In June 2024, Southeast Asian cross-border e-commerce giant Shopee and Chinese technology company iFLYTEK successively had sudden employee deaths, which aroused high social concern about overtime culture and employee health.
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01 Event Replay: The Shadow of the Tech Giants
June, for Shopee and iFLYTEK, is not only a month of business development, but also a time to face the test of social responsibility and employee care. A R&D staff of Shopee suddenly felt unwell at work and died after ineffective rescue; An employee of iFLYTEK suddenly felt unwell at home, and his life could not be saved. Both incidents occurred on June 17, but in different locations, Shopee's incident took place at the workplace, while iFLYTEK employees were at home.
On the afternoon of June 17, it was reported that a R&D staff of Shopee, a cross-border e-commerce company, suddenly became unwell during work and unfortunately passed away after rescue efforts. The colleague suddenly became unwell on the afternoon of the 17th, and the company and team colleagues immediately dialed the 120 emergency number to send him to the hospital, but in the end, the rescue was ineffective, and the colleague unfortunately passed away.
The company expressed its deep condolences for this and has set up a special team to cooperate with the family to deal with the aftermath.
Some employees reported that Shopee has worked intensively in recent years, and employees in R&D positions usually need to work overtime until 9-10 o'clock in the evening, and there is no overtime pay. If you work overtime until two or three o'clock in the morning, you can take half a day off the next day. Despite this, employees said that Shopee's working environment is still a little better than that of other internet companies overall.
Shopee is a cross-border e-commerce giant in Southeast Asia, and its parent company, Sea Group, has a high reputation in the global consumer Internet field. Shopee's business covers more than 10 markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, etc., and has offices in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hong Kong and other places in China. In 2023, Shopee's total order volume will reach 8.2 billion.
For a long time, Shopee's internal management and employee welfare issues have attracted much attention. Previously, Shopee had also been questioned due to negative public opinion such as large-scale contract breaking and cancellation of employment contracts.
Also on June 17, at 7 o'clock in the morning, an employee of iFLYTEK Smart City BG (Business Group) suddenly felt unwell at home, and his family called 120 to send him to the hospital.
After iFLYTEK learned the news, BG leaders went to the employees' homes to express their condolences as soon as possible. At the same time, the company has set up a working group to apply for labor union assistance, contact and handle commercial insurance, etc., to assist employees' families in handling related follow-up matters.
On the morning of June 18, the employee's family came to the iFLYTEK campus to express their emotions in grief. Despite the company's best efforts to reassure, it still failed to effectively stabilize the emotions of the family members, which affected the normal operation of the park, and iFLYTEK apologizes.
iFLYTEK mentioned in an internal report that it was rumored that the employee worked overtime until 3 a.m. every day. The company has cooperated with the family to verify that the employee has a normal holiday during the Dragon Boat Festival, and an additional 1 day off, and he did not work overtime on the weekend before the incident, and he was in normal attendance the previous week.
As a well-known technology company at home and abroad, iFLYTEK has in-depth research and product development in the field of artificial intelligence. In a recent interview, Liu Qingfeng, the company's chairman, mentioned the possible impact of artificial intelligence on the future of work.
The two incidents quickly garnered widespread online attention, with discussions about employee health, work intensity, and the overtime culture of tech companies.
02 The double-edged sword of overtime culture
On social media, two incidents quickly became hot spots. Netizens expressed their condolences for the deceased, sympathy for the family, and a heated discussion on the overtime culture.
It has been argued that although both companies have denied a direct link between overtime and sudden death, the intensity of work and the overtime culture are still factors that cannot be ignored.
Some netizens called for tech companies to pay more attention to the health and well-being of their employees to avoid the recurrence of tragedies.
These two incidents are not only a test for the two companies, but also a reflection on the entire social work culture.
Should we re-examine our overtime culture and find the right balance between work and life, health and productivity?
The development of science and technology should not be at the expense of the health of employees, and enterprises should also assume the responsibility of protecting the rights and interests of employees while pursuing benefits.
03 Reflection and Progress: Building a Healthy Work Environment
The unfortunate death of Shopee and iFLYTEK employees is a wake-up call for each of us. While mourning the deceased, we should also think about how to avoid similar incidents and how to strike a balance between protecting the rights and interests of employees and promoting the development of the enterprise.
In the face of these two tragedies, we should not only stop at superficial mourning and discussion, but also think deeply about how to build a healthier and more humane work environment.
Enterprises should systematically ensure employees' rest time, reasonably arrange work intensity, and avoid excessive overtime. At the same time, employees should also improve their awareness of self-protection and arrange work and rest reasonably.
After all, "money is earned, life is lost" is not a business that can be drawn!
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Pay attention to [universality does not exist]
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