Job Discussion Forums

murray1978 · Joined: 02 Dec 2008 Posts: 84

Hi,

This has been a question on my mind for a long time and I hope someone could shed some light on this.

Why are the hours at a Chinese private academy like Disney, EF, etc skewed towards ten hour days on weekends? Wouldn't it make sense to have a set schedule during the week like 2-8 or 3-9 everyday similar to South Korea?

In other countries, you have a set schedule of 6 to 8 hours a day over a five day period. It seems that in China, you work ten and twelve hour days respectively on the weekend. Why is it way?

Wouldn't it make sense to have your schedule similar to South Korea and have classes for Chinese students to attend after school?

It is something that I have wondered about for a long time!

LarssonCrew · Joined: 06 Jun 2009 Posts: 1308

Here's why.

The Chinese kids are at school before 5pm and Chinese adults are at work before 5pm.

So, therefore the 5-10 pm range is pretty much all they can do during the day except maybe some university student classes or those rich enough not to care and just send their kid for hours of English class.

Whereas the weekend they can do pretty much 8am-10pm because no one has school/work on those hours.

Non Sequitur · Joined: 23 May 2010 Posts: 4724 Location: China

Wouldn't it make sense

Sense = money

doogsville · Joined: 17 Nov 2011 Posts: 924 Location: China

Indeed, and even after they finish school for the day, most Chinese kids will be doing homework until bedtime, or midnight, whichever comes first. Some private schools run adult classes in the evenings, which in my experience are a pain, because you sit around all day and then have to get up and go to work for a 7 pm start.

The upside for some people of the mostly weekend working is that you have the weekdays off. It's much quieter and easier to move around during the week.

CNexpatesl · Joined: 27 May 2015 Posts: 194

I've never liked working evenings and then having to adjust my schedule for the weekends to wake up at 6am or 7a in the morning to start classes at 8am or 9am. Your body is already used to waking up late on weekdays, then you're expected to jolt up and be fresh and awake so early on Saturday and Sunday. It never works.

I can't understand why guys would prefer to have the regular 9-5 schedule on weekdays with weekends off. Like someone pointed out before, you're commuting to work with millions of other Chinese people during these hours. Your subways and roads will be packed to the gills when you go to work and when you go home. And there's nothing open during the weekends. Even hospitals are closed. Laughing

Shanghai Noon · Joined: 18 Aug 2013 Posts: 589 Location: Shanghai, China

When I worked Tuesday to Saturday, that was perfect. Everyone has Sunday off, and on Monday I could take care of any business I needed to. The reason why people want to work Monday to Friday 9-5 is to have the same time off as their friends and family, and to have Saturday and Sunday free because these are the best days for part-time work.