The company requires employees to run 50km per month to receive a Tet bonus.

Dongpo Paper Company in Guangdong Province, China is a company that is being mentioned a lot on social media, causing a stir in public opinion due to its announcement to cut the traditional year-end bonus. If employees want to receive the New Year bonus, they must achieve a certain KPI in exercising, the bonus amount is divided equally for each month and calculated based on the number of times they exercise in that month.

Under the new policy, employees will receive their full bonus if they run 50km a month; 60% of the bonus if they run only 40km. The bonus will be reduced to 30% if they run 30km a month. Those who run 100km a month will receive an additional 30% bonus.

This policy also applies to both mountain hiking and brisk walking. The distance is calculated using an app on the employee's phone.

Mr. Lin Zhiyong - owner of Dongpo Paper Company - explained the meaning of this plan: "A company can only survive long term when its employees are healthy, so I came up with this bonus policy."

According to information shared on the company's official WeChat account, Mr. Lin is an avid sportsman. He was the first Cantonese to climb the north and south slopes of Mount Everest. The boss has spent more than three years urging all employees in the company to participate in sports. However, this call only received a large response from employees after the new bonus policy was introduced.

“Basically, they are all eligible for the full bonus,” Lin said. After a while, employees generally welcomed the policy. Not only did they get to exercise, but they also got paid, killing two birds with one stone.

As the employee with the best fitness record, Zhou Jian shared: "I run 90km every month and it helps me reduce my blood sugar, which is great."

However, the story that Dongpo company only pays bonuses to employees who run a few dozen kilometers per month has caused controversy on social networks, with both supporters and opponents in large numbers.

People who welcomed Mr Lin's initiative commented: "I need a company like this to help me stay in shape"; "As a running enthusiast, I will probably apply for a job at this company".

Opponents argue that exercise is a personal need and that it is not possible to cut the Tet bonus of employees who do not run enough kilometers: "The purpose of the company's policy is good, but it is necessary to consider all existing conditions or health problems of employees"; "What should people with bone and joint problems do? Even though they work hard, it is too unfair if they do not receive a Tet bonus"....

The economic incentive to exercise was also adopted by the Beijing Institute of Graphic Communication's canteen in 2019. It encouraged students to exercise by giving a free portion of crayfish to those who walked more than 10,000 steps a day and half the price of crayfish to those who walked more than 5,000 steps a day. The campaign received enthusiastic response from students.