A Chinese employee has caused widespread jealousy among netizens after she won seven days of paid “rain leave”, meaning she can stay home when it rains.
The woman, whose personal details have not been divulged, from Changsha in Hunan province, southern China, works at a spicy snack company and went viral after winning the unusual prize in a company raffle.
The company, Mala Wangzi, which literally means “Spicy Prince”, was founded in 2009 by Zhang Yudong and is headquartered in Changsha. The value of its annual sales exceeded 1.5 billion yuan (US$220 million) for the first time in 2024.
Zhang’s son, Zhang Zilong, was born in the year 2000, and is currently the brand’s head of online marketing.
He documented the lucky draw on his social media account, where he is known as “Spicy Son”, and has amassed over 262,000 followers.
“Have you ever seen a city where it rains for 82 out of 90 days? To cheer up my employees, we prepared a ‘rain leave lottery’ for everyone. As the saying goes, the early bird catches the worm. We are waiting at the company entrance today to see who the lucky winners will be,” Zhang said in a video.
The footage then shows employees taking turns drawing tickets from a lottery box.
One woman won a fully automatic drier and was delighted despite struggling to carry it.
The raffle went viral amid April’s rainy weather in southern China.
In provinces such as Hunan and Guangdong, persistent rain and humidity make commuting inconvenient.
Zhang said he came up with the idea after hearing employees complain about the hassle of commuting in the rain.
Prizes included practical items such as rain boots and umbrellas, as well as household appliances like hair dryers, dehumidifiers and dryers.
More creative rewards included “late-for-work passes” for rainy days, commuting subsidy and the grand prize, seven days of fully paid rainy-day leave.
The seven days can be used flexibly, either all at once or split over time.
The “late-for-work passes” allow employees to arrive late twice on rainy days without penalty.
All the company’s employees, who number more than 100, reportedly won prizes.
Many people expressed envy online.
One person said: “The boss really understands people in southern China.”
“This is exactly the kind of benefit workers dream of. I am so jealous I could cry,” said another
While a third wrote: “All southern companies should copy this.”
Chinese employers who provide generous benefits always go down well online.
Previously, the Chinese retail company Pangdonglai and its founder Yu Donglai made waves in China for prioritising employee well-being by introducing “unhappy leave” and establishing a “grievance award” to compensate employees who experienced mistreatment or psychological distress from customers.