Man over the moon after winning 365 days of paid leave in lucky draw at company dinner

A Chinese employee in Shenzhen, Guangdong, won 365 days of paid leave at an annual company dinner on April 9. It was the first company party in three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so the boss wanted to surprise everyone with a lucky draw, reported South China Morning Post. The main goal was to boost the company's morale, so everyone, including their boss, was shocked to watch the lot getting drawn by someone. Song, a staff member, said that "the chance of hitting the jackpot was one in a thousand." The draw consisted of prizes and penalties and 365 days of paid leave for the employees.

Reportedly, an identified employee won the jackpot and was seen holding a massive cheque that details “365 days paid leave” on it. Li, a colleague of the winner, posted the video and said his friend was still clinging to it long after the party. The winner was in a management-level position in the company, and his only question after getting the prize was, “Who is going to do my work?” Lu, the winner, took to Douyin (TikTok) and said that he had worked at the imported food company since he graduated from school 14 years ago and that this was the first time he had won the top prize at the annual party. Lu mentioned that the company offered him to choose between taking the paid 365 days off or receiving an extra yearly payment without taking the vacation.

He said that he had found his job “tiring” in recent years and could use this opportunity to spend some time with his family. Lu has become the center of envy among social media users in China, with some expressing interest in job vacancies at the company. Many have also been discussing if he should encash or enjoy the prize. Some worried that he “might find himself replaced or even out of work after resting for a year." Lu added that he trusted his company and did not fear his good fortune as an excuse to kick him out. "HR gonna step in and be like, 'You cannot use those leaves consecutively and will be expired end of this year,'" commented @mizzusomething.

Earlier this year, a company in eastern China’s Zhejiang province also awarded thousands of yuan to employees who show up for work first and stay the latest. The three best-performing sales managers from the company– Henan Mine, received the top award of five million yuan (US$737,000) each, while 30 others were awarded at least one million yuan, the South China Morning Post reported. According to several video clips circulating online, the money was bound up into bricks of 100,000 yuan, and a group of men in black suits and red scarves were seen carrying armfuls of cash from the stage.

The cash spree generated much attention on social media, with some expressing envy and others calling it a publicity stunt. “I can’t understand. They bothered to get all the cash from the bank and count it to give out, and the recipients then need to carry it back to the bank to deposit it. I don’t like such a corporate culture,” said a Weibo user. Henan Mine, founded in 2002, has more than 5,100 employees and recorded sales revenues of 9.16 billion yuan (US$1.36 billion) in 2022, up by 23 percent compared with the previous year, according to its official website. There were reportedly no layoffs from the firm over the past three years despite strict Covid-19 restrictions, and the average salary of company staff has grown by 30 percent each year.