Qu Jing, head of public relations at China's search giant Baidu, issued an apology after sparking outrage with comments glorifying extreme work hours.
In videos on Douyin (China's TikTok), Qu dismissed responsibility for employee well-being and threatened to punish those who complained. "I'm not your mother," she said.
Her remarks fueled debate about China's infamous "996" work culture (9 am to 9 pm, six days a week). This follows similar comments from Alibaba founder Jack Ma, who called it a "blessing."
Qu claimed her dedication was so intense, she didn't know her son's grade level. She also said working weekends and constant phone availability were expected in PR.
Baidu has remained silent on the issue. But Qu apologized, stating her views weren't Baidu's and she regretted causing a misunderstanding.
"I will learn from this and improve communication, while prioritizing colleague well-being," she wrote.
The incident has ignited heated discussions on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
Chinese social media platform Weibo has seen heated discussion over the incident in the past few days.
This was one of the comments: "As the company's vice-president, [Ms Qu] should have known that her comments and attitude would disgust her subordinates, yet she went ahead to make them public. This speaks of how out-of-touch she is."
