Man Works So Much Overtime that Can’t Open His Eyes

By Alistair Baker-Brian, September 28, 2022

A man in Fuzhou, Fujian province found out the hard way one of the consequences of working too much overtime recently.

The 50 year-old man – surnamed Chen – works in an administration post, and was said to be working during a peak time of year for his employer.

He had worked overtime late into the night for several days in a row.

After finishing late one night, Chen slept for three hours after which he intended to start work again. However, after waking up, he found he couldn’t open his right eye lid. Moreover, it hurt even to move his eyes.

After Chen got the condition checked out, the doctor told him it was a case of oculomotor nerve paralysis. The doctor said the fatigue which resulted from Chen’s chaotic work-life balance led to the condition.

Chen is currently undergoing medical treatment.

It’s not the first time that the consequences of China’s working culture have come under scrutiny.

In early 2021, a 22 year-old employee in Urumqi – capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous – who worked for ecommerce company Pinduoduo died after having worked overtime.

Alibaba’s cofounder Jack Ma has previously spoken out in favor of employees working a ‘996’ schedule – 9am-9pm, six days per week.

Many Chinese companies have sought to improve conditions for those in the workplace. Starting from March 1, 2022, travel agency Trip.com has allowed people to work flexibly with the option to work from outside the office.

Hopefully Chen’s employer will have learned the lesson by the time he recovers and returns to work.

[Cover image via Pixabay]