All staff at Fengcheng 7080 "stole some leisure time amid busyness" — a 3-night, 2-day autumn trip just to bring a smile to your face. The staff skipped work for a trip while the boss stayed on duty — few would believe such employee benefits. From January to November 2018, the staff at Fengcheng 7080 had been working under high-intensity pressure. Many work plans from 2017 were scheduled for completion in 2018, and many employees often worked overtime until 10 p.m. As the top decision-maker at Fengcheng 7080, he decided to give all staff a chance to skip work and go on a relaxing autumn outing.
Who gave them the right to "steal some leisure time amid busyness"?
Fengcheng 7080 had been operating under high-intensity pressure from January to November 2018. With many holidays postponed and prolonged periods of high stress, the physical and mental health of the staff was inevitably affected. In September 2018, when the leadership of Fengcheng 7080 returned from a business trip, design team member Mou Chunming drove to pick them up. During the ride, the leader noticed that Mou Chunming didn’t seem well and asked a few questions. It turned out that, in order to meet design deadlines, many in the design department often worked overtime alone at their desks after hours. Those without laptops frequently stayed in the office until around 10 p.m. After work, they’d ask colleagues to bring takeout or instant noodles to the office or make cup noodles there. After eating, they’d continue working. “I’m not very good at designing main images or detail pages, and I was afraid of delaying the work plan. I stayed up until four or five in the morning designing. The large temperature difference between night and day gave me a cold.”
After hearing this, the Fengcheng 7080 leader immediately said: “If you work late, you don’t have to come to the office the next morning. Make sure you get at least eight hours of rest. The design department has a design director — if you don’t know how to do something, ask the director. Don’t be afraid of being criticized. There’s no job where you won’t be criticized. The more you’re criticized, the faster you’ll grow.”
Hosting the Fengcheng 7080 “Talent Cup” to alleviate high-intensity work pressure
After hearing the feedback from design team member Mou Chunming, the Fengcheng 7080 leader thought it over overnight. The next day, he told marketing and planning team member Chen Zhao from the operations department: “In October, arrange the time yourself. The company will hold the first Fengcheng 7080 ‘Talent Cup’ speech competition, focused mainly on speeches, with the theme ‘Who Do You Really Believe In?’” The original idea was to use the speech competition and prize money to help relieve the intense work rhythm.
The boss notices and remembers the efforts of the staff
The goal was to ease the high-pressure state through an internal speech competition. But through this competition, it was found that many staff lacked self-confidence, teamwork awareness, language organization skills, and the ability to grasp themes. The Fengcheng 7080 leaders wondered if it was because they had long set overly rigid work targets for the staff. When they saw or heard about employees pushing themselves to work overtime, sacrificing rest to meet work demands, and the company’s strategic plan for 2018 forcing holiday delays without much consideration for staff opinions — often disrupting their vacation plans — yet the staff didn’t complain much about the postponed holidays.
Reflecting on his own frequent business trips shuttling between Guangzhou, Foshan, and Nanning, the leader realized he had often neglected the physical and mental well-being and care of the staff. At the end of October, he arranged for the design director in the company’s design department to plan an autumn outing for November — with no set travel budget or destination, entirely up to Director Lin to arrange and seek approval from the general management office.
A 3-night, 2-day autumn trip (to Sanniang Bay Scenic Area and Bazhaigou Scenic Area)
On October 29, the general management office received the autumn outing plan for early November prepared by the design department’s Director Lin. The GMO made modifications to about 80% of the plan.
1. Increased the number of scenic areas visited from one to two.
2. Applied a comprehensive structural approach — from top to bottom, left to right, middle — situating the hotel midway between the two scenic spots for easy travel for those wanting free time in the evenings.
3. No restrictions on the itinerary; completely up to the staff to arrange.
4. Two days of team activities, one day of free time.
5. Provided transportation so staff could go at a moment’s notice.
6. All meals — breakfast, lunch, and dinner — covered by the company.
7. Set aside travel funds for unexpected needs.
8. Traveling together with vehicles, returning home safely together with vehicles.
Design Department Director Lin never expected the general management office to arrange the itinerary in such a way. The GMO modified his travel plan by 80%, providing valuable reference for organizing future team activities.
You leave work behind just to relax — the boss stays on duty, so go and have fun with peace of mind
Few companies let their staff skip work to travel while the boss stays behind. To many employees, it often seems like the boss is off having fun while the staff hold down the fort. But at Fengcheng 7080, the staff are the lifeblood of the company — without their hard work, there’d be no company. As the saying goes: “You leave work behind, we only want you to relax. You can skip work — we’ll watch the fort.”
As the leader of Fengcheng 7080, it’s not just about meeting strategic goals on schedule, but also constantly caring for the physical and mental well-being of the staff. It’s hoped that this 3-night, 2-day autumn trip will offer them more than just beautiful scenery — it will reinforce that we are a team. We work together, shoulder responsibilities together, we are interconnected, and our hearts are linked.