A Chinese woman in Shanghai surnamed Lou, was briefly fired from her job at an educational institution after refusing to buy breakfast for her supervisor, a woman surnamed Liu.
Lou, who was a new employee, shared her story on the social media platform Xiaohongshu, detailing how Liu demanded that she bring her “a hot Americano and an egg” every morning and keep a bottle of water ready for her to drink.
When Lou raised these unreasonable requests in a work chat group, she was admonished by a group administrator and subsequently fired by the human resources department without any compensation.
The incident quickly gained public attention and was met with strong condemnation. One commenter remarked, “This boss treated her subordinate like a free assistant, which is unethical and constitutes bullying.” Another praised Lou’s courage, saying, “Lou displayed significant bravery by exposing her boss’s misconduct.”
In response to the public outcry, the company issued a statement on September 12, announcing that Lou’s supervisor had been terminated for abusing her authority and pressuring subordinates to assist with personal matters. Lou was reinstated and resumed her normal duties, although it was unclear if she would receive any compensation.
Wang, the head of HR for the company, told Dafeng News that the decision to fire Lou was made solely by Liu and did not comply with company policy, despite the HR department initially carrying out the termination.
Lou’s experience has also raised awareness about workplace bullying in China, with related discussions garnering over 2 million views on Weibo.