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Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed today? Are you now on your way to work, still in a bad mood? Well, if you were working for the Shandong branch of Shengli Oilfield, you would be able to take the day off today. In the hopes of improving work efficiency, this branch of Shengli allows its employees to stay at home when they are in a bad mood.
A commentary posted on the website Rednet says this is a good approach to ensure the mental health of grassroots workers.
It notes that, for a long time, flexible working hours and paid holidays have only been extended to a few office workers. Traditionally, employees working these jobs were the ones who were believed to need a rest, as they were thought to face the most pressure. Not much attention was paid to state of mental health amongst blue-collar workers.
Another commentary published on the website interprets the issue in a different way.
It says fierce competition and a fast-paced lifestyle highlights the mental health problems of these employees.
It says taking a day off may help release tension and dissatisfaction to some extent; however, this may not be the best option for the management.
The commentary says dissatisfaction deriving from the promotion of others or the distribution of work cannot be solved with one or two days off. Managerial staff should pay more attention to the reasons lying at the root of their employees' foul moods.
China Drive is one of CRI's radio programs aired from Monday to Friday. We pick the most interesting life reports from China Drive. Stay tuned.
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Director: Liu Chi