Bitter punisher: critics round on Chinese company which makes underperforming workers eat pungent raw melon
- Company spokesperson claims bitter melon regime is reward-and-punishment scheme to which employees agreed
- Staff in China have right to challenge rules they consider inappropriate but rarely do so for fear of losing their jobs
A Chinese company is facing online backlash after it emerged that it was forcing employees who fail to meet performance targets to eat raw bitter melons.
Education and training company, Suzhou Danao Fangchengshi Information Consulting, which is based in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, forced a dozen employees to each eat a whole bitter melon raw as punishment, a video posted online on June 15 by an employee, surnamed Zhong, revealed.
A company spokesperson told the media outlet Baixing Guanzhu that the practice was part of a reward-and-punishment scheme devised – and agreed upon – by the team of employees shown in the video.
“People naturally avoid pain and pursue happiness. If they don’t want to eat bitter melons, they will work hard at their best,” the spokesperson said.
Online reaction in China has been firmly on the side of the employees.
“I literally laughed when I heard it was ‘voluntary’. We live in such a difficult time,” said one person.