A few years ago, there was a joke circulating in the financial circle – if you want to understand the internal management of a new company, pretend to be an employee in the same office building, borrow fire from the smoking area with people who have the company's work badge, and talk about overtime. They will definitely be like an emotional outlet, telling a lot of news that you can't get through public channels.
At that time, there was no such thing as "involution". Nowadays, some of those new companies have grown into large factories, and many people are suffering from overtime work.
However, with the recent calls for "anti-involution", the hot word among migrant workers has also changed from "forced overtime" to "forced get off work off work." Many people said so directly that they never thought that these two words could be combined.
In fact, not only "workers" have to work overtime, but companies also have to work overtime. Some companies admit frankly that working overtime increases management costs and destroys the healthy working conditions of employees. All in all, it does not increase profits much.
On one side are the "workers" who are desperately trying to "roll up" KPIs for promotion and salary increase, and on the other side are companies that want employees to work wholeheartedly like their bosses. "People want to be quiet but the wind of involution continues." How should the two sides resolve their internal friction?
Employee: You can work overtime, but you have to pay extra
Working overtime is regarded by many job seekers as a corporate culture and has gradually become a part of their lives. This is how Tao Qian worked overtime all the way here.
Four years ago, he joined this digital technology company with a state-owned background. When he first joined the company, Tao Qian was very happy. He felt that companies with state-owned capital investment were different from other "996" large companies and should not have a strong overtime rhythm. But Tao Qian didn't expect that his first weekend after joining the company would be the only full weekend he spent.
"The project has to be launched in a hurry, so we have to speed it up. If there is a bug in the system, I have to respond in time. The server is down, so we have to deploy it urgently." It has become Tao Qian's new habit to carry the computer on his back anytime and anywhere, and to get into work as quickly as possible. "This kind of overtime does not take up too long at a time, but it can also cut my leisure time into pieces."
Although he was very tired, he was unwilling to give up the work. "If our technical team doesn't rush to do it, other teams will take it away, and we won't have a share in the project bonus." Tao Qian was a little helpless. He felt that going to work was just to make money, so why did he give up the work? "We usually say it's too busy, but when the work comes, we don't rush to do it. You can work overtime, but you have to pay extra."
Tao Qian's situation is too common. Yang Yang worked in a large factory. After changing jobs one after another, he finally took up a content quality management position. He said that programmers' overtime work is a professional characteristic, and those of middle management are helpless.
"Working overtime in the middle of the night is commonplace, and after staying up all night, you can still hold an online video conference early the next morning." Yang Yang said that many large factories are now in a period of reducing staff and increasing efficiency. Grassroots managers are the most dangerous group of people, and it is common to optimize an entire business line. If you are lucky, you can manage other departments, but if you are unlucky, you can optimize along with the business line. The efforts you have made to establish the company in the past few years are equal to zero, and the team that you have worked hard to cultivate is also dispersed.
Therefore, Yang Yang desperately wanted to prove that the team he managed was the most efficient and took his team members to "roll" together.
"Try not to work overtime as much as possible, but the output must be more than other groups. I ask team members to arrive early for work and hold a morning meeting to share, and let the colleagues who were the most efficient the day before share their experience of working faster and more." Yang Yang knew that many people behind his back scolded him, saying that his morning meeting was "too busy" and "involved". "I don't want to either, but it's better than everyone being optimized."
Wu Di, who had a bumpy career experience, said something that may resonate with migrant workers – "It's okay to work overtime, but it's not okay to work more than before and earn less than before." Previously, due to the company's bankruptcy, Wu Di began to do odd jobs. He did loan assistance, telemarketing, and delivered express delivery, and now he is running goods.
Enterprise: We also hate "ineffective overtime"
Regarding the "involution" of overtime, companies have management considerations. Some company leaders believe that the industry is developing too fast and competitors are constantly launching new products. If they do not try their best to "roll out" new products, they will be eliminated from the market. Some companies believe that some overtime work is ineffective internal consumption and should not pay for such overtime work.
"Voluntary overtime work, no overtime pay." This is the attitude of Li Lei, CEO of a technology company in Shenzhen.
"I never force overtime. Employees work overtime because their work has not been completed. I give you the task, 8 hours a day, as long as the work is completed. If you like to stay and work overtime, you can stay." Li Lei said.
From a manager's perspective, Li Lei believes that work should be result-oriented and does not agree with employees working overtime ineffectively. He also doesn’t want to pay for inefficient labor.
Li Lei was helpless when talking about a labor arbitration the company had gone through. The company once hired an engineer and reached a consensus that there would be no overtime pay before joining the company. Li Lei also pays attention to the amount of tasks assigned to him every day as much as possible so that he does not need to work overtime.
Li Lei said that for a period of time, the tasks were very light and it was impossible to work overtime, but the engineer often stayed late. Two years later, when he left the company, he kept all the clock-in records and went to labor arbitration. In the end, the company had to pay more than 300,000 yuan.
"That's ridiculous." In Li Lei's view, leaders know employees' work abilities and workloads, and will not give employees tasks that exceed their capabilities or an excessive workload. "If employees are under too much pressure and resist work, it will be detrimental to the long-term development of the company. Employees who stay up late and work overtime every day cannot perform to their due level."
"Why work overtime when you have nothing to do? It's a waste of electricity bills!" Li Lei, who has been a boss for decades, also hopes that his employees will leave early because the property management company will charge double the air conditioning fee after 6 p.m.
But Li Lei admitted that the situation of deliberately working overtime in society is relatively unsolvable. "If you encounter someone who doesn't do anything during working hours and does everything during off-duty hours, I will also give you a warning in time."
"'Involution' is internal friction in the company's internal management." Li Qiang, general manager of Qingxiaolie in the headhunting industry, does not advocate overtime caused by "involution."
Since she is in the human resources industry, Li Qiang has her own understanding of the topic of overtime. She believes that overtime does not mean "involution". "Ineffective overtime is a kind of self-involution, and companies do not like this situation. What companies need is to be proactive, so that both companies and employees will benefit from it." Li Qiang said.
Boss: willing to pay for necessary overtime
Different understandings of "involution" also make many business managers willing to pay for employees' overtime work and are willing to manage this matter according to market rules.
Zhuang Xin serves as the general manager of a technology company, where he is the number one employee.
For him, life is work and work is life. He claims to work more than 12 hours a day. "Entrepreneurship is like this. Not only do you have long working hours and high intensity, but you also face long-standing problems such as lack of money and lack of people. You may not be able to survive if you work overtime now, and you won't be able to survive if you don't work overtime," Zhuang Xin said.
Zhuang Xin believes that employees can freely choose whether to work overtime or not. If they work overtime, they will abide by the corresponding laws and regulations to provide protection. Employees can choose to take time off or receive overtime pay according to actual needs.
Under normal circumstances, he will approve employees' overtime applications. Zhuang Xin, who has a technical background, is very clear about the workload of each employee; at the same time, the collective office environment also allows office colleagues to distinguish whether employees working overtime are really busy or fake.
Zhuangxin will also respect the choice of employees who do not want to work overtime. "Just like mobile phones, some people are accustomed to using Apple, and some are accustomed to using domestic phones. It is similar to overtime work. You can make choices based on personal needs. Our ultimate goal is to get things done." In his view, if employees are unwilling to work overtime, this part of the work can be completed by those who are willing to work overtime and receive equal remuneration.
Su Qi is the production and technical manager of a foreign medical device company. Talking about overtime and "involution", Su Qi believes that this is closely related to the development of the industry. "In our medical device industry, the threshold is high, there are certain technical barriers, and the competitive pressure is relatively low. And in principle, we do not encourage overtime work and hope that employees can complete their work within normal working hours." Su Qi said.
Specifically, as far as Su Qi's company is concerned, overtime work is mostly due to special circumstances, such as factory shipments, foreign colleagues coming to China, etc. In such special circumstances, employees will be arranged to work overtime so that related work can be handled uniformly. Subsequent compensation will be provided to employees through time off, overtime pay, etc.
It is rare for employees to apply for overtime, and Su Qi will judge whether to approve it based on the emergency situation of the work.
As a manager of relevant departments, Su Qi believes that fairness is also involved behind overtime work. Who is allowed to work overtime and who is not allowed to work overtime are also issues that need to be considered and balanced.
"I was responsible for warehouse shipments at my last company. During peak shipping periods, forklift drivers needed to work overtime, but other positions in the warehouse, such as administrators, sorters, etc., do they need to arrange work tasks? Arrange, the company will need to spend a lot of overtime expenses; otherwise, the income gap between employees will be larger, and it will also affect the enthusiasm of employees." Su Qi said.
"The most important thing is to get things done. If you need to work overtime, you will be approved, and if you don't need to work overtime, you will not be encouraged. Employees can't just work, but also have a life." Su Qi believes.
Expert: Don’t use the “involution” approach and “anti-involution”
For enterprises, overtime caused by "involution" is not a good thing. Li Qiang reminded that "involution" overtime sometimes reflects the imbalance of corporate human resources management.
"If an enterprise simply relies on extending working hours to complete tasks, this is a sign of inefficiency." She believes that rational distribution of work tasks and improving employee work skills and efficiency are issues that enterprise managers should continue to think about.
The fundamental reason for the "rollover overtime" that many companies and workers hate is that the involution between companies "rolls over" toward employees. Li Changan, a professor at the School of Public Administration at the University of International Business and Economics, told reporters that "involution" competition among enterprises has led to mutual price reductions among enterprises and the industry as a whole has fallen into a dilemma of inefficient operation. The "involution" competition among enterprises further intensifies the "involution" of internal employees, which then evolves into internal friction among employees.
Li Changan believes that it is necessary to establish a mechanism to prevent "involution" from being transformed into "internal friction" among employees, and to enhance the value and efficiency of employees' labor.
Zhang Chenggang, associate professor at the School of Labor Economics at Capital University of Economics and Business, also said in the media that "anti-involution" is not about simply reducing working hours, but the pursuit of a healthier, more efficient and sustainable way of working. This involves the reshaping of corporate culture to emphasize work quality and efficiency rather than simple time investment.
In the past few years, relevant national ministries and commissions have been paying attention to the issue of protecting workers' rights and interests. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has repeatedly emphasized the need to strictly implement labor laws and regulations and protect workers’ rights to rest and vacations. Strengthen supervision of overtime work, illegal overtime work and other behaviors to maintain a fair and orderly employment environment.
On March 16, the "Special Action Plan to Boost Consumption" issued by the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council proposed that local party committee organizational departments and human resources and social security departments strengthen regular supervision of the implementation of the rest and vacation system in various units. It also clearly mentioned that workers' working hours must not be illegally extended.
With the increased attention from all parties, many companies have recently taken actions to curb "involvement" competition. For example, companies such as DJI have begun to "forbid overtime". Some companies have requested to reduce or even ban the use of slides in work reports, summary planning, and presentations, and instead use other simple and efficient methods that are problem-solving oriented. Some companies have begun to adopt "new rules" such as strictly prohibiting meetings after get off work hours, formalistic overtime work, and managers taking the lead in using digital signboards.
However, Li Changan also reminded that "anti-involution" at the workplace level also lies in breaking down formalism. We must not use "involution-style" methods to "anti-involution" and bring about new formalism. To make "no overtime work" truly become a proactive "no overtime work unless necessary", improving production efficiency and increasing the value of labor is the key.
(At the request of the interviewees, Tao Qian, Yang Yang, Wu Di, Li Lei, Zhuang Xin, and Su Qi are pseudonyms in the article)
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