On July 24, an employee of China Merchants Bank exposed an incident of being insulted by their supervisor due to requesting time off for their wedding, sparking discussions among netizens.
In a public complaint within the company’s group of 6,000 people, an employee of the Dongguan Shijie Branch of China Merchants Bank openly accused the branch manager, Mr. Peng.
Screenshots circulating on the internet show that the employee applied for a 13-day wedding leave with Mr. Peng, but was called into the office and humiliated, being asked, “What kind of thing are you?”
The employee also mentioned in their complaint that they incurred over 3,000 yuan in transportation expenses for business trips from April to July, which was not resolved after reporting it to Mr. Peng. In June, they received a monthly salary of just over 2,000 yuan and when they inquired about their salary and KPI assessment with Mr. Peng, he replied, “If you don’t want to work, you can leave.”
Regarding the employee’s complaint, Phoenix Financial “Bank Financial Eye” called the Dongguan Shijie Branch of China Merchants Bank for verification, but they claimed to be “unaware of the matter.” Subsequently, “Bank Financial Eye” contacted the Customer Service hotline of the Dongguan Branch of China Merchants Bank, and they stated, “The issue has been registered, and it will be addressed by the office staff.”
After the news was exposed, it garnered significant attention and discussions among netizens, with over a thousand people participating in the discussion on Tencent News alone.
User 9w6g3hy on Tencent expressed, “If the situation is true, a director like this should be dismissed, and the bank should compensate the employee for their losses.”
User “FinaFan” stated, “It is definitely wrong to insult employees. Those who bravely speak out deserve our support. Let’s wait for the investigation results first before passing judgment.”
“Jia Tianxia” commented, “Some issues cannot be resolved without media exposure. This director is unworthy of his position. If the situation is true, a mere apology is not enough. I believe that employees in any organization are the foundation of leadership; why can’t they be treated fairly and empathized with?”
User “S” remarked, “In the current job market, companies are not afraid of employees leaving. Especially in recent years, banks have been urged by the government to expand and stabilize employment, resulting in an abundance of bank staff. They are troubled every day about how to make employees leave on their own.”
“Liàngzǎi Ēn” revealed a similar situation in their own workplace, saying, “I used to work for China Telecom, and during a staff meeting discussing the welfare of front-line grassroots employees, a senior leader on stage said, ‘It’s hard to find a person with three legs, but those with two legs are everywhere. If you don’t want to work, you can leave immediately.’ Such a pity…”
User 5uhpfw6 on Tencent reflected, “The phrase ‘if you don’t want to work, you can leave’ has now become the sharpest sword for most enterprise leaders in managing employees.”