Overworked Chinese employees furious with boss's message from Antarctica holiday: 'If you...'

Sharing how anxiety-inducing the job is, an employee wrote on social media, 'It is 11.59 pm Beijing time. I do not know what time it is in Antarctica, but I know the moment I fall asleep, I will probably get a message from the boss at midnight.' (AI-generated image)

A Chinese education giant is facing a storm of criticism after its founder marked the company’s 32nd anniversary with an internal message sent from Antarctica—while employees say they are drowning in work.

New Oriental's Yu Minhong wrote the letter, drawing inspiration from penguins “surviving winter after winter by relying on each other’s warmth,” and urged staff to remain united and hopeful, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported. “Standing in Antarctica, I saw penguins striving to survive amid snow and ice,” he wrote, adding that the company must continue as a “sower of hope.”

But the message, peppered with references to his personal journey and holiday, did little to address mounting concerns over excessive workloads. According to SCMP,  one employee posted a scathing response titled “A Reply to Yu Minhong” on social media. It read: “Every time the red dot of a message notification flashes, my soul shudders three times. It is 11.59 pm Beijing time. I do not know what time it is in Antarctica, but I know the moment I fall asleep, I will probably get a message from the boss at midnight.”

Another staffer said they had to work late on the anniversary day itself. “Still, seeing you write to us from the icy wilderness did move me. After all, if you can think of us overworked nobodies while in Antarctica, it proves that our performance is truly something you are worried about,” the post added.

The backlash reflects growing discontent among Chinese employees over long hours and denial of basic protections such as social insurance, as some firms cut corners to fund lavish lifestyles. Online outrage was swift. One user wrote: “I really respect bosses like this with their full-on capitalist attitude.” Another quipped: “Once bosses get rich, they just love to emotionally move themselves. It is the 32nd anniversary. Why not give every employee 32,000 yuan (about Rs 4 lakh)?”