LLM summary:
Qu Jing, the head of public relations at Baidu, faced backlash for promoting China’s intense work culture in videos posted on Douyin. She refused to take responsibility for staff well-being and demanded constant availability. Qu later apologized for her remarks, acknowledging the criticism and promising to learn from her mistakes. The incident highlighted China’s 996 work culture, with tech employees working long hours, and sparked discussions about modern work conditions. The PR crisis also raised questions about Qu’s professionalism and her understanding of corporate values.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The head of public relations at China’s biggest search engine, Baidu, has apologised after creating her own PR crisis with a series of videos glorifying the country’s work-till-you-drop culture.
Qu Jing, who is also vice-president at the company, said she would not take responsibility for her staff’s wellbeing “as I’m not your mother” in the videos posted over the May bank holiday on Douyin, the most popular short-video app in China.
She later threatened employees who dared to question her management style, saying: “I can make it impossible for you to find a job in this industry with just a short essay.”
She added that Baidu had not approved the posts before she sent them and admitted the videos had caused “misunderstandings of the company’s values and corporate culture”, even though she originally intended them to “do a good job”.
Jack Ma, a co-founder of the e-commerce group Alibaba, drew ire in 2019 for calling this culture a “blessing”, even though it violates Chinese employment law and has been the subject of online protests.
Chinese IT companies have long had a reputation for expecting employees to work overtime, including reimbursing taxis for those who stay late.
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