Columns

'Sex-starved male' is but one Chinese challenge

With their economy growing at a blistering pace, employers in China face several challenges unheard of in the United States.

By Kris Hundley, Times Staff Writer
Published March 2, 2008

With their economy growing at a blistering pace, employers in China face several challenges unheard of in the United States.

There are the masses of what China's State Family Planning Commission called "sex-starved males" who make up the bulk of the work force. China's strict policy limiting families to one child and a cultural preference for boys means males outnumber girls in some areas by as much as 30 to 1. That has made it hard for young men, particularly poorly paid factory workers, to find spouses. As the commission warned, "When their basic biological demand is unable to be satisfied, the sex-starved male adult will become more violent."

Retaining good employees is another issue, even in a nation with 1.3-billion people. A marketing company in Henan pays its manager the equivalent of $280 a month, and gives monthly bonuses equal to $28 to his wife and $14 to his father. "It's not a great deal of money, but the company won the heart of my family," the manager was quoted as saying. "My father urges me again and again to work hard."

One company in Shandong province proposed a new approach to employee evaluations that makes Jack Welch look like an amateur. The company plans an "unpopularity" contest: Workers will identify the three least-liked people in the office and they'll be fired. One worker, who said he's often praised by the boss, worried that envious co-workers would vote him out the door. Local officials might put the kibosh on the plan. They called the contest "unfair and possibly illegal."

As brutal as the workplace might be in China, college graduates still compete tooth and nail to get in. A recent survey by Peking University found that its graduates spent about $157 job hunting, with a new suit the most common purchase. Some young women are doing even more to enhance their image. Along with the college diploma, they're getting cosmetic surgery.

Kris Hundley can be reached at hundley@sptimes.com or 727 892-2996.

[Last modified February 29, 2008, 20:44:23]