As we have reported, a 25-year-old employee in Bilibili, China died during the Lunar New Year holiday.
The initial cause of death was determined to be overwork. The incident brought Bilibili into the spotlight, sparking a debate about the culture of overwork in China’s internet industry.
A Weibo influencer named Wang Luobei posted about the incident after receiving a direct message that a content moderator at Bilibili’s Wuhan subsidiary had died at work during a holiday. ceremony. Many Weibo users, who asked to remain anonymous, sent direct messages to Wang to confirm the death.
Bilibili regulates the work policy.
In response, Bilibili issued an internal memo on February 14 stating that the employee felt unwell on the afternoon of the 4th and asserted that he did not die from overwork. According to the company, the employee died working a nine-hour shift that day between 9:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., and had not worked overtime in the week before his death.
Currently, the company also quickly makes adjustments to the New Year’s work schedule in the year of the Tiger in 2022 with balancing the work rate. The company also requires department heads and unit heads not to assign housework or work overtime without the approval of employees.
However, a Weibo user claiming to be the employee’s cousin dismissed Bilibili’s response, claiming that the heavy workload had led to his death. “He was unable to go home during the Lunar New Year holiday and decided to stay in Wuhan to work,” she said.
Many people faint from overwork.
The cousin posted a screenshot of an employee’s account on WeCom, a business collaboration app, showing a summary of his work activities for 2021. This includes the employee’s profile. worked late into the night for 321 days last year, including one case where he left work at 4 a.m. in November.
Bilibili said it is cooperating with police to investigate the employee’s death. According to job postings for content moderator positions at Bilibili, employees must “accept night shifts and be able to work under pressure.”
