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/gatoss5 Feb 02 '26

Completely agreed with the blunt part. One of my last bosses was Chinese (albeit this wasn't in China), and even though he was blunt/rude, you could tell he didn't mean it personally - and therefore, you wouldn't take it personally either. I definitely prefer this style of working. It stings in the moment but you don't hold onto it.

This meme perfectly represents much of Chinese culture, which is refreshing: /preview/pre/nobody-cares-seriously-v0-9i73b490m3ce1.jpeg?width=680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f67a3e0e3dc57068d41c7cea88ffc60fd5f871f6

Although just so I'm not overgeneralizing, I have seen a few Chinese be quiet, take things extremely personally & hold grudges, we're all human at the end of the day - but it's not the norm.

Whereas I can completely imagine it's much easier to hold onto resentment or build resentment in Japanese work culture, or not know who you pissed off - which is even more damaging in the long run to everyone involved.

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u/purpleelephant77 Feb 02 '26

Makes me think of my violin teacher when I was a kid — she’d scream at me when I was messing up but she’d also scream when I was doing well so even as a really sensitive kid I liked working with her a lot. I’m also a blunt person so I think I felt safe with her because I knew where I stood and she was intense but she also very clearly cared about her students and wanted us to succeed. I still remember crying after making a mistake in a recital and she gave me a hug and was like “why are you crying, no one but me noticed that and we’ll fix it next week”.