An employee in China has gone viral after winning 7 days of paid “rain leave” in a company raffle, meaning she can stay home when it rains. The woman, based in Changsha, works at Mala Wangzi, a spicy snack brand. She gained attention after winning the quirky prize in a workplace raffle.
According to a report by the South China Morning Post, the initiative was introduced by the company’s management to boost morale during the region’s prolonged rainy season. Mala Wangzi, which means “spicy Prince”, was established in 2009 by Zhang Yudong. His son, Zhang Zilong, is the head of online marketing.
Zilong, who is also known on social media as “Spicy Son”, shared details of the lucky draw on his social media account. “Have you ever seen a city where it rains for 82 out of 90 days? To cheer up my employees, we prepared a ‘rain leave lottery’ for everyone. As the saying goes, the early bird catches the worm. We are waiting at the company entrance today to see who the lucky winners will be,” he said in a video documenting the event.
The video shows employees drawing tickets from a box, with prizes ranging from practical rain gear to appliances. The biggest prize of all was the 7 days of flexible, fully paid leave for rainy days.
According to the company, the leave can be used all at once or split across multiple days, depending on the weather. Additionally, the company also handed out other benefits aimed at easing the impact of rainy commutes. These included “late-for-work passes”, which allow employees to arrive late without penalty on rainy days, as well as cash commuting subsidies.
Other prizes included umbrellas, rain boots, dehumidifiers and hair dryers, all tailored to the season. According to SCMP, all employees received some form of reward in the raffle.
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Social media reactions
The initiative quickly gained traction online, with many praising the company’s employee-friendly approach.
“The boss really understands people in southern China,” one user wrote.
Another commented, “This is exactly the kind of benefit workers dream of. I am so jealous I could cry.”
“All southern companies should copy this,” wrote a third user.
