Hangzhou worker suffers rhabdomyolysis after 200 squat punishment
SCMP · 2 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
A young employee at a loan assistance company’s Hangzhou branch developed rhabdomyolysis after being ordered to do 200 squats for failing to meet a daily sales quota. Yang, who had started the job in June as a financial consultant in what she described as an essentially tele-sales role, said she chose the exercise punishment because she could not afford the alternative cash penalty. She later experienced severe leg pain and dark urine, sought hospital treatment several days later, and resigned after being unable to continue working.
Key Points
- Yang joined the Hangzhou branch of Suzhou Dongrong Information Technology in June and worked as a financing or financial consultant at a loan assistance company.
- Her manager, surnamed Zhang, required staff to make 200 calls daily, invite one client, and secure one client willing to cooperate
- On July 28, after missing targets, Yang was told to do squats or pay 50 yuan per unfinished task, and she completed 200 squats.
- Yang filmed herself doing the squats in batches around the office building, then struggled to stand and later reported intense leg pain
- Five days later, after her urine turned dark, hospital tests found creatine kinase above 16,000 U/L; Yang spent 1,400 yuan on treatment
Why It Matters
The case raises concerns about workplace punishment practices that managers themselves may recognize as unlawful, yet still use to pressure sales staff. For Hong Kong readers, it is a reminder that aggressive performance management can quickly become a labour, health, and compensation dispute when physical penalties are imposed.