Posted on 11/06/2022 3:20:25 PM PST by nickcarraway
A woman in China who quit her job as a new media specialist after being forced to clean the bathroom on her first day has become an internet sensation on mainland social media after sharing her experience.
The woman, surnamed Chen, from Shenzhen, was shocked by what she described as a toxic working culture at her former employer where she worked for two days. On her first day, she was ordered to clean the bathroom with her colleagues for a week, Bailu Video reported.
Chen joined the company in October as part of a new media operation. As a new hire Chen said she wanted to get started as soon as possible in her new role.
However, she was shocked when a company vice-president and other colleagues told her team to clean the bathroom for the next week. Despite being confused and reluctant to do so, Chen followed the order.
“I didn’t know why they did that as it was beyond my scope of duties, so the next day I resigned,” Chen said.
Chen hoped her resignation would end the unfair practices at her former employer, however, she was verbally abused by human resources staff when she asked for her salary.
A screenshot Chen included in an online video about her former workplace showed the HR staffer making personal attacks.
“You were so spoiled and precious, how could you work?” The HR staffer wrote.
Chen asked in reply: “Did my contract stipulate that cleaning was a part of my job?
The HR person retorted: “Except cleaning the bathroom, you really didn’t create any value.”
Chen added: “I curated a story for the company’s social media account and cleaned the bathroom, right?
The HR staffer claimed that the published story was not up to the company’s standards.
The public backlash against the company online was swift after Chen’s story circulated widely.
One commenter wrote: “Excessive demands! I think the company’s purpose was to test the awareness of servility in its employees.”
Another wrote: “My colleagues and I must take turns cleaning the public area in the office, and I thought it was normal. Now I realise that it is wrong.”
Chinese company employees often find themselves being given ridiculous and unreasonable tasks. In April this year, a company in Wuhan, central China, forced its employees to send screenshots of their phone battery status before finishing work for the day.
In 2019, an e-commerce giant asked its staff to provide the company with their social networks, such as information about their family, friends and even classmates.
Rachel Maddow would look good with a scrub brush in hand.
I hope people don’t think America is necessarily better. Between crazy HR policies and crazy COVID policies, and crazy MBAs in leadership, a lot of jobs treat workers like dirt. I’ve seen many actual Subject Matter Experts be dismissed by people in Management who have no idea how to do anything, but have a compulsive need to throw their weight around. So the Subject Matter Expert is told to go do nonsense work that accomplishes nothing. Well, not nothing: it makes Management feel powerful.
Does she scrub her own toilet?
Might have been a test of some sort that’s permitted under their labor laws.
There is hope for fired Twitter employees.
They have child beggars there.
I worked for a company in medical supplies distribution, where the owner who started the company, wouldn’t like the state of the office bathroom, so would clean it himself.
I assure you that afterwards, everyone using that bathroom were very careful using it, and no one questioned the owners’ humility or commitment to the company. I thought it was great leadership.
At the time it was a $200 million company - his sons now run it and its a $multi-billion company.
My point: if they think scrubbing toilets (or the person who does) is beneath them, they might not be a good fit for that organization. A test of how the persin handles a distasteful or unpleasant—but necessary— task.
If it were me, I might be surprised but I’d do it to show team-play, cameraderie, and a willingness to meet a need outside of my immediate purview. If it became a habit—a job I was not hired to do nor part of my duties—then I’d probably quit. I’ve proven I’ll do work beyond my scope. But I’m not settling for a bait-and-switch.
Yes, you beat me to it! 👍
Did they make her eat bat?
I work for a manufacturer of caulk and sealants. One day the VP of operations called me in to his office and asked “who’s the best one around here with a caulk gun?”
I said it was either me or a specific colleague.
He said “it’s you. Go re-caulk the bathroom sinks.”
That’s what you get for being an expert. BTW, I did a great job.
Yes. That's why they had to put nets under the windows of tall buildings.
Agree.
One summer when I was in high school, my summer job was a maid at a Holiday Inn. Had a blast!
I used to tell my boss that he payed me by the hour. I would do whatever he wanted me to do as long as I had a job.
“On her first day, she was ordered to clean the bathroom with her colleagues...”
I love this so much! THIS is totally MY, ‘Leadership Style.’ ;)
Every new Spring season at the Garden Center, I hired a half-dozen or so HS students that were classified as Stock Boys, male or female.
Our very first ‘Corporate Meeting’ of the season was in one of the Rest Rooms.
They’d come in, and find ME cleaning the toilets.
And then I would SHOW THEM how I wanted the toilets, sinks, mirrors and floors cleaned and how to check every few hours (in High Season) if either bathroom needed TP, the trash emptied, more paper towels, air freshener spritzed, etc.
If ANY of them balked, I let them go that day. (Stock Boys are legion; all the HS kids needed cash for dates and car repairs!)
I never ONCE had a Customer Complaint that our bathrooms weren’t up to snuff. And I will carry that to my GRAVE! ;)
If you’re TOO BIG for the SMALL JOBS, you’re TOO SMALL for the BIG JOBS.
In all those years, I had only ONE ‘Karen’ complain, after I fired her kid, that I wasn’t ‘teaching her son what it meant to have a job.’
Whatever, ‘Mom.’ He’s probably STILL living, rent-free, in her basement.
I remember being sent for a bucket of bulkhead remover. Does that count?
Chinese toilets are bad enough to make this a near death experience.
I remember being sent for a bucket of bulkhead remover. Does that count?
My brother worked at a place where they sent a newbie to the hardware store to get elbow grease. The guy at store told him “We don’t have it but we have something just as good” and sold it to him.
Remember the old days for starting in the mail room and working your way up?
Somehow fitting for a media specialist.
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