China firm offers weight loss bonus to staff using US$140,000 fund as ‘carrot’

A tech company in China has won plaudits on mainland social media for putting nearly one million yuan (US$140,000) into a fund to encourage its employees to lose weight. The firm, Insta360, which is based in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, in the country’s south, launched a slimming initiative at the beginning of last year. Since then, 150 workers have taken part in the programme and have lost a total of 800kg. The combined cash bonus amounted to 980,000 yuan, mainland news outlet Jiupai News reported. The initiative is like a weight-loss boot camp. The company designs each camp to be three months long, recruiting 30 workers each time. So far, five camps have been held, according to the report. Since there were so many staff applying for the programme, the company prioritised the quota to those with obesity. Members in each camp are divided into three groups, with two groups comprising 10 people each while the third has five people. Individuals are weighed every week and will each be rewarded 400 yuan (US$55) for every 0.5kg the group has lost on average. If any member of the group gains weight, no one gets a bonus and they will each be fined 500 yuan. Not a single employee joining the camps has put on weight in the three- month period since the programme began, the report said. “Creating groups is adding a moral dimension for the employees. They do not want to fail their colleagues,” a member of staff, surnamed Li, said. “If you are not slimmer, you will not only affect your own bonus, but also drag other members behind. So this method really catapults people to motivate each other as well as themselves to do more sport,” he said. He said he joined a camp in November last year, lured by the company’s bonus scheme as well as health concerns because he weighed more than 90kg, which was heavier than a standard weight for his 1.75m height. Li did physical exercises, such as running, swimming and playing basketball every day after work. He also went on a diet. He lost 17.5kg during the three-month period and received 7,410 yuan (US$1,000) in total. “After losing weight, I am in pretty good shape. My chin is more pointed and my belly is smaller. I can feel I am much lighter. I am more energetic when playing basketball,” he said. The company also attracted a flood of praise on mainland social media. “What a fairy company it is. I wish I could work there,” an online observer said on Weibo. “I would run 10km every day and the company would soon be bankrupt with a staffer like me,” another joked.