Chinese companies are making their employees post ads for them

Workers complain that requiring access to WeChat invades their personal lives

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Commuters with their smartphones in Shanghai. (Picture: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

Karen Chiu

Published: 7:58pm, 30 Apr 2019Updated: 9:03am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Whether it’s Facebook or Twitter, many of us consider social platforms a place to share our curated personal thoughts. In China, though, people are finding it increasingly difficult to keep work from seeping into their private life online.

Workers have been taking to the internet in droves, saying they have been ordered by employers to share company ads with friends in their private WeChat accounts. Some even say their bosses have asked to check their posts to make sure they comply.

WeChat, the app that does everything

Many workers feel like this is a request they can’t refuse, no matter how reluctant.

“If I don’t follow or share [company news], I’ll be labelled as being undevoted to work,” wrote one Weibo user with the trending hashtag #AskedByCompanyToPostInFriendsCircle.

“My previous employer even ran inspections,” another user said. “Those who didn’t post were fined. My current employer is even worse, asking workers to tell friends to share posts as well.”

“It’s not just sharing posts on WeChat but also changing profile pictures,” one popular comment lamented.