A job seeker's request for standard weekends off on a platform was met with a shocking reply from a China Life HR representative: "An undergraduate degree and you're looking for two-day weekends? See you on the blacklist, you won't be interviewing at our company anymore." The company's 2024 annual report reveals that China Life has a total of 91,103 employees with undergraduate degrees or lower qualifications.
When did the entitlement to a standard two-day weekend become linked to one's academic credentials? On January 18th, a conversation between a China Life HR manager and a job seeker on the Boss Zhipin recruitment platform ignited a firestorm within the professional community. The job seeker stated, "Not having two-day weekends is quite unacceptable to me," to which the HR representative retorted: "Hahaha, with just an undergraduate degree and you're looking for two-day weekends? See you on the blacklist, you won't be interviewing at our company anymore."
On January 19th, the recruitment platform responded, acknowledging the inappropriate remarks made by the staff member involved and confirming that a warning had been issued as a disciplinary measure. This exchange has also provoked widespread disapproval among netizens.
The dialogue identifies the HR representative as a Ms. Kai, holding the position of Senior HR Administrative Manager at China Life, who used phrases like "Hahaha" and "Go ahead and look then" during the conversation. One might infer that at China Life, possessing merely an undergraduate degree might indeed disqualify an employee from having weekends off. Ms. Kai likely found it utterly perplexing that a job seeker with only a bachelor's degree would even dare to raise the question of "two-day weekends." A review of China Life's 2024 annual report shows a total workforce of 98,689 employees. This includes 7,586 postgraduates, 71,710 undergraduates, 17,445 associate degree holders, 783 high school graduates, and 1,165 individuals with unspecified other educational backgrounds. Employees with qualifications higher than an undergraduate degree constitute less than 8% of the total. This raises the question: are the over 92% of staff with undergraduate degrees or lower also deemed unworthy of standard weekends off?
In summary, this incident represents an extremely unprofessional and emotionally charged recruitment interaction. This brief dialogue exemplifies a typical breakdown in job-seeking communication, highlighting the starkly opposing positions and emotional shifts between the two parties. Job Seeker's Mindset: 1. Clear boundaries, rational refusal: The candidate directly stated her unwillingness to accept the lack of weekends, indicating she views work-life balance as a non-negotiable condition and assessed the role with clear decisiveness. 2. Slightly passive and resigned: After the message was read but not replied to, she did not follow up or show compromise, possibly having already lost interest in the company or anticipating the other party's negative attitude. 3. Likely feeling offended: Faced with subsequent mockery and being blocked, she probably felt disrespected, even angered, but chose not to respond further, opting for a disengaged approach. Recruiter's ("Ms. Kai") Mindset: 1. Misplaced "institutional arrogance" and "platform superiority": As an HR professional in a central state-owned enterprise, she may subconsciously equate the company's prestige with her own personal status, leading to an inflated sense of power—"I represent the company in screening you." Her remark, "You, with just an undergraduate degree, still want two-day weekends?" further reveals: · Disconnection from market realities: Ignoring that undergraduate degrees are now a common baseline and two-day weekends are standard in most正规 enterprises. · Distorted perception of the role's level: She might be recruiting for sales or entry-level positions but still adopts a condescending "bestowing an opportunity" attitude towards candidates. 2. Serious violation of HR professional ethics: · As an HR representative for a central SOE, she should embody the corporate image and adhere to recruitment standards, yet she used emotional and personally attacking language. · Actions like "blocking" and "banning from interviews" constitute an abuse of authority. Openly stating "see you on the blacklist 😭" degrades professional workplace communication to the level of a personal vendetta or threat, demonstrating severe unprofessionalism. 3. Potential exposure of management loopholes: If this behavior occurred within China Life's formal recruitment process, it suggests: · Possible lax management in regional branch companies or specific teams regarding recruitment practices. · Deficiencies in HR training and supervision mechanisms, allowing for uncontrolled individual conduct. · Alternatively, she might be an outsourced recruiter, yet still operating under the "China Life" name. Deep-Seated Issues Highlighted by This Incident: 1. The phenomenon of "small-workshop-style recruitment" within large corporations: Even in systemically robust central SOEs, grassroots recruitment processes can still be subject to individual whims, revealing a disconnect between brand uniformity and the quality of execution at the operational level. 2. Disregard for job seeker rights as a systemic risk: An HR professional openly disparaging the expectation of "weekends off for undergraduates," if tacitly endorsed by the company, exposes a corporate culture stuck in an "exploitative" mindset, inconsistent with the social responsibilities a central SOE should uphold. 3. A professionalism crisis within the HR industry: The circulation of such dialogues not only damages China Life's brand but also exacerbates public negative perceptions of "unprofessional HR" and "recruiter bullying," undermining trust across the entire recruitment ecosystem. Recommendations and Implications: · For job seekers: Maintain vigilance even when interacting with large enterprises; if facing unfair treatment, preserve evidence (e.g., screenshots) and voice concerns rationally through official corporate channels or public platforms. · For companies (using China Life as an example): Conduct internal audits of recruitment processes and HR team training, establish complaint and feedback mechanisms to prevent individual employee actions from tarnishing the corporate reputation.
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