,” another X user commented.
(Pic courtesy: Instagram/ iStock)
