The sudden death of a 32-year-old software manager in Guangzhou has ignited a firestorm of criticism across Chinese social media, once again putting the nation’s grueling “996” work culture—working 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week—under the microscope.
Gao Guanghui, an employee at electronics firm CVTE Group, passed away in November 2025 after suffering a sudden heart attack.
According to his wife, referred to by the pseudonym Li, the tragedy was the culmination of years of relentless overtime and high-pressure targets.
The “Posthumous” Work Message
Perhaps the most chilling detail of the case is that even as Gao lay dead in the hospital, the digital machinery of his corporate life continued to grind.
On the day he died, despite feeling severely unwell, Gao logged into the company’s internal system five times.
While doctors were performing emergency CPR, Gao’s account was added to a new technical group chat by colleagues seeking immediate assistance.
Approximately eight hours after his death was pronounced, his phone vibrated with a message from a colleague labeled “urgent,” demanding a fix for an inspection failure scheduled for Monday morning.
A Lifetime of Toil
Gao’s life story has struck a deep chord with the Chinese public. Originally from a poor family in Henan province, Gao reportedly began collecting scrap metal at age 10 to support his parents. A diary entry from his 16-year-old self surfaced after his death, reading.
“My destiny and difficulties push me to grow up. I need to work hard and harder.”
Since his promotion to team leader in 2021, Gao rarely returned home before 9:30 p.m., often staying until midnight.
His wife shared heartbreaking chat logs where she pleaded with him to come home, to which he would respond that the workload was too heavy and his team needed him. “If I could turn back time,” Li said, “I would force him to quit.”
The case has highlighted the “low base, high performance” pay model common in China’s tech sector.
Gao’s base salary was reportedly only 3,000 yuan ($415), meaning he was forced to meet extreme KPIs to earn his full income of approximately 19,000 yuan.
Furthermore, his widow has accused the company of cold indifference, claiming they processed his resignation just two weeks after his death and discarded his personal belongings in a disorganized box.
CVTE Group has reportedly offered a “humanitarian death benefit” but denies legal responsibility for the death as a work-related injury.
The local Human Resources and Social Security Bureau in Guangzhou has confirmed it is investigating the case to determine if it qualifies as a work-related fatality.
