Chief who told staff ‘I’m not your mother’ leaves business

A PR chief who sparked a backlash by demanding staff work intense hours and saying she was “not your mother” has left her company.

Qu Jing, the public relations head of China’s largest search engine Baidu, has left the company after she told staff they had to go on 50-day business trips and regularly work weekends.

Ms Qu left the business on Thursday evening, sources told the Financial

Times, following an online backlash to her comments.

In a series of now-deleted videos posted on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, Ms Qu said staff must be willing to accompany her on weekslong trips as a matter of course and boasted that she was so devoted to her job that she didn’t know what year her son was in at school. In one clip, she said: “Why would I take the employee’s family into consideration? I am not her mother-inlaw. I’m not your mother, either. I only care about results, and our relationship is based on work.”

The videos sparked an online backlash to what was seen as the toxic work culture Ms Qu was promoting.

It also generated worldwide headlines, something that was ironic given her role leading Baidu’s public relations department.

Ms Qu apologised after the posts went viral. Before quitting, she wrote on WeChat: “I apologise that the inappropriate videos led to the public’s misunderstanding of my company’s values and corporate culture.

“I will learn from my mistakes and improve the way I communicate, and care more for my colleagues.”

Observers said Ms Qu’s attitude was emblematic of China’s intense work culture.