Midea president bans performative overtime and excessive PPT use within the company

Midea president bans performative overtime and excessive PPT use within the company. Credit: Midea

Fang Hongbo, president of China’s major home appliances brand Midea, called on its employees to streamline their working methods, issuing an internal document titled Requirements for Simplifying Work Practices, full of references to excessive use of PPTs, ghostwriting, and performative overtime. Performative overtime in China refers to employees staying late at work not out of necessity but to create the appearance of dedication, often driven by workplace culture or peer pressure. The document bans the excessive use of PPTs in internal work, including communication, planning, reporting, presentations, and evaluations. For exceptions such as technical plans, financial reports, and annual meetings, the document says PPTs must be limited to a page. Fang also advocates banning ghostwriting, after-hours meetings, excessive WeChat groups (work messaging groups), slogan-shouting, and formalistic daily reporting in the company. [Jiemian, in Chinese]