Retiring

When I was in China we spent most of the time at our client's "campus" - 12km² of buildings and landscaping. 40,000 employees work in this technology factory, whose assembly lines are crammed with white collar education and prestigious job titles.

Most companies put their research scientists in windowless basement labs. This company puts them in Building A, which is wrapped in columns and looks very grand. This is to show the importance they place on research. It's a pale yellow colour but is nicknamed The White House.

Building F is larger still, if less columny. The floors are massive. Later in the afternoon we were walking through the 8th floor, past a sea of desks and cubicles and monitors. The desks were mostly empty due to Chinese New Year, and I noticed some large, thick mats rolled up under each of them. I wondered if this was some type of ergonomic innovation.

Each mat had a different pattern on it. I spotted a Hello Kitty looking glum (for once) under a desk. I guess I wouldn't like it much either. Most of the patterns were floral, or featuring the sort of Chinese good luck symbols you see in casinos. It was all so mysterious. Could they be gambling under there? Is Hello Kitty being forced to serve drinks?

I asked my colleague if he knew what was going on (albeit while raising an eyebrow ... just in case further speculation was on the cards ...). He told me that this company has a 90-minute lunch break. People eat for 45 min, usually at the staff canteen, then they return to their desks and the lights are automatically turned off for the nap. Everyone naps.

"You know Anthony that some people have retired from here?"

-- "Well it's quite a young company but I guess ..."

"No. They have retired from here and now they sell mattresses. There are always new people starting so they all need mattresses"

-- "Oh. Really?"

"Yes. There is a store downstairs in this building where you can buy mattresses. The owner was a software programmer here. He has a PhD in Engineering from Beijing University."

-- "Does he make a lot of money?"

"Oh yes. A lot. I think he becomes quite rich."

-- "Seriously? From selling mattresses? He can earn more money than with his qualifications?"

"Yes. Getting rich is all about supply and demand. We have many PhD's here but not many places to buy a mattress."