2.5 Days off Every Week in China? Sign Me Up!
If you’ve spent any bit of time online over the last couple of days, chances are you must have heard the rumors about the two-and-a-half day break that’s been making rounds on Chinese social media.
Well, it all started with this announcement from Jiangsu province officials:
The statement reads:
“In order to combine work with leisure while further promoting the consumption potential of residents, companies are encouraged to take off-peak holidays and flexible work schedules, exploring the implementation of "2.5-day break" policies and measures in areas where conditions permit.”
As a result, Jiangsu will take the lead as a national pilot province to test this new policy.
Do note that this two-and-a-half-day policy is based on a 40-hour work week.
Therefore, while employees shall enjoy their Friday afternoon off, the time missed will be planned ahead and made up for during other working days.
After the news broke out, this statement went viral on Weibo.
Many users expressed their support and approval: “As long as I can have more holidays, I’m fine with that,” one user shared.
Some complained about the real root of the problem: working overtime. Indeed, it would be difficult for certain industries and roles to take a full afternoon off work, and would rather improve their current OT situations first.
In addition to Jiangsu, 10 other provinces have issued similar guidelines to encourage an extra afternoon off per week, including Hebei, Jiangxi, Chongqing, Gansu, Liaoning, Anhui, Shaanxi, Guizhou, Fujian, Zhejiang and Guangdong.
Today, the number of annual vacation days (statutory holidays, annual leave and weekends) is far lower in China than that of developed countries, not including overtime work.
How do you feel about this proposed policy?
Are you looking forward to testing it with your own work schedule?
Let us know in the comment section below!
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