Chinese teacher working overtime dies of cardiac arrest at work

He was supposed to get married this month

A young teacher’s death in China, seemingly caused by stress and long overtime hours of work, has led to an increase in concern regarding overworked employees in China.

According to a report by the South China Morning Post, the young man, named Li, was in his late 20s when he died of cardiac arrest in the office. Li worked for five years at a Wuhan-based tutoring company that operated a large online platform, offering English and math courses for primary and secondary school students and reportedly catering to over 160 million users.

He had joined the company as an online tutor after graduating from college. Some reports said that in the days before his death, he worked several extra hours so he could complete pending tasks ahead of the holiday. He went to the office on April 22 and stayed late in the night. When his fiancée could not get in touch with him, she alerted the police. Early in the morning, a janitor found his unresponsive body lying there and he was later confirmed dead.

Li came from a financially constrained background. His father had passed away a long time ago, and Li had been raised alongside his elder sister by their mother, who later remarried. Li’s wedding with his fiancée was scheduled this month.

The local labor authority is cooperating with the company and Li's family to have his death certified as work-related. The company, on April 25, sent out a press statement with condolences for Li, praising his virtues, stating that there had been no overtime scheduled for his team over the holiday; and asking the press and public to show respect for the family's privacy.

However, the statement sparked skepticism online. Many netizens criticized the suggestion that Li may have chosen to work overtime voluntarily, pointing to reports of excessive workloads and performance pressure. Former employees have described a punishing work culture at the company, with some handling up to 400 students, responding to constant parental inquiries, and working over six extra hours daily. Strict monitoring of lunch and washroom breaks was also reported.

Li’s death has drawn widespread attention on Chinese social media, with related hashtags surpassing 70 million views. One user said: “Teacher Li should have been celebrating his wedding, not losing his life to overtime.”

Others condemned the culture of “voluntary” overwork, saying companies often use indirect pressure to force employees into excessive work.

While Chinese labour law limits the workweek to 44 hours with a maximum of 36 overtime hours per month, enforcement reportedly remains inconsistent. Cases of extreme overwork continue to make headlines.

In one high-profile example last year, a tech company faced backlash for requiring employees to work from 8 am to 9 pm, six days a week. In another, a programmer who routinely slept only two hours per night suffered a brain hemorrhage that left him paralysed for months.