Why can't China stop working overtime?

This episode of Roundtable China examines the persistent culture of excessive overtime in China, despite labor laws capping work hours at 44 per week on average. In 2025, Chinese employees still worked an average of nearly 49 hours weekly, with 38.7% reporting daily overtime. The hosts—Fei-Fei, Steve Heatherly, and Honglin—explore the roots of this phenomenon, highlighting the rise of 'invisible overtime' driven by digital connectivity, where workers respond to messages outside office hours, blurring work-life boundaries. While global averages hover around 38.7 hours, countries like the Netherlands and Germany work significantly less, underscoring China’s outlier status. The discussion reveals that the problem isn’t just legal enforcement but deeply rooted cultural values that equate long hours with dedication and loyalty. The hosts challenge the assumption that presence equals productivity, citing research showing that overwork increases stroke risk by 35% and heart disease by 17%. They argue that change must come from both top-down policies—like Australia’s 'right to disconnect'—and bottom-up cultural shifts, as younger generations increasingly reject the idea that overtime equals worth. The episode concludes that the future of work may be shaped not by sweeping legislation, but by millions of quiet, individual acts of resistance.