"Same Salary, 3.5-Day Workweek, and Monthly Paid Leave for Women"...Chinese Company’s Bold Experiment

26 Hours a Week, with Social Insurance and Benefits Intact
Emphasis on Results and Efficiency Over Working Hours

A Chinese company has sparked interest locally by introducing a system allowing employees to work only 3.5 days a week without reducing their salaries. The policy reduces working hours while also adjusting workloads and performance evaluation criteria accordingly.

On September 20, local Chinese media and foreign news outlets reported that a culture and content-related company in Changsha, Hunan Province, recently announced the implementation of a 3.5-day workweek for all staff.

Employees now work from Monday to Wednesday, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. On Thursdays, they work only from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and they are off for three consecutive days from Friday through Sunday. As a result, the total actual weekly working hours are reduced to 26.

Nevertheless, the company stated it will maintain existing salary levels, as well as benefits such as social insurance and housing provident funds. They added that both workload and performance evaluation standards would be adjusted to reflect the reduced hours.

The photo is not directly related to the content of the article. Pixabay

The company also declared that unnecessary overtime work would be discouraged as a matter of principle. If overtime work is unavoidable due to business needs, employees will receive separate overtime pay. Female employees are also granted one day of paid menstrual leave per month.

In an interview with local media, the company's CEO explained that while working at previous companies, they felt burdened by unnecessary overtime, and thus implemented the new system. The CEO stated that the shortened work hours are intended to allow staff to spend more time with their families or to enjoy personal leisure.

This company did not always operate on a 3.5-day basis. Another company run by the CEO implemented a four-day workweek around three years ago, and now both companies have switched to the 3.5-day system. The CEO noted that they prioritize outcomes and efficiency over scheduled work time, and are reducing unnecessary reports and formal meetings.

Similar attempts to reduce the workweek are emerging across China. According to pilot program materials related to the "4 Day Week" in China, companies in various regions, including Suzhou, Wuhan, Fuzhou, and Changsha, have experimented with four-day or 4.5-day workweeks.

There are also experiments at the regional level. Mianyang City in Sichuan Province has piloted a 2.5-day leave system in the form of "Friday afternoon plus weekend" to boost consumption in 2025. While this differs from company-level systems that drastically cut working hours, it represents a similar trend, as the goal is to increase leisure time in order to promote consumption and tourism.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.