In the conference room, the new employees were all seriously answering questions. Every time they selected an option, they would type in the explanation on the keyboard. The length of their answers varied as well.
Wu Bin was invigilating the exam so it was not convenient for him to look at the specific questions and answers. In principle, the Tengda Spirit compatibility test was absolutely confidential. At the very least, it would not be good for him to look at the questions openly in the examination hall.
Therefore, Wu Bin could only wait for the exam to end before asking about the changes in the exam questions in private. Then, he could think of the deeper meaning behind Boss Pei’s changes.
Soon, the test ended.
The test duration remained the same since Pei Qian had deliberately adjusted the number of questions. The new employees submitted their answers one after another to check the test results.
Some employees’ screens showed that they had passed while the screen of the others asked them to work hard.
Wu Bin roughly scanned the computer screen that he could see. He could roughly see the final result even though he could not see the words of the questions.
Only a small portion of the new employees did not pass the test. This was only the first test after all. There were still three more. They would be able to enter the company successfully as long as they passed any one of them.
The passing rate was not much different from the previous batches of employees.
Wu Bin could not help but frown as he analyzed the situation.
“The results would still be released immediately after the exam. This means that the system would automatically calculate the scores based on the objective answers. The content that was filled out would not be counted.”
“Then… why did Boss Pei change it this time?”
“Could it be that he wants to see if there was any difference in understanding of the Tengda spirit by the new employees?”
“Or could there be a longer-term plan that I have yet to figure out?”
…
At the same time, Pei Qian was checking the results of the test in his office.
All results were transferred out for him to take a closer inspection, be it for the employees who had passed or failed.
There were not only options on the results of each test, but also employees’ own explanations of the options.
Pei Qian picked out two of the most representative questions.
The first question was: It was time to knock off, and you still had one more task to complete. What should you do now?
If he chose to “argue with the supervisor rationally” on this question, he would get five more points. If he chose “do it tomorrow”, he would get four more points.
Pei Qian’s original intention for this question was to let his employees establish the concept of never working overtime. The stronger the concept, the more it suited Boss Pei’s requirements.
Many of the new employees who passed the test chose these two options.
However, looking at their explanation of this option, Pei Qian could not help but frown.
“The Tengda spirit is to not work overtime therefore, I’ll not work overtime.”
“It’s impossible for the supervisor to request us to work overtime. Therefore, the option of ‘arguing rationally’ is not valid. The department will automatically knock off and lock the door. We can only wait until tomorrow.”
“If you don’t have a slot for overtime, you won’t be able to work over time even if you want to.”
“Resting is for better work. If working overtime affects my rest today, my work efficiency will decrease tomorrow, and I will fall into a vicious cycle. Rest well today to be able to finish all my work efficiently tomorrow.”
“An outstanding employee of Tengda should not have to work overtime to complete his work. If that happens, he should first consider whether he is too inefficient and work hard to improve efficiency. He should not use his tactical diligence to cover up his laziness.”
“The Tengda spirit has said before that we have to strike a balance between work and rest and have a long-term goal. There’s no need to be in a hurry if it isn’t a pressing issue. As long as it doesn’t affect our work schedule, there’s no need for us to work overtime. What’s more, Tengda doesn’t support this.”
After reading these explanations, many question marks floated above Pei Qian’s head.
???
There were some explanations that seemed like they understood the Tengda spirit, but on closer inspection, it did not seem to be accurate!
While the thought of ‘no one is working overtime, so I’m not working overtime’, meant that ‘no overtime’ had become a trend within Tengda, if one dug deeper into the foundation of this trend, they would find that it was completely different from Pei Qian’s original idea!
The reason why most people chose not to work overtime was because they felt that compared to working overtime, they should work more efficiently. Taking a break was for the sake of more efficient work.
That way, whether they worked overtime or not, they would be able to fully utilize their working capabilities!
Many companies required their employees to work overtime without overtime pay in accordance to the 996 working hour system.[1.’996 working hour system’ is a work schedule commonly practiced by some companies in China, requiring employees to work from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm for 6 days per week.]However, regardless of whether the employees were slacking or being passive because of fatigue, the efficiency of most employees in this 996 working hour system would be greatly reduced. It would be good enough if they could work at fifty to sixty percent efficiency.
Tengda,however, was the exact opposite. Overtime was strictly prohibited, and the 996 working hour system was not allowed. Employees’ enthusiasm for work had been fully stimulated. Some of them were even encouraged and motivated mentally. Their working conditions were off the charts, and their efficiency was greatly improved.
In that case, Tengda’s working model might be much better than the companies that adopted the 996 working hour system!
Pei Qian’s expression turned serious.
He seemed to have discovered the problem!
His original intention was for everyone to slack off and entertain themselves. However, everyone understood it as Boss Pei wanted everyone to have more fun so that they could complete their work better!
It was one more step, but the ultimate goal was completely different!
Pei Qian quickly found another question.
There seemed to be no change to the question, about knocking off. However, this was a task personally assigned by Boss Pei. What should he do now?
The standard answer this time was to work overtime to complete the task. He would be awarded another point if he were to ask for double his original point for the overtime work.
Many people who had chosen correctly, but the reason for choosing correctly was still different from Pei Qian’s original intentions.
“We have to achieve whatever Boss Pei wants.”
“The task that Boss Pei personally assigned must be a very important one. I must complete it perfectly even if I have to fight in hell for it!”
“There must be a deeper meaning behind Boss Pei’s special task. I have to try to figure it out now. I have to dig out Boss Pei’s inner most thoughts. Once I understand his thoughts, I will be able to complete the task. It would not be too much to reward myself with more overtime pay.”
“You have to be confident of yourself. If you take Boss Pei’s overtime pay, you can earn more money for the company in the future. If you don’t dare to ask for overtime pay, it means that you don’t have confidence in your own abilities. That doesn’t fit the Tengda spirit.”
Looking at these answers, Pei Qian felt 10% comforted and 90% worried.
Fortunately, the employees seemed to have an obsession and consensus about completing the tasks that Boss Pei had assigned them. They would definitely complete it on time. That way, Pei Qian would not have to worry about not being able to complete the project and the System delaying settlement.
However… what the hell was this’ taking Boss Pei’s overtime pay and earning more money for the company in return’?
Pei Qian was speechless. Who the f*ck asked you to repay me?
Don’t make wild guesses!
Boss Pei had always done good things without asking for anything in return. You’re making it very difficult for me!
After reading the answers to these two questions, Pei Qian realized a very serious problem.
The original intention of this Tengda Spirit compatibility test had been severely misinterpreted!
In fact, Pei Qian’s original intention was purely to let his employees rest more, slack more, work less, and earn less money for the company. He did not think too much about it.
However, while most people did understand the meaning of ‘rest more’, for some reason, they took a step further: resting more was to become better at work.
The meaning changed entirely!
Changing from a lazy bum to a hardworking bum.
“No wonder I’ve been earning so much money recently.”
“No wonder no one in the Tengda Spirit compatibility test has been eliminated.”
“So this set of questions was completely misunderstood!”
Pei Qian placed his hand on his forehead, feeling a little speechless.
The problem was, what should he do?
From the answers of these test questions, it was obvious that Tengda’s new employees were filled with hardworking people.
The problem was that Pei Qian could not do anything to them. After all, they had passed the Tengda Spirit compatibility test based on their own abilities.
At the end of the day, Pei Qian still felt that there was something wrong with his screening method. Everyone had misunderstood him.
Of course, Pei Qian did not think that all the blame was on him. Something that he did not know was definitely happening in the company.
Even if everyone misunderstood the Tengda spirit that encouraged laziness, they could not be as unanimous as they if they had discussed the answers, right?
Someone must be adding fuel to the fire in unifying everyone’s thinking!
Pei Qian closed the backend platform of the Tengda Spirit compatibility test and began to think of countermeasures.
First, he had to change the question bank!
The current question bank no longer met the requirements. Many new employees could also pass the Tengda spirit test perfectly using the completely distorted Tengda spirit. The Tengda spirit that had been misinterpreted became an obstacle instead, greatly increasing the efficiency of the employees!
Thus, Pei Qian felt that he should add some new questions and differentiate the slackers from the hard workers based on the original question bank.
For example, he could ask questions like “do you think it’s more important for the company to grow stronger or for the individual to earn a high salary” or “do you think it’s more important for you to make a successful career or to live a stable life”.
Those who had passed the Tengda spirit test would definitely choose to make a name for themselves and help their company develop.
Of course, he had to consider the specific questions carefully. His intentions could not be too obvious. He had to hide the key questions in many confusing questions so that he would not be easily discovered.
In order to avoid alerting the enemy, one would still pass the Tengda Spirit compatibility test even if he chose such an answer. However, Pei Qian would find an excuse to make arrangements for these people.
At that time, he would make it clear to everyone that he would select a portion of people based on the test results and assign them to other projects.
For example… places like Thriller Hostel and Upwind Logistics.
All in all, they had to minimize the impact of their fighting spirit on Tengda!
Other than that, he had to investigate how the Tengda spirit had gone astray. He could not let this matter rest!
