A company in China forced its employees to crawl around a lake on their hands and knees as punishment for not hitting their sales targets.
A series of pictures taken next to a lake in the city of Zhengzhou, central China, showed distressed workers being forced to crawl around the 23 acre lagoon. The actions were sanctioned by managers after employees failed to meet their high sales margins.
According to eyewitnesses, as recorded by People’s Daily Online, the workers clothes were torn and dishevelled, with some of the staff being reduced to tears over the humiliating ordeal. It is also believed that the company, which remains unnamed as of yet, had placed a senior representative at the scene to ensure that no one tried to stop.
The harrowing images were uploaded to Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, attracting thousands of views and comments. One web user, screen name '3266878185', wrote: “This is so inhumane.”
Another, 'MMMMtinging', posted: “I'd quit a company like this a long time ago. Is the boss a psychopath?” Other comments questioned how the company expected to gain future employees, or even keep their currents ones, after this display.
Some staff members reported injured hands, knees and feet following the punishment, though it is unclear as to whether or not police have begun an investigation.
In slightly more inspirational news, other Chinese businesses have hired “cheerleaders” to help motivate their staff.
Image courtesy of People's Daily Online
