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recently, a news report about"the fresh graduate was fired for refusing the weekend running activity organized by the company"the incident has attracted widespread attention.

according to a post by mr. zhang, the person involved, he joined a beijing internet technology co., ltd. on july 22, 2024 as a management trainee. unexpectedly, during the short 43-day work period, he refused to participate in running activities organized by the company twice in a row, and finally received a unilateral notice of termination of employment from the company on september 4.

the incident quickly fermented on the internet, triggering heated discussions about workplace rights, corporate culture and labor laws.

mr. zhang described his experience in detail during an interview. according to him, after he joined the company, the company organized outdoor long-distance running activities for employees twice.

the first time was9:00 pm, august 21, the company organized employees to do a 5-kilometer outdoor run after get off work; the second time was arranged onaugust 31 (saturday) 7:00am, requiring employees to gather in a park for a 10-kilometer outdoor run.

mr. zhang said,due to working overtime for 12 consecutive days, 13 or 14 hours a day, i was exhausted and therefore failed to attend the second event.what he didn't expect was that this decision would become the fuse for his dismissal.

mr. zhang revealed that on september 3, he was interviewed by the company's manager, mr. zhu, and persuaded to quit. during the interview, mr. zhu said that the purpose of organizing the running event was to enhance the team's combat effectiveness and cohesion, and to allow employees to sign up and participate voluntarily.in fact, it is also a way to screen employees with strong initiativemr. zhu also pointed out that mr. zhang's refusal to participate in the running activity reflected his lack of proactive thinking and management potential, which did not meet the company's requirements for management trainees. mr. zhang found this explanation difficult to accept. he believed that his refusal to run was based on his personal physical condition, not a disrespect for the company's culture or team activities.

after the incident, mr. zhang filed a labor arbitration case with the labor arbitration committee on september 12, and the case is currently in the pre-trial mediation stage. mr. zhang provided the media with a recording of the interview as evidence, and mr. zhu's remarks in the recording further confirmed the company's attitude and explanation on the matter.

when the reporter called the company's city manager, mr. zhu, to verify the situation, mr. zhu said that the decision to fire mr. zhang was made by the company.it is related to the company's employment standards. he himself is not clear about the specific situation., the relevant circumstances shall be subject to the final decision of the labor arbitration committee.

this incident quickly attracted widespread attention and discussion on the internet. on the one hand, some netizens expressed sympathy and support for mr. zhang's experience, believing that the company should not link employees' personal choices with their work abilities, let alone dismiss employees for this reason; on the other hand, some netizens expressed understanding of the company's approach, believing that corporate culture and team building are crucial to the company's development and that employees should actively participate in them.

media comments

enterprises must answer three "soul" questions

to be honest, it is not uncommon for companies to organize activities for employees during non-working hours. although employees have the right to refuse, they are often forced to obey. but even so, looking at the practices of the companies involved, people still can't help but question and even question them.

first, is 10km running suitable for everyone? anyone with a little sports knowledge knows that for someone who has no running habit, running 5km or 10km right away is neither scientific nor healthy. it can easily cause muscle strain or increase heart rate and lead to other accidents. physical exercise needs to be gradual, which shows the difference in risk awareness.

second, does the weekend belong to the employees or the company? in the context of the continuous criticism of the long and short work weeks, or the context of increasing overtime benefits and giving employees the right to choose, the answer is probably not difficult to come up with. if the company involved cannot answer this question, or does not have a clear and legal attendance system to explain it, then it may wish to refer to the relevant provisions of the labor law.

third, are the reasons for dismissing the management trainee involved legal and sufficient? generally speaking, if a company unilaterally dismisses an employee, including a probationary employee or a management trainee, it must give sufficient reasons. if these reasons are that the person’s professional ability is insufficient, he is unable to perform the job, or violates the company’s legal rules and regulations, they are all understandable; but being dismissed for refusing to participate in the company’s weekend long-distance running activities is far-fetched.

management trainees should of course accept the management of the company, but this does not mean that they should unconditionally accept the unreasonable demands of the company, even illegal and non-compliant demands. management trainees are first and foremost natural persons and rights holders, workers with their own legitimate rights and interests, and not tools that can be manipulated and manipulated by the company at will.

this incident exposed some common problems in the current workplace. for example, companies lack a sense of boundaries and arbitrarily control employees' time outside of work without knowing it; they ignore employees' rights and interests, saying "everyone signed up voluntarily" but actually forcing them to do so in disguised form and settling scores later; their corporate culture is backward, with a strong traditional patriarchal mentality, and management often transcends the employment relationship.