At this company, employees must run at least 50 km a month to get their full bonus

A Chinese company's new policy tracks how much their employees run every month (Representational image)

A Chinese company has replaced its annual performance bonus with a monthly rewards system which aims to keep its employees on their toes – quite literally – by measuring the distance they run every month.

According to a report in South China Morning Post, Dongpo Paper company in Guangdong province recently cancelled its year-end bonus system. It has now controversially been replaced by a monthly one where employees are rewarded based on how much they run. The measure is aimed to promote fitness among staffers.

As per the new policy, employees who run 50 km a month get their full monthly bonus. Those who manage 40 km get only 60% of their bonus, while those who run 30 km get 30% of their bonus.

Employees who run 100 km a month get 30% extra on their bonus amount.

And it’s not just running that is allowed in the policy. Dongpo employees can also choose to hike or do speed walking, which could account for 60 and 30 per cent respectively of the total exercise required. The distance they run is tracked via an app installed on employees’ phones.

The new rewards system is the brainchild of Guangdong Dongpo Paper's chairman Lin Zhiyong, who says: “A company can last long when its employees are healthy.”

Lin, who has climbed the Mount Everest twice, wants his 100 odd employees to understand the value of staying fit and healthy. Based on the exercise output so far, “basically, all of them qualify to get the full amount of bonus,” he says.