Latest update:
The incident came to public attention on January 18, when a job seeker with a bachelor’s degree shared his ordeal online.
A Chinese staffing company is facing backlash over a lack of demand for weekend leave. (representational image)
As the rush of new job seekers continues, a Chinese recruiter’s bizarre workload reached its peak when she decided to offer a job that didn’t include weekends. This request came amid the ongoing controversy over work-life balance.
The incident came to public attention on January 18, when a job seeker with a bachelor’s degree shared his ordeal online.
The applicant said that a recruiter on recruitment platform Boss Zhipin, a public Chinese company specializing in online recruitment, told them they “didn’t deserve weekends” due to limited qualifications.
According to the South China Morning Post, the hiring process was facilitated by recruitment platform Boss Zhipin, a publicly listed Chinese company that specializes in online recruitment.
Subsequently, China Life Insurance Co., Ltd. came under scrutiny after its administrative and human resources director, named Cai, presented unacceptable terms and conditions.
The applicant also shared a screenshot of the conversation. During the conversation, when the recruiter asked, “Can you come in for the interview tomorrow afternoon?”, the applicant responded, “I’m still considering other opportunities. I can’t really take a job without a weekend off.”
In response to the applicant’s response, the recruiter laughed and then taunted the applicant, saying, “With only a bachelor’s degree and you expect weekends off?”
She added: “You are already blacklisted. You will not be allowed to interview us in the future.”
After the conversation sparked online backlash, the recruitment platform responded on January 19, saying the recruiter had made inappropriate remarks and was issued a formal warning.
The next day, a China Life employee confirmed that the matter was under investigation.
01 February 2026 at 20:07 IST
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