When I was a little kid, I got into trouble a lot. It was never for big stuff – usually more along the lines of not cleaning my room. My mom’s favorite way to teach me a lesson was to take away television for X amount of time.
Obviously, that punishment didn’t really hit home for me, because I can’t even begin to tell you how many days (or sometimes weeks) in my childhood and adolescence I wasn’t allowed to watch TV because I hadn’t kept my room clean AGAIN.
I will tell you this, though. When I was about 5 or 6, I rebelled about my bedtime and refused to go to bed. I have no idea where my mom got this punishment from – TV? A magazine? Did she brew it up in her head? But she used reverse psychology and her response was, “OK. Don’t go to bed. All night. You’re not allowed to go to sleep tonight.”
I have no recollection of how long it took, but, of course, after a certain amount of time, sleepy little Sharon was literally BEGGING to be allowed to go to bed.
Y’all, I may have continued to keep my room messy, but that bedtime thing? The punishment fit the crime and I NEVER balked at my bedtime again.
Which brings us to this story…
Founded in 1989, Hainan Airlines is an airline headquartered in Haikou, Hainan China. As per Wikipedia, “It is the largest civilian-run and majority state-owned air transport company, making it the fourth-largest airline in terms of fleet size in the People’s Republic of China, and tenth-largest airline in Asia in terms of passengers carried. It operates scheduled domestic and international services on 500 routes from Hainan and nine locations on the mainland, as well as charter services. Its main base is Haikou Meilan International Airport, with hubs at Beijing Capital International Airport and Xi’an Xianyang International Airport and several focus cities.”
Hainan’s parent company, a Chinese conglomerate called HNA Group, declared bankruptcy in early 2021. It’s in the midst of restructuring, but the airline is still running as normal. HNA is also affiliated with about 10 other airlines in China.
Hainan has year-round subtropical and tropical climates. However, Beijing is much further north and nighttime temperatures right now vary from the 30s to the low 40s. Because of those colder temperatures in Beijing, HNA told Hainan Airlines’ management in early October to start allowing their flight attendants to wear their winter uniforms.
Yicai.com reports that about a week later, a passenger with an HNA Platinum card flew into Beijing Airport and saw Hainan flight attendants waiting for their shuttle bus in Beijing, crouching and shivering while still in their summer uniforms. The flyer sent a photo of one of the flight attendants to Gu Gang, the leader of Hainan province’s joint working group that’s in charge of the restructuring of HNA Group.
Gu criticized Hainan Airlines’ management for this lack of attention to its flight attendants’ comfort and well-being, especially after being told to issue them orders for winter wear. HNA decided there needed to be an appropriate punishment for them.
Not long afterward, eight Hainan Airlines executives were flown from the airline’s headquarters to Beijing. Because they usually lived and worked in a warmer climate, they were dressed in their typical summer work clothing.
After their plane landed, the execs received the following message:
Don’t just sit in the office and feel the same in all seasons. In many cases, employee care doesn’t cost much, it just needs heart and attention.
They then were instructed, as per HNA management, to stand outside for 40 minutes, in just their slacks and dress shirts, without any coats or jackets on [click here for photo]. Temperatures that night were close to freezing.
The disciplining was sent down so they could, “have a deep reflection on their mistake.”
Perfect! I bet their employees will never again be dressed inappropriately for the weather at hand.
Let the punishment fit the crime indeed!
Feature Photo: Hainan Airlines / Twitter
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2 comments
What’s good for the goose…
But hey, it’s China. They’re lucky they weren’t executed.
A common punishment for badly run companies there.
Interesting that the FA’s can’t decide on their own that it’s too cold and time to use a jacket. But hey, it’s China!