Qu Jing, as vice president in charge of communications at Baidu, often dubbed China's equivalent to Google, recently incited public fury by posting a series of videos on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, where she spoke about her strict management style and basically promoted what many people consider a toxic workplace.

In one video, she berated an employee for refusing to go on a 50-day business trip. "Why should I consider my employee's family? I'm not her mother-in-law," she commented. Qu also required employees to keep their phones on 24/7 and "always be ready to respond," adding, "I only care about results."

The scandal quickly rose to the top trending spot on social media, sparking widespread netizen debate. Following the public outcry, Qu's videos were removed and the tech exec handed in her resignation. Many (young) Chinese workers are no stranger to grueling hours and relentless pressure. The challenge of building positive employer-employee relations remains a difficult question for many companies to address.

Liu Xin (www.rednet.cn): Nowadays, well-known big corporations are all pushing for closer interaction between senior management and the public. For example, Lei Jun, founder and CEO of Xiaomi, has personally opened car doors for Xiaomi car owners. Apple CEO Tim Cook has visited Chinese Apple stores, taking photos with fans.

It's okay for Qu to portray herself as a strong woman, but her disregard for the reasonable needs of individual employees seemed to border on controlling and subduing the workforce. By asserting that she only cares about results and disregards employees' personal lives, she aimed to drive efficiency and a focus on results. But her statements lack a basic sense of humanity. Baidu's stock price fell following the controversy.

This incident has raised an important question for Chinese companies like Baidu: How to align compassionate values with corporate culture while striving for profits? This includes safeguarding employees' personal interests and showing respect for their individual values. As demonstrated by Qu's case, there is an immediate need to enhance the managerial skills of senior management, with a focus on humanistic care, to foster a supportive workplace environment. 

Li Changan (Global Times): Striving for maximum profits is a shared objective for businesses. A harmonious work environment and strong team relationships are prerequisites for achieving this goal. While it may prove difficult to quantify the direct benefits of such a positive atmosphere, the increased corporate cohesion, employee creativity and sense of belonging, and the productivity and accountability that result from it can enhance corporate profits.

A recent survey on incentive mechanisms revealed that "being recognized, respected and having a sense of belonging" are the primary reasons among professionals to stay with the same company, and are much more valued than factors such as high salaries, generous bonuses and industry stability. 

The same survey also showed that the younger generations place more emphasis on "being respected" than their seniors, with 43.8 percent of respondents born from 1995 to 1999 and 40.3 percent of those born in the 2000s considering "respecting the value of employees" to be the most important factor when looking for a job.

Apathetic employers' disrespect for employees and their reasonable requirements partly results from oversupply in the country's labor market, which makes it possible for employers to be picky. Some show little concern about whether employees choose to stay or leave, often resorting to threats by highlighting the flock of job applicants willing to replace disgruntled staff. Additionally, some exploit the economic pressures of daily life to push their employees to work harder.

Corporations must learn to respect their employees in order to advance and progress together. This means managers should have basic empathy and show their employees they actually do care. BR

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon

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