Employees in the corporate world are often made to prove the genuine cause of their leaves before they are approved. However, this Chinese boss took it a step further by asking for photographs when an employee said that he wanted leave to pay tribute to his ancestors. Now, Hong Kong bosses are coming under fire for making increasingly strange and unjust demands from their employees. According to South China Morning Post, one city worker who had first-hand experience of working with such a boss complained online that "Hong Kong bosses are becoming crazier."

On a Facebook page that shares experiences in the workplace, a city worker said, "I took time off to pay respect to my ancestors but my boss made me take photos of the graves to prove it." The post spoke for many as Hong Kong residents were returning to the mainland for the "tomb sweeping" festival in April which is called Ching Ming. The residents were getting to celebrate this festival for the first time in three years after the pandemic. The employee noted that the boss took 12 days of leave to pay tribute to his ancestors in Foshan which is a city that borders Hong Kong. In the post, he talked about how it came as a surprise to him when the boss asked him to send photos of his ancestors’ gravestones before his days off to prove the purpose of his break. He quoted his boss, "Do you really need to take 12 days off to pay respect to your ancestors?" The post gained a lot of traction and sparked a heated online discussion attracting more than 100 comments as reported by South China Morning Post.

A pretty angry social media user said, "It’s better for you to resign," while others suggested that he should "ask his boss if he has any relatives in Foshan so that the employee can help the boss pay respect to his ancestors, too. However, plenty sympathized with the boss, "It’s normal to ask you for a reason for taking such a long period of leave. Many companies don’t give long leaves during peak seasons." South Cina Morning Post also reported that on the same platform, another user who works at an insurance company said that his boss asked poor-performing employees to slap each other in the face for motivation, sparking a similar online debate.

In another recent (dissimilar) instance, a man from Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China participated in the lucky draw held at the company's annual dinner. In a stupendous stroke of luck, he won 365 days of paid leave from the company.