Ho Ai Li - Straits Times Indonesia | October 17, 2011
As many as 300 million Chinese swarmed sandy beaches and charged into the Forbidden City like an invading army two weeks ago to take advantage of the National Day holidays.
Even more people would have been out and about, if not for the fact that many people in China just do not take days off from work.
In fact, 70 percent of some 1,000 office workers polled by the Insight China magazine recently said they do not take annual leave.
One in five has never done so.
Wang Feng, 38, a mid-level manager at a listed company in Qingdao, had to go on a business trip during the public holidays earlier this month. He takes leave only once every three to five years.
"Of course I feel unhappy and there's no compensation," he said. "But the company's culture is like this and everyone's used to it. It can't be changed."
Not that the Chinese are entitled to many days off: China came last out of 39 countries when it comes to paid leave and public holidays in a ranking by the CNN cable news network in August.
There are 11 public holidays in China and at least five days of annual leave, depending on the number of years one has worked.
Someone who has worked a decade is entitled to only 10 days of leave, or 21 days in all, including holidays like Chinese New Year.
In comparison, Brazil and Lithuania lead the world with 41 days, double what the Chinese get. Singapore has it slightly better than China, with 25 days in total, including at least 14 days of annual leave.
The poor take-up rate of annual leave reflects how many Chinese still see days off as a luxury and not a right.
It has also vindicated those opposed to a revamp of China's holiday system in 2008. The move made paid annual leave compulsory and spaced out the public holidays in a bid to ease congestion.
Critics doubted if employers would allow their workers to take the breaks they are entitled to. Like many well-meaning regulations in China, the new holiday policy has been hobbled by feeble enforcement.
"The paid leave system is relatively new and people are still not very aware of it. The labour authorities don't put a lot of emphasis on this," said Zong Jie, 42, co-founder of a human resource firm.
According to labour scholar Liu Erduo of Renmin University, big state-owned enterprises by and large allow annual leave, but private ones tend to slip up as they struggle to keep costs down.
The authorities do not clamp down on offenders as many are small and medium-sized enterprises and may fold because of rising costs, he added.
It is also in the interest of local governments to keep tax-paying firms in their area afloat, he said.
Basically, the idea of work-life balance is still foreign to many Chinese, who are more concerned about earning money than taking holidays, said a 31-year-old Singaporean working in a Chinese firm.
"To them, making money is important,' said the Singaporean, who declined to be named. 'If they don't take their leave, they can redeem it for money."
Many of her colleagues moonlight in their free time, she added.
Still, Zong notes that while employers are supposed to compensate those who do not take their annual leave, this too is poorly policed. Workers also do not think it is a big deal and see it simply as resting fewer days, he added.
The fear of losing one's rice bowl is another reason why many Chinese see applying for absence as a no-no.
Indeed, as Wang Xiaolu, 27, who works in an advertising firm in Beijing, told Insight China, she and her colleagues once went three months without a single day off to rush out a big project.
One day, their boss said those who wanted a break could send him a message. Three did. They got a permanent holiday - the sack - a few days later, Wang told the magazine.
"What can the rest of us do? We can only try to soldier on," she said.
As Professor Liu puts it, renqing or human relations - not rules or contracts - rules in China.
So if the boss asks subordinates to work overtime or forfeit leave, they jolly well do it.
"If the boss is busy trying to meet production deadlines, you can't say anything," he said, adding that refusals may be held against the employees.
Some junior workers do not take leave as they are entitled to just five days, which they would rather keep for emergencies as Chinese firms rarely offer compassionate leave.
Many also find it a hassle to go on overseas holidays, as these can come with much red tape. Some people have to spend days going to and from their hometowns to get the paperwork to go abroad.
But the lack of leisure time may lead to dips in morale and productivity, some workers told The Straits Times.
"People who take leave come back fresher and work better," said the Singaporean. "But this is not acknowledged."
It is common for the Chinese to take naps during office hours but not for them to take days off, she noted.
"How can you tolerate this and not the taking of leave?" she asked.
As Zhen Hua, 30, a researcher at a state organization who gets five days of leave a year, said: "If people are not allowed to take leave, their passion for work will definitely be reduced. It's a right that has to be protected."
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