Holiday - Weekend work?! Sorry?!
What? Sorry? You said what?? We’re working yesterday and today - Saturday and Sunday - as next week is one of the three “Golden Weeks” in China. This one, always in October, is in celebration of the nation’s founding - October 1, sometime in the 1940’s, I forget. Any way… “Why on earth are you working during the weekend??” you may be asking me. That’s a damn good question. And here’s the answer… What I have been told, the government mandates these holidays in order to guarantee migrant laborers time off (as these unsung heroes put in ridiculous hours building buildings, roads, cars, electronics, etc.) , oh, and probably so they can have enough time to go home to their far-flung provinces. They brand these holidays as “Golden Weeks” where you have a full 7 days off in a row. But here’s the catch. It’s a sham, you see… 2 of the days we make up either the weekend before of after (or even some times one weekend day before, the other, after the holiday) - this all depends on when the “magic” day falls. (i.e. October 1, Chinese New Year day, or May 1). THEN, you can take away two more days as these are covered by an actual weekend. So in reality, we’re getting 3 free days. Thanks guys. Example This year, October 1 lands on a Monday. This is an easy example because we just work the Saturday and Sunday before (yesterday and today), and come back to work the following Monday, Oct. 8. Doing the Math! O.k., so, 3 “Golden Week” holidays = 3 days each = 9 total days + New Years Day = 10 total government holidays. That’s average, comparing to other countries. So why do I complain? Because these guys, the brilliant propaganda B.S. artists that they are, brand these holidays as week long breaks. Which is a sham, as I’ve already mentioned above. And boy oh boy… try explaining your customer in the U.S. or anywhere else how these holidays work… Good Luck! “Yeah, so, we’re having a holiday next week. It’s 7 days long, but actually, it’s effectively 3 days because 2 of the days we’re making up during the weekend and 2 of the days are real weekend days. So, it’s not bad, really…” This doesn’t work too well as they won’t be working those 2 weekend days your making up, so they see it as a full week off. I’m rambling - sorry. Concluding this mess It seems that unfortunately, this attempt at promoting mass harmony amongst the masses (I love redundancy) will continue for many years to come. This ridiculous system is… ridiculous. Nobody wants to be at work these days… People are thinking about their holiday plans. They’re not thinking about work. So, efficiencies drop to all-time lows. Just give us the days - 9 consecutive days off (4 of which are weekends)! makes sense! Or, if you must be stingy, give just 5 days (2 of which are weekends) and let people do what they want to do with their vacation. O.k., o.k… I know…. This is supposed to help the migrant laborers.. WAKE UP!
- I’m not a migrant worker, nor are my colleagues. So exempt us from this madness!
- You think these migrant slave drivers actually follow the rules all the time?! My plan wouldn’t make any difference to what is actually happening.
Thoughts?