Chapter 50: Overtime? How Can My Employees Work Overtime?

In the blink of an eye, several days had passed.

Outside the workshop, Chen Mo watched the employees during their morning jog. However, today he noticed that they all seemed unusually sluggish and lacking energy.

It would be understandable if just one or two were like this—perhaps they had stayed up late.

But now, almost everyone appeared drained, which made him feel that something was off.

After the employees finished their run, Chen Mo immediately called over Li Shen.

“Li Shen, what’s going on with the employees? Why do they all look so exhausted?”

“Oh, President Chen, you’re talking about that? Everyone has been working overtime these past few days. Maybe they just haven’t gotten enough rest,” Li Shen replied with sudden realization.

“Overtime? Why am I unaware of this?”

Chen Mo looked puzzled. After all, he had never asked his employees to work overtime.

“Ah, wasn’t it Brother Yan who took on a big order? I was worried that if we didn’t finish this one, another would come in before we were done. So I had everyone work some overtime to speed up production and make sure we didn’t fall behind when more orders arrived.”

“I made this decision just yesterday and hadn’t had the chance to report it to you yet.”

Li Shen puffed up his chest, looking as if he had everything under control.

Hearing this, Chen Mo frowned deeply. He hadn’t expected that as soon as Wei Yan left, Li Shen would start causing trouble.

Overtime?!

What a terrible thing!

Forcing him to make more money—how could such an evil thing happen?

In his company, overtime was out of the question. Not in this lifetime.

Not only would there be no overtime, but working hours should also be reduced!

Suddenly, Chen Mo realized that the factory employees didn’t seem to have any vacation time. Ever since he took over the company, he had been working every day too.

Before, he hadn’t thought much about it—after all, every small factory operated this way.

But that was other factories. His factory had to be different. There should be vacation time!

If employees had more days off, wouldn’t that mean fewer clothes being produced? And if production decreased, wouldn’t his revenue shrink?

That’s right—that’s exactly how it worked!

Why hadn’t he thought of this before?

Chen Mo’s eyes lit up as he looked at Li Shen and slowly said,

“Li Shen, I understand the need to meet deadlines, but you can’t infringe on the employees’ personal time.”

“They’re people too, you know. After work, they have their own lives—watching movies, shopping, or just lying around at home to rest.”

“Once their shift ends, that time belongs to them. We can’t sacrifice their freedom just for the company’s benefit.”

“So from now on, no more overtime.”

Hearing this, Li Shen slowly lowered his head, looking ashamed.

“I understand, President Chen. I didn’t think it through.”

“But what if we get too many orders in the future and can’t keep up?”

“You can coordinate with the sales department. Set a daily work quota, and make sure they take orders based on that limit.”

Chen Mo spoke seriously but secretly thought to himself, I’m a genius! This way, I’m limiting both production and order intake at the same time.

With both factors controlled, how could I possibly not lose money?!

“But won’t this restrict the number of orders the sales team can take? That would indirectly reduce their earnings—will they be okay with that?”

“That’s not your concern. I’ll handle it.”

“Also, go notify all employees—we’ll be holding a meeting in the company hall shortly.”

“Understood, President Chen.”

Li Shen nodded and turned to enter the workshop.

—

Company Hall

A large group of employees had gathered inside the company hall.

“Why did President Chen call us for a meeting? What’s it about?”

“No idea… Could it be another employee benefit?”

“That can’t be. He’s already given us so many benefits.”

The employees whispered among themselves, speculating about the meeting.

Before long, Chen Mo walked out of his office with Shen Rou, clearing his throat as he addressed the crowd.

“I called you all here today to talk about overtime and working hours.”

“First, about overtime. I know you all worked hard yesterday, so I’ll have Li Shen calculate your overtime hours. You’ll be paid double your normal salary for the extra hours.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd erupted into applause.

Chen Mo smiled and continued,

“However, I do not encourage overtime. I believe in working efficiently and with high quality within regular working hours. So, from now on, there will be no more overtime in the workshop.”

“This is the first point. The second point concerns changes to our working hours.”

“Previously, your shifts were from 7 AM to 6 PM. From now on, they will be adjusted to 8 AM to 5 PM, with a normal lunch break.”

Clap clap clap…

The applause this time was even louder than before.

Once the clapping subsided, Chen Mo continued,

“Next is the matter of rest days. I just looked into it, and I realized that the previous system wasn’t quite fair.”

“Before, you had one rest day per week. If you skipped it, you’d receive a 400-yuan full attendance bonus. But if you took the day off, you wouldn’t get the bonus.”

“Is that correct?”

Some employees nodded enthusiastically, responding, “Yes, that’s right, President Chen.”

Chen Mo nodded.

“Previously, I didn’t fully understand this system, but after reviewing it, I find it completely unreasonable.”

“So, I’ve decided to abolish the old rest-day and attendance bonus system.”

“From now on, we will implement a two-day weekend—Saturdays and Sundays off. Public holidays will also be fully observed.”

“Additionally, the full attendance bonus will no longer be deducted if you take your rightful rest days. Only if you take additional days off beyond your normal breaks will your bonus be affected.”

The entire hall fell silent.

It was so quiet that you could hear people breathing.

A few seconds later—

The hall exploded into chatter.

Everyone looked at Chen Mo in shock, their faces filled with disbelief.

They had worked at countless factories before, and they already thought getting full benefits like social insurance was a luxury.

But now—Saturdays and Sundays off? Public holidays off, too?!

That was unheard of!

In other factories, getting a single day off was harder than squeezing water from a stone.

Even when there were no orders and no work, they’d still have to stay at the factory and clean instead of getting a real day off.

But now… President Chen was actually giving them a real weekend?!