Asia Techonomics: Wenn Präsenz im Büro als Karriereversicherung gilt

On Monday, Shanghai was inundated with water, with basements flooded and firefighters working to clear roads. However, the city's efforts were temporarily insufficient to counter the floods brought by Typhoon "Dolphin." Subway lines were halted, ferries at the Huangpu River came to a stop, and hundreds of flights were canceled. The municipal government concluded that if one could work from home, they should do so, without facing any disadvantages due to the flood-related absence.

This was especially true for those who feared that a day of home office could harm their career. Within hours, videos of people wading through puddles and swiftly flowing water to make it to work began circulating on Chinese social media platforms WeChat and Xiaohongshu. Others struggled through traffic in torrential rain, with visibility through windshields reduced to a gray haze.

Debates ensued in online forums, questioning whether the sense of duty or insanity prevailed in a city that had unofficially adopted "higher, faster, further" as its motto.