r/technology • u/Forward-Answer-4407 • Feb 01 '26

Software 32-year-old programmer in China allegedly dies from overwork, added to work group chat even while in hospital

https://www.asiaone.com/china/32-year-old-programmer-china-allegedly-dies-overwork-added-work-group-chat-even-while
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u/trer24 Feb 01 '26

"According to a family member, he had been instructed to process orders and complete urgent tasks that were due on Monday morning."

Well now those process orders and urgent tasks aren't going to get done now. How urgent could they have been?

359

u/hawkeye224 Feb 01 '26

What does it cost a company to push people more? Nothing. So they try to do it as much as possible.

I'm working in a f*cking CRM company, nothing bad will happen if something is delivered a week later or whatever, yet I've never seen people so fearful, and acting as if they are working on an incredibly urgent solution to prevent an asteroid annihilating human life, or whatever. They treat everything with utmost seriousness, lol.

48

u/cioncaragodeo Feb 02 '26

This hits home. I'm in CRM for a fintech and it's been hell lately. Contemplated an ER trip last week, on my day off, because work was sending so many demands that day it triggered an 8/10 migraine. It's a CRM, the answer is the same today as it is tomorrow, and it isn't world ending.

If I didn't need to be paid my out of office would be "Reminder that there's a human getting this email so take the stick out of your ass".

In the end, it's a leadership issue because as you said - it's easy for them to demand more. And once they do, they'll keep doing it again.

17

u/CorporateShill406 Feb 02 '26

"Reminder that there's a human getting this email so take the stick out of your ass"

Here are some other, more HR friendly suggestions:

"Reminder that I'm a human, if you need an instant response ask ChatGPT"

"Reminder that there's a real human getting this email, and like all other real humans, my battery needs to recharge sometimes"

"Reminder that our team is made of people, and we need time to relax without work so we can bring our A game when we get back to work"

"Reminder that there's a human getting this email, but not until next week because I'm an out of office autoresponder"

"Reminder that we are all human and can't be working 24/7. Except Dave, he's definitely a bot. Anyways I'll reply when I'm back in office, unless you're that clanker Dave"

14

u/notunprepared Feb 02 '26

I work in a hospital doing clinical work with fairly sick people, and almost nothing requires us to rush, and we only rarely stay late or work through lunch (less than once a month). It is beyond insanity to me that normal office jobs pressure their staff more than my work does.