Chinese workers vent frustration over Golden Week 'make-up' workdays
Chinese social media users are complaining about 'tiaoxiu' (adjusted rest) workdays around the Golden Week holiday, arguing the system leaves them exhausted rather than rested. The debate has reignited over whether the policy is designed for worker welfare or to boost holiday spending.
Chinese social media users are venting about 'make-up' workdays around the Golden Week holiday break, saying work arrangements are leaving them with little extra time to rest. 'Before the holiday has even begun, we're already so exhausted that all we want to do is lie down and do nothing,' complained a user on the Weibo microblogging site.
Coming just days after the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday from Sep 25 to Sep 27, this year's Golden Week holiday has reignited debate over whether China's 'tiaoxiu' (adjusted rest) system actually gives workers more time off - or simply leaves them more exhausted. Under the policy, weekday breaks are swapped with working days on weekends before or after the holiday. Workers were required to work on Sep 20, a Sunday, to make up for one working day within the Oct 1 to 7 holiday period, and will have to work on Oct 10, a Saturday, for the remaining day.
Weibo user doctor Xu Chao noted that the seven-day Golden Week break comprises three statutory public holidays for National Day, two weekend days and two days shifted from other weekends. 'If there's no tiaoxiu, it looks like we would only have five days of holidays. For those who want to travel and visit their relatives, it's definitely enough. But for some working adults, this would disrupt their work days and rest days, throwing their work schedules out of sync as well,' Xu wrote. Another user, Yang Xiaolei forever, questioned why the two holiday periods were not combined into a single break from Sep 25 to Oct 4.
The debate has also sparked broader discussion over whether the system is designed primarily to give workers a break or to stimulate consumption during concentrated holiday periods. A Weibo hashtag translating roughly as 'Tiaoxiu is not for rest, it's to encourage spending' was inaccessible on the platform due to related laws and policies, though some individual posts discussing the issue remained accessible. User 'Don't squeeze my bubble' said debate over tiaoxiu and consumer spending repeatedly surfaces on Weibo's trending searches. 'On paper, it looks like you're given more days of break, but in actual fact, there isn't a lot. The reason why (so many) people get heated over the topic is because we just want more rest, and within reason,' the user said.
The debate comes as China prepares for one of its biggest annual travel periods. Golden Week is typically closely watched as a gauge of household spending. This year's holiday comes amid weak consumer demand, deflationary pressures and a prolonged property market downturn affecting homeowners, tenants and landlords alike, Reuters reported. Observers are hopeful the extended holiday will boost the tourism sector, but it remains unclear whether strong travel demand will translate into similarly strong spending. Travel volume rose during last year's Golden Week, but average spending per trip fell to a three-year low of 911.04 yuan (US$135.70), according to Reuters calculations based on Chinese government data.
State-affiliated newspaper China Daily reported on Monday that the aviation sector was preparing for a surge in passenger traffic over the holiday period, with major airports expecting heavy passenger flows and particularly strong growth in international travel. Beijing Capital International Airport is expected to handle more than 1.66 million passenger trips during Golden Week - roughly an average of around 237,000 passengers a day. Other popular domestic destinations include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Chongqing and Guiyang, with Bangkok, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City and Bali among leading international destinations for Chinese travellers.
