As the rush of new job seekers continues, a recruiter’s job requires pushing boundaries when she decides to offer work without weekends off. In times of increasing work-life balance, the redundant requirement of a recruiter has sparked discussions about workers’ rights in the labor market. A job seeker with a bachelor’s degree attended a job interview in which the recruiter asked for a specific job vacancy without reason.
The incident came to light on January 18 when a job seeker shared the ordeal online. An applicant disappointed by excessive job demand has been told he “doesn’t deserve weekends off” because of his limited qualifications. Job platform recruiter Boss Zhipin, a publicly traded Chinese company specializing in online recruitment, has come under scrutiny following the case.
China Life Insurance Company Limited came under scrutiny after its senior HR and administrative manager named Kai submitted unacceptable terms. The recruitment process was facilitated by the job platform Boss Zhipin, a publicly traded Chinese company specializing in online recruitment.
A job seeker rejects a job offer without weekends
The claimant shared a screenshot of their conversation, which revealed the extent of worker exploitation by one of the country’s largest state-owned insurance companies. An excerpt from the conversation between the recruiter and the applicant, as quoted by the South China Morning Post, is below:
Recruiter: “Can you come for an interview tomorrow afternoon?”
Applicant: “I’m still considering other opportunities. I really can’t take a job without weekends off.”
Recruiter: “With only a bachelor’s degree and expecting free weekends?”
“You are already blacklisted. You will not be able to interview us in the future.”
After that conversation went viral, the recruiting platform released a statement on January 19 suggesting that the recruiter had made inappropriate remarks and had been issued a formal warning. Soon after, China Life confirmed that the matter was under investigation.
China Life’s 2024 annual report states that the company employs nearly 1,000,000 people, including 7,586 with graduate degrees and 71,710 with undergraduate degrees.
