Simple Goal of Having a Stable Job

Abstract

W, male, born in 1987. The only child in the family. Grade IV intellectual disability. Dropped out of a regular school in 2003. Joined a Sunshine Home in Shanghai in 2007. Started working at a supermarket in Shanghai in 2008 and at Shanghai Papa John’s in 2009.

Interview with Mr. W’s Parents

W, male, born in 1987. The only child in the family. Grade IV intellectual disability. Dropped out of a regular school in 2003. Joined a Sunshine Home in Shanghai in 2007. Started working at a supermarket in Shanghai in 2008 and at Shanghai Papa John’s in 2009.

Interviewees: W’s mother and W’s father

Interviewer and writer: Jingjing Shen

Interview dates: November 5, 2016 and January 14, 2017

Interview place: W’s home

An Introvert Child

Q: How did you meet your husband? Are you both Shanghai natives?

W’s mother: We met through someone in 1981 and got married in 1985. We were both born and raised in Shanghai, but our ancestors were from outside Shanghai. Mine were from Jiangsu and my husband’s were from Ningbo.

Q: What did you and your husband do?

W’s mother: I had always worked in a public transportation company, and my husband worked at No. 2 Thermal Bottle Factory.

Q: How did you get hired?

W’s mother: I applied for the job, whereas my husband inherited¹ his dad’s job.

Q: How soon did you have the baby after you got married? Were you happy about getting pregnant?

W’s mother: We got married in 1985 and had the baby on May 10, 1987, which was more than 12 months later. Of course, I was happy about getting pregnant.

Q: Did you immediately go back to work following maternity leave?

W’s mother: No. I took a year off.

Q: W has a very nice name. Who gave it to him?

W’s mother: His dad.

Q: Does it have any special meaning?

W’s father (with a shy smile): I like snowy days, so I gave him a name that has to do with snow.

Q: Was there anything wrong with the baby when he was born?

W’s mother: No. The birth was smooth and everything was normal.

Q: Is there anyone with a similar condition in the family?

W’s mother: No. Everyone is normal.

Q: How was his health when he was young?

W’s mother: He was in good health. He would just have a fever or a cold or coughing at preschool. He seldom had a high fever, so he was healthy compared to other kids.

Q: Was he fed well when he was young?

W’s mother: He was fed very well. If he wasn’t fed well, then no kid was. My husband’s side of the family was from Ningbo where everyone loves kids. My mother-in-law was 68 when she had this grandson, so you can imagine how happy she was. My husband was 35 and I was 29 when we had the baby, so we spoiled him. And my husband’s two elder sisters spoiled W too. We went overboard with the spoiling.

Q: When did he start preschool?

W’s mother: He started preschool at four and went to the preschool affiliated with the marine branch of the Second Military Medical University. We used to live in Wujiaochang and the preschool was close to home. I would drop him off every day and my mother-in-law would pick him up. My son was always dropped off and picked up, until he was no longer a kid. We could never stop worrying.

Q: How did he do at preschool?

W’s mother: He did well. He was in good health while going to preschool and seldom got sick. He had no problem brushing his teeth, washing his face and taking care of his own needs.

Q: Did he like playing with other kids? Was he particularly close with any kids?

W’s mother: He never liked playing with anyone and was an introvert. We used to live in the old-style public housing and each family stuck to themselves, like nowadays, and the neighbors had nothing to do with each other. My mother-in-law was the one taking care of him. He got along well with other kids, but whereas other kids would have a whole bunch of friends, he had only one or two.

Q: When did he start elementary school? And how did he do at the school?

W’s mother: He started elementary school after 3 years’ preschool. The elementary school was Songmou Road Elementary School. It was back in 1993 and he just went to the school of our district.

Q: How were his grades there? And what did the teachers have to say about him?

W’s mother: His grades were average, actually below average. They were not really good. He did best at math and could score 96 points in fourth grade and fifth grade. He did worst at Chinese and PE. When we talked to the teachers, we were always told that he was doing okay and listening well. He was never naughty like other kids. He didn’t like to hang out with anyone and would just stay home as soon as he came back. It would have been nice if he had been willing to get to know more people, but he wasn’t. He couldn’t tell if a person was good or bad. He didn’t even want to go on school field trips and we gradually just stopped forcing him. He was a little autistic.

Q: So, you ended up not forcing him to go on the field trips?

W’s mother: We just let him have his way, and we do that now, too. We consulted the doctor on whether he had any mental problems, and the doctor said that we had to sweet talk instead of antagonizing kids like him. If you talk to him nice, he will listen. If you go against his wishes, he will get mad.

W’s father: He doesn’t exactly have an intellectual disability. He is just not as smart as some other people. He doesn’t have it as bad as intellectual disability.

Q: Has he always been an introvert who isn’t interested in human interactions, ever since he was young?

W’ mother: He has always been like that ever since he was young. You are young and maybe still single. You should never take Chinese medicine during pregnancy, because it will adversely affect the baby. I had a difficult time getting pregnant, so I was on Chinese medicine to keep the baby. I got married at 25 and had the baby at 29. I was on Chinese medicine all the time to preempt a miscarriage and it was a mistake. I learnt a hard lesson and I would like you to know about it. You really have to heed what I say, because my lesson was so costly. But of course it won’t be like this for everyone. I probably just hit the jackpot.

Q: He doesn’t like to talk. Have you tried to teach him to talk more?

W’s mother: We did try to teach him like we would have taught an average person. We tried harder than other parents and would point it out to him if he did something wrong. He would listen but would soon forget about it. That’s just how he is, forgetful.

Q: Who helped him with his studies when he was in elementary school?

W’s mother: Sometimes my husband did it after coming back from work at night. My husband’s sister would help him too. She was a teacher and speaks very good Mandarin. We would teach him whatever he didn’t understand and we wouldn’t spank him if he didn’t listen. We really spoiled him.

W’s father: He really doesn’t like to communicate with anyone.

Bullied in Middle School

Q: When did he start middle school and how did he do?

W’s parents: He started middle school in September 1999, at Tongmou Middle School. That’s when other kids started bullying him, but we didn’t realize it till May or June of 2000.

Q: How did you find out?

W’s mother: I saw bruises on him and he wouldn’t tell me how he got them. It was the next-door kid who went to the same school as W who told me. My husband had lost his job and I was working. I was short-tempered, and W figured that if I ran into trouble because of my short temper, our family would be done for. So, he just kept it to himself because that’s how gentle he is. He was worried that his mom would beat up the other kids if she knew he was bullied and that his mom would go to jail for that.

Q: How did the other kids bully him?

W’s mother: They would play tricks on him, kick him, and write on the back of his clothes. They would also take pencils and other nice-looking things from his schoolbag. I would check his schoolbag sometimes when I had time and find there was literally nothing in the bag.

W’s father: Those kids were all from single-parent families and they envied W for having both parents.

W’s mother: W ate well and dressed well. At elementary school, he didn’t like the school food, so I would cook lunch every day and deliver it to him at school. But the lunch would be taken from him and he wouldn’t say a thing. When I saw that he was starving, I wondered why since we delivered food. Then I found out that the lunch was in the hands of other kids. They just robbed him of it. W wouldn’t defend himself. He told me to let it go since the other kids had nothing to eat—kind-hearted kids always get shortchanged.

Q: Did you not tell the teacher about him being bullied at school?

W’s mother: We did but it was no use. In fact, W got bullied even worse after we told the teacher. W wouldn’t tell us about being bullied and the teacher didn’t care. She actually assigned the kid who bullied W to sit behind him in class. We asked for something to be done about it and she just ignored us, and W just continued to be bullied. The environment at school wasn’t very good, and the teacher was very young. She was only 26 then, with no experience and no sense of responsibility.

Q: When did you realize there might be something wrong with W’s intellectual ability?

W’s mother: When he was a teenager. How did we realize it? We found that he was a little slow after being bullied at school. It took us a while to realize it. Maybe he was traumatized by the bullying. There were a total of six or seven kids from divorced parents who constantly bullied him. W was afraid to tell us about it, but we figured it had done something to his mind.

Q: Where did he go after graduating from middle school?

W’s mother: He started at a vocational school in 2002 after graduating from middle school. We figured that since he wasn’t doing well at academics, maybe he could acquire culinary skills at the vocational school which could help him open a restaurant later. I was working in a canteen back then and it seemed to me that he enjoyed food. So I told him, “When Mommy was young, your grandpa said if I liked food, I should learn how to cook. I know you don’t know how to cook, but I can teach you.”

Q: How did he do at the vocational school?

W’s mother: W was very good with the kitchen knife. He could do all the chopping at the school, like chopping vegetables and dried tofu to make certain dishes. He only attended the school for less than 12 months. He was doing well at first, but then the bullying started. The students were required to bring their own chicken, pork, and knives to school to cook, and everything he brought from home was taken away from him, so we stopped him from going to the school.

Q: So he never went back to that school?

W’s mother: We gave up on it because we didn’t want to send him there to be bullied. He only stayed at the vocational school for one semester and dropped out during the second semester. He wasn’t really into it anyway.

Q: Had he ever been to any special education school?

W’s mother: No. There’s nothing wrong with my son’s intellectual ability. His mind wouldn’t have been on academics at a special education school, which was why we never sent him there.

Obtaining a Disability Certificate

Q: What did he do after dropping out of the vocational school?

W’s mother: He just stayed home to play on the computer. He was good at playing with that and his cell phone, and watching TV. He can type really fast, using pinyin and not even looking while he types. We heard that he wouldn’t have got a job even with a vocational school education, so we were resigned to having him stay home.

Q: Who cooked for him while he stayed home?

W’s mother: A’niang, which means Grandma in Ningbo dialect, took care of him at home. He didn’t like going out. Our family was very protective of him. If he went out, there would be two of us following him because we would worry otherwise.

Q: How long did he stay at home?

W’s mother: He stayed home from 2002 to 2007 which was when he went to the Sunshine Home. We didn’t let him do anything. He was still young and not yet an adult, so we spoiled him. Once you become a parent, you will know how precious your kid is to you.

Q: When did he get the disability certificate? Was an assessment required?

W’s mother: He was able to start at the Sunshine Home. The Community Affairs Committee suggested that because he is an introvert, getting a disability certificate for him could give him a certain advantage which might help improve his mood. He probably couldn’t compete against the average kid, so we resorted to getting him a disability certificate. Kids his age were getting regular jobs and he wasn’t, so we took him for an assessment.

Q: Did you take him to a hospital for the assessment?

W’s mother: Yes, we took him to a hospital, which I believe was in 2006. The assessment showed him to have Grade IV disability. During the assessment, the doctor was actually impressed with the way he talked, so we were quite optimistic that he definitely didn’t have any disability. We were astounded when the Community Affairs Committee later told us that he has intellectual disability and was even issued a disability certificate.

The main reason we got him a disability certificate was to get him a stable job. My son definitely cannot compare with the best out there, but there are people in much worse shape than he is which kind of gives him some confidence. We cried about the disability certificate because it put a label on him forever, but there’s nothing we could do about it.

Q: Did you seek any treatment after the assessment at the hospital?

W’s mother: No, we didn’t. We had wanted him to see a doctor, but he refused to go for fear of being traumatized. So, I figured that we might as well take our time mentoring him ourselves. He is not doing bad on the whole and doesn’t need to be on any medication like some other people. The doctors advised us against medication too, and we couldn’t decide whether we had done the right thing not taking him to see a doctor. My son doesn’t look like someone with severe intellectual disability. He is just a little off, like people often say, and the only thing with him is that he doesn’t speak well.

W’s father: His intellectual disability isn’t apparent. He just can’t control his emotions sometimes, has slower reactions and isn’t as smart as some other people. That’s it. His intellectual disability isn’t severe at all. He knows geographical locations and provinces and knows a lot about life, just like an average person. It’s really a pity that my son has this slight disability.

Q: So, he doesn’t take any medicine?

W’s mother: The doctor said not to give him any because medicine could make him worse. He might become addicted, like to opium. The doctor said that my son’s condition could be controlled without medicine.

Q: I heard that your husband has a disability certificate too, is that right?

W’s mother: He has a problem with his eye and was born with it. My father-in-law had eye problems too. My husband got his disability certificate before my son did.

W’s father: My eyes were okay while I was working and got worse later on.

W’s mother: I was a contracted worker back then, and the contract was renewed once my husband got the certificate.

W’s father: I got it 6 years before my son did. I got it in 2000 and he got it in 2006. I did it for the sake of a job, too. If your spouse had a disability, you could get your work contract renewed.

Going to the Sunshine Home

Q: He went to the Sunshine Home first, did he? How did he get in there?

W’s mother: The Community Affairs Committee referred him to the Sunshine Home where he stayed for about 2 years. He started there in 2007 and moved on to a supermarket in 2008. We wanted him to get a job earlier so that the workplace could pay into his pension and insurances² and he could have something to live on after retirement.

Q: What did he normally do at the Sunshine Home?

W’s mother: Some handiwork like stringing beads and wrapping soaps. He would check in at 8 a.m. and come home at 4 p.m.

Q: Do you think the Sunshine Home was good for him?

W’s mother: Going to the Sunshine Home was, of course, good for him, because he was exposed to society that way which was better than staying home. After he started going to the Sunshine Home, he seemed to have become more willing to communicate with others, whereas he hardly talked about anything coming back from school.

Q: Did he get monthly pay at the Sunshine Home?

W’s father: He got 200 yuan per month, as stipend, not pay.

Q: Did he ever participate in Special Olympics activities when he was there?

W’s mother: He did every year. We have a good relationship with the Community Affairs Committee, and they would send W to all of Special Olympics activities. My son could sing, do long jump, and dance, which we didn’t even know ourselves. He was very good at long jump and shooting basketball, which was his favorite. Back then, the Community Affairs Committee told us that my son was quite capable and wondered why we hadn’t known before.

Q: Did he ever win anything?

W’s mother: He would win either first place or second place every time and a lot of prizes like the electric fan and bedding set we use at home. We didn’t want him to monopolize all of the events this year, so we only registered him for one event and the prizes were, if I remember correctly, shampoo, shower gel, and soap.

Q: When were Special Olympics activities usually held? Did he always go on his own?

W’s mother: Usually in summer, in June and July when it’s really hot.

Q: Was there any organized special training before the activities?

W’s mother: He didn’t need to train. The Community Affairs Committee was over the moon that he agreed to go to those activities, because his wins made everyone look good.

Q: Did he always go to the activities on his own?

W’s mother: He did every time and came back on his own. Sometimes his dad would drop him off at a certain place and there would be prearranged transportation from that point on.

Q: Did he make any friends at Special Olympics activities?

W’s mother: No.

Q: Did the activities normally last 1 day?

W’s mother: Right, just 1 day.

Q: Do you see any room for improvement for the Special Olympics activities?

W’s mother: Not really. They are actually very good, giving us a chance to discover my kid’s strengths. I hope that he can continue participating in Special Olympics activities.

Six Months Working at a Supermarket

Q: After staying at the Sunshine Home for a while, he moved on to a supermarket, right?

W’s mother: Right. He passed a test and was picked to work there, in 2008 while he was still at the Sunshine Home. He collected shopping baskets and carts at the supermarket most of the time. He liked that job, but only stayed there for 6 months because they didn’t want him anymore.

Q: Why not?

W’s father: That’s what happens when people with disabilities are hired. You probably are not aware of this, but the Disabled Persons’ Federation (DPF) assigns people with disabilities to the workplaces and,³ as a result, the workplaces can enjoy tax deductions for every person with disabilities that they hire. What supermarkets do is to use people with disabilities for trial periods and let them go after the 6 months’ probation. That’s their practice all the time.⁴

Q: Do you remember how much his first pay was at the supermarket?

W’s mother: It was the first month he worked in 2008 and he made 1,300 yuan. He was so happy when he got the money and bought us things with it. I don’t remember exactly what, but we were so happy too. When the supermarket let him go after 6 months, he went back to the Sunshine Home and was soon picked up by Papa John’s.

Joining Papa John’s

Q: Exactly when did he join Papa John’s?

W’s parents: In November 2009. He was picked from the Sunshine Home.

Q: Was there a test to get into Papa John’s?

W’s father: Yeah, and he did excellently on the test. He was tested both on book knowledge and practical knowledge. For practical knowledge, he was asked to make pancakes as part of the test. Once he started working at the store, he learnt whatever the manager asked him to learn even though he already had some knowledge. He makes pizza dough at the store and makes drinks too (See Fig. 1).

Fig. 1

Mr. W at work

Q: How is he doing? How many days a week does he work?

W’s father: He really likes what he does and wants to do it. He works 5 days a week and different shifts depending on the store’s schedule. If the store doesn’t have enough people, he will work longer shifts. And if the store has enough people, he will work shorter shifts. Normally he works afternoon shift starting at 11 a.m. or 12 p.m. He gets home at 9 p.m. sometimes, or 10 p.m.

Q: How is he doing at his job?

W’s mother: Some people said he is doing very well while others said he needs to improve. The store manager just said that my son isn’t doing very well or listening well. We know our son, he would never lie. If the manager said he wasn’t behaving, we would definitely give him a talk. Sometimes when we tried to talk to him, he would say that what the manager said wasn’t true. But what can we do? We can only ask him to watch out for his own behaviors. We don’t want any trouble; we just want him to keep his job. I told him that whatever he does, he has to start from the bottom and take advice from other people, which is how he can improve. I can’t say my son did wrong, or other people did wrong. We just hope that he can have a stable job, what with his disability and all.

W’s father: Right. We never care how much money he makes or that he has to work more. We just want him to have a stable job.

W’s mother: We are pretty happy now thinking that our son has a job. His pay is not an issue, like it would be for some other people. If you know us well enough, you can tell that we take it really easy in our family. My husband retired for medical reasons when he was 50, and his retirement pay isn’t high. I worked in a public transportation company and had to commute a long way, so my mother-in-law told me to retire early and my retirement pay is pretty low, too. But we are happy that we have clothes on our backs and food on our table, that we enjoy good health and a stable life. We don’t ask for anything more. Other people want to strike it rich and make hundreds of thousands, we just need to have enough to spend every month with some left over to cover when we get sick in the future.

Q: Has he always worked in the same store?

W’s mother: No, he moved around quite a bit. When he first joined, he worked at J store where the manager thought highly of him. He even brought him to the kickoff meeting in Jiujiang at the end of the Chinese New Year holiday. He was the only one from the store picked to go. So he worked there for 6 months, from November to May, then he was transferred to W store.

W’s father: He worked at W store till December 2012.

Q: Why was he transferred to another store?

W’s father: Because W store was closer to where we live. He just needed to take bus Line 55. Then the store was taken over by other people. All the employees were dispersed, so he was transferred to yet another store.

Q: How did he do at W store?

W’s father: The manager was okay with him too, saying that he was willing to work hard. But of course there’s a gap between him and people without disabilities, and it really depends on whether the store manager is caring enough.

W’s mother: Older managers are better whereas younger ones are not as caring. Some people are very picky, whereas others are more easygoing and didn’t exactly say anything bad about him.

Q: What do the co-workers think of him?

W’s mother: We will call his co-workers sometimes and they will all say that he is doing well. W will do well if his mind is there and not do as well if his mind isn’t there. That’s the way he is, and if we expect him to do well all the time, that would be overkill.

Q: After he was done at W store, where did he go?

W’s mother: W store was bought off and the employees were sent to other stores. W ended up at Y store where he worked from December 2012 to January 2016. He mostly made drinks at that store.

Q: So, he joined the current store after having worked at Y store for a while, right?

W’s mother: Right. Y store was going through renovation, so he was transferred to D store.

Q: How much does he make at Papa John’s every month?

W’s mother: On the average, 2,500 yuan. Sometimes less than that. He is on minimum pay and gets paid more sometimes and less other times. He makes more when the store is busy and less when the store isn’t busy. But I don’t like it that he isn’t paid OT for working during Chinese New Year.

W’s father: We are actually not sure whether he is paid OT because we don’t really bother with calculations. We just want him to have a stable job and it’s not really an issue how much he is paid.

W’s mother: It isn’t an issue for us. At the meeting last time, we said that it wouldn’t be an issue for us, because we just want him to have a stable job and to receive monthly pay. The pay isn’t to support any of us. We are happy as long as he is employed, considering his disability.

W’s father: We just want him to have a stable job—our objective is stability. We don’t really care whether he gets paid several times his regular pay for working OT during Chinese New Year. It isn’t an issue for us.

Q: How many days does he have to work OT during Chinese New Year?

W’s father: What happens during Chinese New Year is that he gets several days off sometimes and works other times.

Q: Is that the way his co-workers are paid too, during Chinese New Year?

W’s father: He never bothers to find out how many days his co-workers get off or how much they are paid.

W’s mother: His pay is deposited into the bankcard and I keep it with me. I withdraw the money at the interval of several months and I never ask how much he is paid. There’s that one time when I realized that he was paid an average of only 1,400 yuan or so every month which was too low, so I asked the store for an explanation. I was told that he got into trouble and the pay was deducted. So I said it’s okay and didn’t really want to argue.

W’s father: Sometimes the store counts fewer work hours and pays him less, and we won’t make a big deal out of it. My son never asks anyone how much he makes and how many days he works. We don’t care about any of that, because our objective is for him to have a stable job. We don’t have high expectations. We just want him to have a job.

W’s mother: To put it bluntly, because of the way W is, we don’t really care if he makes money or not. We just want him to be exposed to society in a safe manner, to acquire some knowledge, and if possible, to bring home some money and to have deposits into his social insurances. We don’t expect the impossible, like some other people do. W spends 4 yuan on the subway every day commuting to work. It used to be 8 yuan. So, he doesn’t really have a lot of take-home pay. We don’t even want to talk about his pay. Where’s the money for him? There’s no money.

Q: How many employees like your son does a Papa John’s store have?

W’s mother: Two or three. The DPF assigns people with disabilities to each workplace based on a certain percentage.

Q: How does he get along with his co-workers? Do they contact each other after work?

W’s mother: Not really. He doesn’t reach out to people.

Q: Does he sleep in?

W’s father: He does on his days off and doesn’t when he has to work. He is very punctual. He is never late and never leaves early. And he helps out when other employees can’t finish their work. He takes the subway commuting and he knows the route better than we do.

W’s mother: He is very good with going to work and coming home, very on time. I told him to be on time because I would worry otherwise.

Q: Is your son happy with his job now?

W’s mother: He is very happy with his job now and willing to work hard. He won’t tell us if someone says unfavorable things about him. As parents, we know him for who he is, so we swallow a lot of things and normally do not complain to the store. Our son is very honest and doesn’t say untruthful things. When he was going to school before, there were thefts on the bus. The teacher said she would only believe what W told her and not anything other kids told her. W is really honest and down-to-earth, and it’s such a pity about his disability. We get frustrated sometimes.

W’s mother: The store manager is a little too strict with him. I told her that she shouldn’t have unrealistic expectations of W and that she should contact us if something happens. Our kid finds it hard to accept when expectations for him are too high.

One time we were both summoned to the store and I fell on the way there. It was about nothing serious except that W wouldn’t listen to the manager. But our son had his side of the story. There was a job-related test but the test materials were supposed to be shown to our son beforehand. That didn’t happen and W had to take the test cold turkey, so he failed, of course. And he didn’t like it when people talked about how he failed the test. He got mad because he didn’t want to lose face, and the store had to call us because no one could calm him down. Afterwards, W said to me, “Like when we were going to school, we should have been prepared for tests.” And I agreed with him. But some people keep saying that there’s something wrong with his mind. I don’t think so. He just tells things the way they are. He speaks his mind and he is very considerate towards his parents.

Our son is very kind-hearted. There are things at the store that are not his job responsibilities, so I told him to only focus on what he is supposed to do and to not do anything the store manager doesn’t assign to him. I feel that the store takes advantage of people with disabilities, because W is asked to do everything. We feel bad for him when we hear about it, and the store manager shouldn’t ask W to do things that are not his responsibility to do. Sometimes our kid does all the dirty work that no one else is willing to do at the store. We don’t see what’s going on because we live far away. When he was working at W store, what we saw made us really sad. The store wasn’t doing a good job at all caring for its employees being cared for. Kids like W need love, so the workplace should show them love, and it’s not right to judge them using the mindset of the average person.

W’s father: We were very disappointed about the work-related injury this time.

Q: What happened?

W’s mother: Our son was injured at work. He called me saying that his hand was injured and asked me to go see him at work. I said it would take me an hour to get to the store and asked why the store didn’t send him out for treatment. The store ended up having the delivery guy bring my son to the hospital and didn’t pay a single penny for the hospital visit. My son paid for it using the money he had on him. Afterwards the hospital must have called the store manager and the store manager said the store would reimburse my son for the hospital visit, and I said I didn’t really care about that.

Q: Did he get a cut on his hand?

W’s mother: He did, and he had to get two stitches. We almost cried over it. We don’t want to make trouble as long as the store is nice to our son. Washing dishes is not part of our son’s job but we don’t protest when he is asked to do it. We asked around and none of the co-workers had anything bad to say about our son. The store manager is actually the only one who has a problem with our son. Every time we call, we will remind her that our son has an intellectual disability, but if we call too often, she will get irritated. But she is the manager, so what do you think we can do about it?

W’s father: In the case of the work-related injury this time, he was asked to do the dishes even while the person assigned that job was there at the store. He has an intellectual disability, so he should have been forewarned if there’s danger involved in certain work. He wasn’t and ended up with the cut on his hand.

W’s mother: Exactly. We entrusted our son with the store. How would you have handled it if he was your child?

W’s father: All of society should care about people with disabilities. Now the store’s intention is to send him back and we are resisting it. What will he do if he is sent back? He will be staying home, unemployed.

W’s mother: He wasn’t happy about it when he was asked to do the dishes and had a hard time swallowing it. So I told him that everyone starts at the bottom at the beginning which is the way to get established. I said, “You have to learn to crawl through a hole before you can jump over a gate and you will just have to work your way up. No work is beneath you. You should be prepared to try all kinds of work and do well at whatever job you are given.” He didn’t disagree. We have to guide his thinking in this way, otherwise he will get stuck in his mind. What happened that day when he was doing the dishes? After he was done, someone with a disability said that he would have endless dishes to wash. He probably got a little mad hearing it and got flustered too, which was why he got that cut on his hand.

Q: Hadn’t he been asked to do the dishes prior to the incident?

W’s mother: Before the incident, he was asked to help out here and there, but doing the dishes hadn’t exactly been assigned to him. Maybe he had never felt good about it, and he felt even worse when someone said that he would have to always do the dishes now that the lady doing that was leaving. It probably destroyed his mood. He gets moody sometimes. People without disabilities like us can adjust our mood and just settle for doing the dishes when asked to.

Q: He probably couldn’t resign himself to it.

W’s mother: He definitely couldn’t resign himself to it. People really should be caring towards him. I mean, even people without disabilities like us wouldn’t be able to resign ourselves to that. He was teased about having to always do the dishes. Would people without disabilities have been teased like that? Would anyone have even dared to tease like that? We didn’t like hearing about it, but what could we do? We normally try to be pleasing since our son works at that store. But we have had enough this time, and being his guardians, we had to stand up for him. He has been with Papa John’s for 7 years and is an experienced employee—it’s too bad that he still gets bullied after 7 years’ service.

Q: Have there been similar incidents at other stores?

W’s father: No. It only happened at this store.

W’s mother: I am sure you can tell that our son is very precious to us. We spoil him all the more, precisely because of his disability. If he gets bullied and we don’t make up for it, he will have an impossible life.

He has low self-esteem and normally doesn’t get into big trouble. But the store feels that he is too stubborn. He is stubborn sometimes, but he listens to reason. The manager doesn’t reason with him because she feels that she is superior and when she says W has done wrong, W has done wrong. W doesn’t agree with her sometimes and talks back as a result. I believe that’s what happens. But what I can’t understand is why the manager is always picking on him. She could have just tried to communicate with us and we would have tried to help W improve and would have felt better about it. All that the manager tells us now is that W doesn’t listen. But exactly how is he not listening? She should have told us.

Q: Do you see any changes with him after he started working?

W’s mother: When he was going to school, he didn’t tell us what had happened when he came home. Now he will tell us and communicate a little with us. Maybe it has to do with his work environment. Now he tells me what’s going on with this or that person, whereas he had never told us anything about his schoolmates before. Maybe he had been a little depressed from being bullied.

Hoping for Stability in the Future

Q: What do you think of your life now?

W’s father: Life is so-so. We had some tough times, but we had no choice.

W’s mother: We are pretty satisfied and used to life as is. Life was harder before, so I am happy with the way things are now.

Q: Can you talk a little about the past?

W’s mother: We had a hard life, because neither my husband nor I made a lot of money. He was actually laid off. I was the only one working, and we had to support our son through school, so we were barely getting by. I asked for a contract renewal so as to support the family. Unlike some other people, we didn’t want a rich life. We just want to have enough money to live on, and we have no high expectations.

W’s father: We just want food on the table and a roof over our heads. We just want a stable job. We are so worried without a job.

Q: What does W normally do when he isn’t working?

W’s mother: He plays on the computer and on his phone. He stays home every day. When his dad has time, he will take a walk with him. He went with his dad to Dishui Lake. He wanted to go to that place and couldn’t wait, so we went with him. At home, he likes to walk around. That’s the thing with him.

W’s father: He is a little hyperactive. He is active and doesn’t like to stay put. Maybe he has excessive energy and doesn’t like to sit around all the time.

Q: Do you do some things together as a family?

W’s mother: No. There’s nothing much to do. We eat together and then do our own things. Sometimes he will mention certain things he wants to eat. We don’t go out for fun as a family, and he has no desire to do that anyway. Sometimes we will be invited to eat out and he will opt out. He is a little weird and I can’t pinpoint it. He doesn’t cling to us. Instead he will go out on his own if he wants to relax. Even if he goes out with his dad, he will be walking in the front and his dad is not supposed to follow too close.

Q: Where does he usually go to relax?

W’s mother: He will go somewhere to be close to a mountain or to a river. Or he will go and look at new apartments. He will come back and tell me where he thinks is the best place to invest in. I tell him we will wait till he has saved enough. He has aspirations and is frugal at the same time. He is saving up all the allowances we give him, and his savings are in the thousands. Unlike other kids, he doesn’t throw his money around. He is a penny pincher.

Q: You mean he saves everything you give him?

W’s mother: Yes, he does, instead of wasting it. He will tell me what food he spends the money on and I will reassure him it’s okay. He will tell me how much money he starts with for a day and how much he has spent and how much is left and where the money is spent. He can tell me everything. And sometimes he will say that he has overspent for that day, and I will tell him it’s okay because he has spent it on food. He loves food. Our son really loves food.

Q: What do you hope him to be like in the future?

W’s mother: I just hope that he can be self-dependent. That’s very realistic. We actually only want the bare minimum for him. People with disabilities should have stable jobs and the pay itself doesn’t really matter, right? All of society should be caring and inclusive towards them. That’s our expectation.

Q: Have you thought about him getting married?

W’s mother: We have, but we have no idea whether it would work out, so we will let things take their own course.

Q: Has anyone tried matchmaking for your son?

W’s mother: Someone has but I rejected her. Our son is too mild, and I don’t want some aggressive girl taking advantage of him.

Q: What was the girl like?

W’s mother: She seemed to have an intellectual disability too, so how could it have worked? For me, as long as the mind is sound, I can live with a limping leg or something wrong with the eye. My son has never given this too much thought.

Q: If he ever gets married, will you want him to have kids?

W’s mother: No, definitely no. It’s not easy to raise a child. I just want someone to keep him company. I will feel better once he becomes self-dependent. As for finding a wife, it depends on him and I don’t want to force anything. If he wants to look for someone, we will support him. If he has no such intention, we won’t push him. That’s what we expect of him. He is getting older, so he should understand that he can’t always depend on his parents and that it’s best for him to be self-dependent.

Q: Does your son enjoy any benefits now?

W’s mother: He has no benefits or subsidies, because his disability isn’t severe. His disability is only Grade IV, which is low on the scale. Those with severe disabilities enjoy financial benefits, whereas W has to work for his money. The disability certificate is to help him get jobs.

We only have one child. Couples like us were allowed to have a second child, but we didn’t do it. The government gives each of us 4,800 yuan per year which makes it a total of 9,600 yuan. We are putting it in W’s account because it’s subsidy. So, we save 10,000 yuan for him every year. We have been receiving the subsidy for only a few years and at first it was only 1,440 yuan. I was confident that things would improve, and I was right—the subsidy was gradually increased.

Q: What expectations do you have for society? Where do you see room for improvement in the way people with ID are treated?

W’s mother: I don’t have much to say about that.

W’s father: We just hope that society can give them stable and long-term jobs and can keep them from losing their jobs.

W’s mother: A job is the most important thing. People like W just need simple jobs and whoever hires them can enjoy tax benefits. His take-home pay is really low, but we want him to work because that’s how he can be exposed to society. W is luckier than some other people. There are those having a tougher time than he does. W can work and isn’t picky about what he does. He gets into trouble when he is in a bad mood, like what happened this time.

Interview with W’s Co-Worker (I)

Interviewee: Ms. S (manager of restaurant where W worked previously)

Interviewer and writer: Jingjing Shen

Interview date: July 10, 2017

Interview place: Restaurant where S works

Q: How long did you work with W?

Ms. S: More than 2 months, 2 or 3 months.

Q: Where did he work before joining your store?

Ms. S: As far as I know, he started at Y store. Something happened there, so he was transferred from Y store to D store. Then something happened again at D store. His mom was unhappy with that store, so he was transferred back to Y store.

Q: So, you got to know him at Y store, right?

Ms. S: Right, at Y store.

Q: What did you think of him at work? I mean from the perspective of a store manager.

Ms. S: While I was manager, he was doing okay in everything, but the feedback from the supervisors wasn’t exactly glowing. According to the supervisors, W seemed to be living in his own world at work and would only do things he wanted to do, and he didn’t react positively to what he was told… Let me just say that he wasn’t good at execution.

Q: What did he do at Y store?

Ms. S: Under my management, he mainly made drinks. As far as I know, he could work at every position but wasn’t excelling at any.

Q: When you were at Y store, how many employees being cared for like him did you have?

Ms. S: Five including him.

Q: How would you rank his performance against the other four?

Ms. S: He was in the middle.

Q: What did the other employees do?

Ms. S: They did all sorts of things. A young guy with the last name Yu mainly made pasta, the mute lady could make dough and do everything else, and also helped with washing dishes. There was a girl and a guy who worked at everything because they knew what to do at all positions.

Q: When you were manager, how did you treat him?

Ms. S: I believe that I was able to engage him in pleasant communication. Because of previous miscommunication between him and his family, every time I had a talk with him, I would text his parents or call them to brief them on what I had said to him. I guess that’s what two-way management is about. His parents are pretty old and his dad is in poor health. His mom is very devoted to him, and every time I needed to talk to them, I would call his mom. So, between the two of us, we tried to manage him by playing good cop bad cop.

Q: What kind of person do you think he is?

Ms. S: That kid easily drives himself into a corner and gets agitated, but I am convinced that he has a good nature. Whatever I told him to do, he seldom wasted time getting it done. He was ready to admit his mistakes, even though I wasn’t sure if he truly realized where he had done wrong. But whatever you pointed out to him, he would immediately say, “I got it, Manager, and I won’t do it again.”

Q: Was there anything you were really impressed with about him?

Ms. S: He was eager to help. He made drinks, and the food delivery window was right outside his workstation. Sometimes when he saw that the window was getting crowded, he would run out to help move the food along. He might have messed it up despite his good intentions. Because he worked in the kitchen, his clothes could be a little soiled and he wore a hat. We have strict requirements for how employees present themselves to customers in the dining area. He really wanted to help and I could understand and appreciate that.

Q: Did the employees being cared for and regular ones work together?

Ms. S: They mostly worked in the same work environment. When it got busy, the manager on duty would pay more attention to how he was doing because of his limited ability.

Q: How did the employees being cared for get along with the regular ones? Did they interact with each other?

Ms. S: They did. There was a larger percentage of older female employees at Y store, so they would act like moms telling him what to do and what not to do and help him when it got busy. When it was quiet in the store, the employees would communicate while folding boxes and wrapping knives and forks, but the communication was mostly limited to work.

Sometimes W would talk to me about his personal life. For example, he would tell me about the friend he had made on WeChat. His mom told me that he wouldn’t tell his family what kind of friends he made and she was worried that he would make the wrong friends. So I advised him to be cautious when making friends online. That’s how we tried to take care of him.

He gets easily agitated. Other than that, there’s nothing wrong with the way he thinks. He would say that he is entitled to having his own friends and his own circle and to privacy. That’s his thing and why his mom said that he wouldn’t tell her anything. But he would talk to the older female employees at the store sometimes. So I would remind those employees to tell him to be careful when making friends and not to fall for the wrong people.

Q: Did the employees have any activities after work? Did you organize any fun activities for them?

Ms. S: We seldom did that. We basically just brought some snacks to the store for everyone to share during Chinese New Year, or got everyone to eat together. We also had town halls. But the town halls were always held after we had closed the store, and parents got worried when some of the employees went home that late at night. While I was manager, W never participated in any group activity.

Q: While you were manager, did he have any run-in with anyone or any other unpleasant incidents? And did his family have any conflict with the store?

Ms. S: There were run-ins. Like I told you at the beginning, he butted heads with the supervisors. W is a typical guy born and raised in Shanghai, while a large percentage of our supervisors are college graduates from outside Shanghai. When they communicated with W, W would speak some Shanghainese and his tone would be a little off. So I did witness him having a conflict with a supervisor. I talked to the supervisor later and talked to W’s mom too. His mom was very cooperative, and we were on site trying to smooth things out.

Q: What did you think of his personality?

Ms. S: He is not a bad kid, but he lacks patience and easily goes to extremes. Maybe that has to do with him being spoiled at home. From what I heard from his mom, he was kind of spoiled.

Q: What’s his work schedule at Y store?

Ms. S: He mostly worked afternoon shift from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., with 1 h’s break in between.

Q: How good was he at making drinks?

Ms. S: He did okay. New products were a little challenging for him, but he had no problem with old products.

Q: Did you hold him up to different standards than regular employees?

Ms. S: The standards are the same for everyone. The only difference is that we can tolerate or re-educate regular employees if they make mistakes once or twice, whereas for employees being cared for, we will need to spend more time on mentoring and be more tolerant of the number of times they make mistakes. But the standards are the same because we can’t allow the quality of the restaurant to be affected.

Q: Was he already working at Y store when you joined?

Ms. S: Yes. I had asked about him before his transfer to the store. He had worked at Y store a long time ago. He had worked at quite a few stores including Y store and T store, then he moved from Y store to D store, and ended up being transferred from D store back to Y store. He was still working at Y store by the time I left.

Q: What about his pay and year-end bonus when he was working at Y store?

Ms. S: He was paid for the days he worked and the pay was deposited directly into his bankcard. I don’t recall him getting any employee bonus.

Q: There’s 1 h’s break every day. What did he do during the break? And what did the other employees in the store do?

Ms. S: They mostly ate in the employees’ break room, watched videos on their phones and chatted online. That’s pretty much what I saw.

Q: Did he hang out with any co-workers during the break?

Ms. S: What I saw was him chatting with some older female employees. He seldom went out with anyone.

Q: Making drinks must require training. When you were working there, he must already have learned how to do it, right?

Ms. S: He had been there for a long time, so he must have completed the training.

Q: Did you talk to him after work?

Ms. S: The supervisors might have had minimum communication with him. I would chat with him sometimes. When he was first transferred to the store, on the first day of work, I invited his parents over to talk about things upfront including what kind of special attention to him at work they expected from us. My goal was to preempt future conflict at work. We have had employees being cared for for a long time, and where I had worked previously, there were many employees being cared for too. We could communicate with them on certain things, but they couldn’t relay all the messages to their parents which could lead to certain conflicts. We understand how the parents feel. They send their kids to work with us and they are worried whether their kids will be bullied because they are more difficult to manage or lacking in some areas. Parents are actually under a lot of pressure in that whenever something happens, they will feel that the regular employees are excluding or bullying the employees being cared for. When that happened, we would invite the parents over and break things down for them.

W’s dad also has some disability, so his mom has a really tough time. Sometimes she would cry as soon as she started talking to me. At the store, I tried to spend more time chatting to him because he came to work whenever I was at work, and everyone said that he would only listen to me. I communicated more with his mom, mostly about how he was doing at work. Sometimes, when he made a mistake, I would have a stern talk with him, then I would call his mom and brief her on what had happened. I would advise his mom to talk to him instead of verbally or physically punishing him, because his mom would be very upset, anxious, and sad. I would tell her that we were keeping an eye on him and that since we had already had a talk with him, she shouldn’t do it again because he would feel wronged getting a talking to from everyone. I actually feel that I kept up the communication pretty well. I would call or text his mom almost every week.

Q: It’s clear that you were very nice to him.

Ms. S: Because I am a mom myself and I felt that I could relate with his mom.

Interview with W’s Co-Worker (II)

Interviewee: Ms. Z (manager of restaurant where W worked previously)

Interviewer and writer: Jingjing Shen

Interview date: July 8, 2017

Interview place: Restaurant where Z works

Q: How long did you work with W?

Ms. Z: Let me think. I would say more than 6 months. He joined around April 2016, so I worked with him for about 8 months.

Q: How many employees being cared for were there at the store, including him?

Ms. Z: Two. Actually, three if we count the mute and deaf employee.

Q: What did you think of W at work?

Ms. Z: Since he was transferred from Y store to our store, it implied that he wasn’t doing well at that store. Good employees would have been kept by the store, right? Strictly regarding work, his performance must have affected the store operation and he must have become a liability to Y store, which was why he was moved to D store. Then D store felt that he was obstructing operation, so he was returned to Y store.

Q: So that’s what happened. What did he do at the store?

Ms. Z: When I asked him, he said he could work at all of the positions. But he was tested only on making drinks and he didn’t even pass that test. He did a lousy job slicing pizzas and the customers were always complaining about him. Drinks are supposed to be presentable, right? The customers complained about the drinks he made, too, and the complaints were posted on the rating sites. I told him about the complaints and he said to ask the customers to bring it up with him. I couldn’t empathize when it’s about his work, but I was more understanding from an emotional point of view, because I couldn’t exactly expect his mind to work the same way as that of people without disabilities.

Q: How did he get along with his co-workers? What kind of person did you think he was?

Ms. Z: He is not a bad kid, but he did often cut corners at work. When I told him to wipe the table, he was inclined to wipe just the section right in front of him. He was selective about what he wanted to do and he only worked when he felt like working. When you confronted him about it, he would either say he forgot what he was supposed to do or he had already done it. The employees all felt that since he had been with us for a long time, he wasn’t taking anything seriously.

Q: So, he was kind of a senior employee. Did you hold him up to the same standards as the other employees?

Ms. Z: The truth is that I have compulsive disorder myself, and deep down, I want every employee to do his or her job well. Even if you only know how to do one thing, you should get that thing 80% done, right? But I took it easier on him when it came to interpersonal relationships and workload. It’s really simple. For example, when I asked him to slice pizzas, that’s probably the only job I would assign him. Had it been a regular employee, I would have added the job of making drinks. And I did lighten his workload. Work around the restaurant is very simple. It’s not as if it’s beyond his ability. He could get things done, but he didn’t take his job seriously and didn’t get things done well.

Q: His parents mentioned that W was injured at work. Was he?

Ms. Z: I wasn’t at the restaurant when it happened. He did tell me that he could do everything, but unexpected things happened when he was given a certain assignment. He was asked to do the dishes that day, but there’s a designated dishwasher for that and there was no need for hand washing, was there? I didn’t know how it happened, but it seemed that he got a cut on his hand.

Q: His mom mentioned it.

Ms. Z: We called his mom and she said everything was okay and he just needed a break. She was being considerate towards the restaurant and wanted him to go back to work at the restaurant after the break. But the break lasted more than a month.

Q: Did he go back to D store after the break?

Ms. Z: He went to Y store. It’s not that we didn’t want to give him another chance, we were just unsure about him. He had pretty bad mood swings, and to tell you the truth, I was traumatized by him one time. A customer complained about him, and being the manager, I was caught in the middle. So, I figured I would talk to his mom and called her. I told him to go back home with his mom to get some rest and to come back to work after he had stabilized emotionally. He got mad at that and started kicking and tearing up things in the store, which was pretty scary for all of us. He could be a liability to himself as well as to the store. We all work in a public setting, and if you can’t control your emotions, it will affect not only the customers but also other employees in the restaurant, and the restaurant operation will be disrupted as a result.

Q: What’s a day’s work like for him?

Ms. Z: I was pretty considerate towards him. Because of the way he is, I couldn’t assign him to open the store or close the store, so I only arranged for him to work afternoon shift. We were all there for the afternoon shift, so we could help him. He was only responsible for doing his job well.

Q: How much did he make per month?

Ms. Z: Two or three thousand yuan, depending on how Marketing and HR calculated it, and his social insurances were covered. In my opinion, his pay was decent and not much lower than that of people without disabilities. Our regular employees were paid about the same. In fact, I really think that the company and the stores are very caring towards employees being cared for. I work for a living too, and I don’t have to make things difficult for myself. Having one more employee means I have fewer things on my own hands. But that employee can’t affect operation or other employees. That’s the bottom line.

Q: How would you rate his ability against other employees being cared for?

Ms. Z: I really had reservations about his ability at work. And he knew it himself. He can do a good job but he can’t control his emotions. I would tell him, “You need to get this done well because a customer complained.” He would acknowledge it. And after 5 or 10 min, another customer would complain. When you told him about it, he would lose his patience and demand that the customer complain directly to him. Where could we go from there then? I had a simple way of handling it. If you failed at one position, I would move you to another position. But even when he was moved to another position, he would do okay for the first 15 or 30 min, and then he would get forgetful. I couldn’t possibly monitor him the entire 8 h at work. That would be unrealistic because I had so many other employees to watch. But the real issue is that he needs to get better at controlling his emotions.

Q: His mom said that he made dough and drinks, is that right?

Ms. Z: He said he could work at any position, and his mom said the same about him. His mom was asked to come to the store. I actually gave him many chances. When I have people working for me, I normally will not involve parents unless I have no other option. When I have parents come onsite, you must have made mistakes and it must not have been the first time you have made the mistakes.

Q: What did the other employees being cared for do?

Ms. Z: They did everything.

Q: They knew how to do everything?

Ms. Z: Right, they could make appetizers and could fill in at other positions. They did a good job cleaning up and knew how to make dough, too. As a matter of fact, the three employees being cared for I had did a better job than the regular ones. They were so good.

Q: One of them had an intellectual disability, what about the other one?

Ms. Z: The other one was mute and totally deaf, but was a top performer at work and understood what you wanted just by the look in your eyes, which is more than I can say about a lot of people without disabilities. There’s another employee being cared for whose leg was broken before and who has had problems with it since. But that person also did very well at work, cleaning up really nice, taking apart microwaves and noodle steamers to wash, and never giving me reasons to worry. W was the one I had to really watch over. You should ask his mom whether he is like that at home. His mom said that he just has to talk back and won’t listen to reason when you talk to him about the mistakes he has made. Maybe it has to do with the way he lives his daily life. I don’t know how to put it except to say, like I said before, that if he was really a good employee, all of the stores would have been fighting over him.

Q: Now that he has been transferred, you still have two employees being cared for with you, right?

Ms. Z: Three actually. I normally don’t refer to them as employees being cared for or mute, because I feel that as long as they can work, they are no different from anyone else.

Q: How do you usually refer to them then?

Ms. Z: By their names. Like with Le, because she can’t hear, people will call her by this or that, and I will point out that she has a name and that since she can’t hear, we can all write down for her what we want to say. Everyone gets along well with everyone. From the standpoint of the restaurant, it would not have let W go had there been a choice, because everyone knows that it’s not easy for him to have a job, being the way he is.

Q: He seems to have worked at Papa John’s for many years.

Ms. Z: Right. Actually, everyone was trying so hard to be patient with him and to give him another chance so that he could be retained. That’s the truth.

Q: At work, how did he interact with co-workers including the other employees being cared for? His mom said that he seldom interacted with anyone at the store.

Ms. Z: It’s not that bad. I think there was interaction for him. It depended on him. When he was in a good mood, he would communicate with someone.

Since we are in the food industry, I won’t allow employees to come to work if they are sick or itchy somewhere or have a cold. But if I told him, “W, you are sick, why don’t you go home and have it checked out?” he would reply that he could still work. I would insist that he go home and if he wouldn’t listen, I would ask his mom to come over. That’s when he would agree to leave. So that’s how things were. From an emotional perspective, I believe that he needs sympathy and protection. That’s all I can say.

Interview with W’s Co-Worker (III)

Interviewee: Ms. L (district manager)

Interviewer and writer: Jingjing Shen

Interview date: July 15, 2017

Interview place: Restaurant where L works

Q: How long have you known W?

Ms. L: I didn’t take over this district till the end of April of this year. I probably visited the restaurant two or three times a month, and he had days off, so I didn’t have too many chances to interact with him. At most, I saw him three times per month.

Q: So that was when he was working at Y store, right?

Ms. L: Right.

Q: As far as you know, how was he doing at that store?

Ms. L: He has been with Papa John’s for a long time, about 8 years. Under normal circumstances, he behaves okay. But on some unusual occasions, things would become physical. His job was to deliver dishes at the window and make drinks. There was a counter directly facing customers. One time I walked over and he started gesturing wildly… I asked what was going on and he immediately controlled himself.

The store manager told me that’s what he suffered from. He would try to control it on an average day, and he was smart about it. If he sensed that he was about to blow up, what did he do? There’s a wall that he would seek shelter against. He would pound on the wall for a bit before returning to work.

That’s one thing. Another thing is that drinks are a product for direct, instant consumption. I slapped his hand several times. Why? Because I saw that he wasn’t wearing disposable gloves. I pay attention to that sort of detail.

The plus side is that sometimes I would randomly test him on product procedures, and he was able to give me answers, even though the answers were less than smooth. We can’t treat him the same as people without disabilities, so I was happy with how he handled the random tests. So there were both good and bad things about him.

Also, the manager on duty told me that we had a kind of drink that should be tossed out once it was opened and unfinished. But he didn’t do that. Why? I could only put a positive spin on it and figure that he was trying to save money for me. Or maybe he just couldn’t remember. But if I gave it a negative spin, I would see it as his refusal to correct himself. So, I told the manager on duty to keep reminding him, because there was no other option. You need to be more patient when dealing with people like W. He was okay in other areas.

The store manager asked for W to be transferred because she couldn’t handle him anymore. He had been transferred before, to D store. So, I talked to HR about it and looked for a solution, because otherwise no one would want to work the same shift as W. The district manager before me told me that even when the most minor thing happened, either W’s mom or his dad would visit the store and behave very agitated which made it very difficult for the store. There was actually a store manager with the last name Z. I asked her to communicate more with W’s mom, and W’s mom said, “No one had said a bad word about us before. Now that you guys are in charge, you are unhappy with us.” I tried to calm her down and got in touch with HR, and the feedback from HR was that no one had said a good word about him. Hanging on the wall was a record of communication with him and mentoring for him. In the record, he messed up our oven which was valued at 100,000 yuan and cost more than 10,000 yuan to repair. So, I told the store manager, “You didn’t have enough communication with his mom previously and didn’t provide feedback in time, so his mom had the misunderstanding that the previous manager had thought highly of W.”

The bottom line is that whatever he did, there’s a good side and a bad side. I am not saying that employees being cared for are not contributing to the store. They are, and W did have productivity. But it’s a different matter whether his productivity met the requirements.

Q: So, something happened to him at D store, which was why he was transferred back to Y store?

Ms. L: Right, because no one could put up with him anymore.

Q: Was there some conflict between his parents and the store?

Ms. L: At that same store, there were many other employees being cared for including some with ID, one who was deaf and another one who had a bad leg. Like Shi from Y store. I like that kid because he has a good attitude and is willing to correct mistakes. Kids that I like are of this kind: I only need to tell them once to correct mistakes, they remember what I say and don’t overreact.

One thing good about W was that he would say, “Okay okay, I got it, Boss.” But he just wouldn’t correct his mistakes no matter how many times he was told to, and that was a big headache, you know. Last time he made a salad and left some ripped plastic on the table. I didn’t bill the customers for the salad which was an easy out for us. What if the customers made a big deal of it and said their kid might have swallowed the plastic?

We had thought about moving him to another position, but he couldn’t have done well at any other position and making drinks is the easiest job, relatively speaking. If he had been moved to a position where he had to work with ovens, we would have been worried about his safety because we wouldn’t have wanted him to get burnt. For him, we have made adjustments and have moved him to different stores and different positions. It’s not that we haven’t tried to help him. I did everything I could to help, and I was out of options. Some employees would say that W had it really easy and how come they couldn’t enjoy the same treatment. Everyone would have something to say about that. Besides, headcount in restaurants is tight. When one position was occupied by W, the number of people I could hire would be reduced, right?

That’s the problem we are facing right now. Because we want to show that we care, the boss asks us to just live with it, but what can we do when we just can’t live with it towards the end? That’s our struggle. I feel that Papa John’s has become a restaurant just for employees being cared for. There are almost three employees being cared for per store. The maximum number of employees working in the dining area is six, and sometimes three of them are employees being cared for. But the customers won’t understand. They will only complain that our services are slow, and they won’t care that we are performing a public service. Their logic is that they spend money to enjoy services or products, and it’s our fault if we blame the employees being cared for for not delivering the expected services. The managers on duty often have to take the blame, which they are not happy about, and my repeated explanations always fall flat. So, what can I do?

Q: Have you ever communicated with his parents?

Ms. L: No.

Q: Because it’s the job of the store manager, right?

Ms. L: Right. Z, who was the previous store manager, talked to his mom on the phone. She took over around the same time as I did. Last month our QV expired, which means that there was some quality issue. So the store manager was replaced. As you can see, we have very tight quality control here, and if something happens, the store manager will be replaced or transferred to another position to be trained again. Being trained again is a less harsh consequence. They are under tremendous pressure, and if they have under them employees who refuse to correct mistakes, they are done for themselves. That’s why I told you that when the greater interest is impacted, we will have to do something about W.

Q: At the store, how did the employees being cared for get along with the regular ones?

Ms. L: At that store, there’s a girl who doesn’t look like an employee being cared for, a guy who did the best job at his position, and another girl who had the ability but who got lazy sometimes.

Q: What did she do?

Ms. L: She made dough. W can do that too, actually, if you ask him, but his mind wasn’t there yet. I haven’t known him for long. For example, when I tested him on products, he knew what he was talking about, which means that he had the presence of mind and the memory power. But where did that lead him? So the only reason was that he didn’t really care, right? I know because I am a mom myself. You watch your child trying hard to memorize English words, but the test score was only 60. That means the hard studying was for show for your sake and the child was just killing time.

Q: When does W get tested?

Ms. L: We are super busy at the restaurants now and seldom give tests. Normally I will give verbal tests myself.

Q: How often are the tests?

Ms. L: Whenever I visit the stores. I have given him two tests since I took over.

Q: And he did pretty well on both tests, right?

Ms. L: Right, I have to give him that.

Q: What’s your impression of him as a person?

Ms. L: He is a smart kid but his heart isn’t in his job. I am not saying that he will do anything out of line. They all say that he is easily agitated and cannot control his emotions, and right now the store manager just can’t connect with him.

Q: His mom mentioned that the store goes through managers quite often.

Ms. L: Right, because no manager could relate to him. Everyone finds that store a headache. W is entitled to have his thoughts. And his mom had an agitated talk with the previous manager about the special circumstances of the family, their financial hardship and W’s disability. But our store is not exactly a non-profit organization and we need W’s cooperation too. He can be scary—who will take responsibility if something happens? Would you not be afraid if you were sent to work with him? A lot of his co-workers are older females. Had they been young girls, his grumbling and yelling when he gets agitated would have scared them. And we have never felt comfortable to have him work evening shift.

Q: So what shift does he normally work?

Ms. L: Mostly afternoon shift lasting about 8 h from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Q: Do you have the same standards for employees being cared for and regular ones? How do you set the standards?

Ms. L: We probably have to spend more time with employees being cared for than with regular ones, since we will have to repeat what we say. The new standards for employees are out and I will reiterate them every time I see the employees being cared for, but I won’t be like a drill sergeant. At the store, I witnessed several times how an older female employee talked down to them in a loud, stern voice, so I pointed out to her that she should be reasonable instead of loud when talking to them. But I have also realized that using reason was less effective than using a loud, stern voice if you wanted them to take to heart what you said. Maybe they are more fragile at heart, that’s all I can say.

Q: There’s a lunch break in the afternoon, is there?

Ms. L: He will eat his lunch sitting on a stool somewhere. Because it gets hot in the store, he might look for another place to take his lunch break. There’s a place close to the restrooms with a row of tables. It seems that he was doing something over there the other day, and Property Management had a problem with it.

Q: Are the employees being cared for paid differently from regular ones at the store?

Ms. L: No, they are paid the same.

Q: How much does W make per month approximately?

Ms. L: It’s like this, the standard work hours per month are 168 and time worked above that is counted as OT which is paid differently. W normally works 168 h, and we hardly ever pay him a penny less unless he has skipped certain hours. And we pay into every employee’s social insurances the same. We won’t pay into his differently just because he is an employee being cared for.

Q: Are there any group activities for the employees?

Ms. L: The group activity we have most often is making and tasting new products. Basically the employees being cared for enjoy whatever regular ones do. They were given bonuses last time based on contribution to the store and the store manager decided the distribution.

Q: Do the regular employees at the store discriminate against the employees being cared for?

Ms. L: This depends on the individual store. There are certain older female employees who see themselves as older and senior and believe that everyone else should listen to them even if they talk in a condescending manner.

Q: What do these female employees do at the store?

Ms. L: They do the heavy lifting at the stores, and also slice pizzas and check expiration dates. We are not yet trusting W with writing expiration dates because we don’t want him to write the wrong ones.

Q: So, each store is different.

Ms. L: Right, and people are different. I am not degrading the female employees. They are straightforward and most of them are from outside Shanghai, like Gansu. They have only one way of doing things, and I can only ask them politely to do it the right way… Bullying might have happened at the stores. I can’t say that didn’t happen, but I haven’t witnessed any myself. But then, some employees don’t ever get bullied. Why? Because they can get things done nicely. Just like in my case, I am the district manager, but I have to prove that I can get things done, otherwise no one will listen to me. Therefore, we have to lead by example and do a better job ourselves which is how we can mentor others.

Q: Was there anything involving W that impressed you?

Ms. L: The truth is that I haven’t had much interaction with him and there’s really nothing that has left a profound impression on me.

Q: Does the district manager visit individual stores for a fixed number of times per week?

Ms. L: Right, I visit the stores. When I visit the store where W works, it may not be on the day he works. Several times when I visited the store, he was off. He takes Saturday off normally. And since Saturday is the busiest day, I feel that the store is giving him special treatment. The store needs more hands on deck when it’s busy, but they worry that he might mess things up and make it even busier for everyone. So you could say that the store is being considerate towards him, but you could also say that the store doesn’t want him to mess things up. It really depends on how you look at it.

Q: As far as I know, he has worked at Papa John’s for many years.

Ms. L: He has.

Q: What do you think is the biggest problem with him?

Ms. L: What I am most frustrated about is that he has extreme mood swings and I am worried about the safety of the customers and of other employees. The store wants to see collaboration and productivity. He seldom talks to other people and is somewhat a shut-in. I believe in more communication and that you will have to leave your small world to include into the big world around you. The company has in fact provided you with the platform to do so—you just need to open yourself up, be more humble, and focus more on what the managers teach you. I am sure every manager will take kindly to a kid who listens and takes responsibilities. When I first visited the store, I let it be known that anyone failing the tests would be let go upon contract expiration. W must have remembered it, since he passed the verbal tests. That means he cared about that one particular thing but not others. Maybe he has no control over other things, just like he has no control over his emotions. We did see him trying to control his emotions, but there’s only so much he can do, and he is like a balloon just waiting to pop someday. He is a security risk and I have no idea when he will explode. I am actually quite scared, because I am in a different position and see things differently.

I have never met W’s mom, and I am sure she has raised questions like, “How come my son never had such issues before? Why do you see this and that wrong with him now?” The answer is that our current business volume is on a totally different scale than the old volume. Now we use twice the labor, and work efficiency both for delivery and dine-in has doubled. And problems occur when everything has doubled. Previously, whoever worked with him could cover him. Things are different now and there are complaints from right and left. I just wish that he can make normal contributions to the store, but he can’t and gets into trouble all the time instead. The store manager cannot spare the time and energy to babysit him, and wants nothing to do with him out of frustration. I had no option but to bring it to HR. It’s not that I am trying to assert my power as the new district manager by targeting someone’s son.

Interview with Mr. W

Interviewee: Mr. W

Interviewer and writer: Jingjing Shen

Interview date: July 16, 2017

Interview place: Restaurant where W works

Going to School

Q: Do you remember anything from when you were going to school?

W: I went to Songhu Road Elementary School, in Yangpu District.

Q: I heard from your mom that you didn’t like to go out, is that true? You didn’t even like to go on school trips.

W: I didn’t go out much when I was in elementary school. I didn’t even play much in the apartment complex.

Q: Was there anything that was memorable for you?

W: Nothing from elementary school.

Q: According to your mom, at middle school, other kids would take your things including your food. That didn’t happen till you started middle school, did it?

W: Nothing like that happened at middle school.

Q: Your mom said that they took your pencils and packed lunch. Was that at middle school?

W: No, no.

Q: How were your grades at elementary school and middle school? Do you still remember?

W: My grades were all bad, but I have always believed that’s because the teachers didn’t teach well.

Q: Which subjects were you relatively good at?

W: As far as I remember, at elementary school, I scored 96 on math and above 80 on English. And I did pass Chinese for the middle school graduation exam. That’s because the teachers taught well. When they taught well, I learnt well.

Q: So, you went to Yangpu Vocational School after middle school graduation, right?

W: Right, I went to Yangpu Vocational School.

Q: Why did you decide to go there?

W: My dad picked a major for me which was culinary class at Yangpu Vocational School.

Q: So, your dad picked it for you. It wasn’t your own choice.

W: Right.

Q: How did you do in the culinary class?

W: I didn’t do well and dropped out after a little over 3 months.

Q: Why did you drop out?

W: I just didn’t want to go anymore.

Q: You didn’t want to go anymore. Your mom said that while you were going to school, some kids would take the meat from your meal. Did that happen?

W: Nope.

Q: Was there any dish you cooked best when you were in the culinary class?

W: I was only there for 3 months and hadn’t started learning to cook dishes.

Q: What did you learn then?

W: I learnt chopping potatoes and dried tofu.

Q: Will you cook at home for your parents?

W: No.

Q: Was there any class that you liked best at school?

W: Not really.

Q: How did you eat at school?

W: At elementary school, the lunch was pre-ordered. At middle school, my dad delivered lunch to me at school.

Q: You were at the vocational school for 3 months, right?

W: At the vocational school, I ate out and also pre-ordered lunch.

Q: Did you live far from elementary school, middle school, and vocational school?

W: I used to live on East Guoding Road and went to Songhu Road Elementary school, which was where Songhu Road crosses Zhengtong Road. There’s also a Wanda Plaza there, you know? Then I went to Tongji Middle School, which used to be called Songhu Middle School and was close to Zhengtong Road. Yangpu Vocational School was close to Benxi Road.

Q: So all of the schools were close to where you lived, right?

W: Right, not far.

Q: Were you close to any schoolmates at elementary school, middle school, or vocational school?

W: No. Actually, there was one at vocational school.

Q: What did you do with schoolmates you were close to at the vocational school?

W: Nothing much.

Q: Were there any teachers from elementary school who had left a lasting impression on you, by being either nice to you or really nasty to you?

W: There was. I remember that when I was in Class 1 of Grade 6, I didn’t get along with my homeroom teacher.

Q: Why?

W: Mainly because my mom had an argument in his office and he was on bad terms with me ever since. He was nasty to me twice, but my mom only went to the office to reason with him once.

Q: Why did your mom do that?

W: Because the math teacher tore up one of my math exercise books.

W: Because you didn’t do the math homework well?

W: Because I was making noises in class, he tore up my book.

Q: Were there any teachers who were especially nice to you?

W: I have no really good teachers.

Dropping Out of School

Q: After you dropped out of the vocational school, you stayed home, right?

W: After I finished middle school, I took the exam and got into the vocational school. After 3 months at that school, I started staying home.

Q: What did you usually do at home?

W: I was usually online.

Q: What did you usually watch online?

W: I played games.

Q: What games?

W: I played the King and QQtang. I don’t play QQtang anymore. I also played kaixin001 games.

Q: Did you watch TV?

W: I watched TV series.

Q: Did you watch cartoons?

W: Occasionally. Why do you want to know?

Q: When you stayed home, who cooked for you?

W: My dad did.

Working

Q: It was quite a few years later that you started going to the Sunshine Home, right?

W: Right, right. Let me think. I dropped out of school in 2002, and I didn’t start going to the Sunshine Home till 2007.

Q: Who referred you to the Sunshine Home?

W: The Community Affairs Committee did.

Q: So, you stayed at the Sunshine Home for a while, then went to work at a supermarket?

W: Right. I went to work at the supermarket in March 2008.

Q: And you joined Papa John’s after some time at the supermarket?

W: After 6 months.

Q: Which Papa John’s stores have you worked at? It must have been quite a few.

W: I worked at J store and W store which was close to Wujiaochang. I worked at Y store and was transferred to D store before being transferred back to Y store.

Q: Oh, I know about that. What about T store? You worked there too, didn’t you?

W: I only helped out at T store, which was located where Luban Road crosses Liyuan Road.

Q: How long have you worked at Y store?

W: I joined Y store in 2012 and was transferred to D store in 2016. In February of this year, I came back to Y store.

Q: How many employees being cared for like you are there in the store?

W: There are four, but only two with ID like me.

Q: Did you know them before joining the store?

W: No.

Q: Were they picked from the Sunshine Home the way you were?

W: I have no idea.

Q: Which store did you like working at best?

W: I liked J store and T store.

Q: Why?

W: I felt that it was more fun there.

Q: Was it because of the environment or the people there?

W: I just felt really good there.

Q: What was it about those stores that made you feel really good?

W: At J store, it was the environment outside the store. At T store, it was something inside the store.

Q: What do you do at work every day? You made dough today. What did you do the previous days?

W: I made drinks.

Q: As far as I could tell, you didn’t make a lot of dough today, did you?

W: Not really.

Q: How do you get along with your co-workers at the store?

W: So-so.

Q: How do the managers treat you, in your opinion?

W: They are all nice to me.

Q: You normally work afternoon shift, right?

W: Right, afternoon shift.

Q: You seem to have a break in the afternoon. How long is the break?

W: One hour.

Q: Where do you eat?

W: Right here.

Q: When do you usually get up on workdays?

W: Usually at 9:15 or 9:45 a.m.

Q: How do you get to work in the morning?

W: I take the subway, Line 8 and then Line 2.

Q: Do you live far? How long does it take to come to work?

W: One hour and 15 min.

Q: Is the subway crowded?

W: No, not really.

Q: Is it easy for you to come to work?

W: The transportation is convenient.

Q: When do you get off in the evening?

W: Sometimes 8 p.m., sometimes 8:30 p.m. and sometimes 9 p.m.

Q: So you have dinner at the store?

W: I go home and eat.

Q: Do your parents wait for you for dinner or do they eat first?

W: They eat first.

Q: When do you get to go to bed then, since you have to eat first?

W: I get to go to bed around 10 p.m.

Q: How many days do you work per week?

W: Usually 5 days.

Q: Which 2 days do you have off?

W: It depends.

Q: What do you do with your monthly pay?

W: It’s all in bank savings.

Q: Since you have worked at so many stores, are there any co-workers who are really close to you?

W: Yu is closest to me here.

Q: What does he do?

W: He makes appetizers.

Q: Do you two hang out when you are not working?

W: No.

Q: Does the store organize any group activities?

W: No.

Q: Have you ever bought pizzas here and brought them back to your parents?

W: Yeah.

Q: Did they like them?

W: No, they didn’t.

Q: Of the three places, the Sunshine Home, the supermarket, and Papa John’s, which one do you like better than the others?

W: To be honest, I liked the Sunshine Home, but I didn’t make much money there.

Q: What did you do at the Sunshine Home?

W: There wasn’t much to do.

Q: How much did you make each month?

W: Only 300 yuan.

Q: What about at the supermarket?

W: I don’t quite remember.

Q: So the pay is higher here, right?

W: The pay isn’t high here.

Q: But higher than at the Sunshine Home, right?

W: Right.

Q: Did the Sunshine Home refer you to the supermarket?

W: No. My family talked to the DPF and I went there for training.

Q: But the Sunshine Home referred you to Papa John’s?

W: Yes, they did.

Q: Are you happy working at Papa John’s?

W: So-so.

Q: Happier than at the Sunshine Home?

W: There’s no way I can compare the two, no way to tell which is a happier place for me.

Q: Do you exercise?

W: I don’t exercise, and I don’t do sports.

Q: What do you think of your work and life now?

W: I think my work is okay. And life is not too bad either.

Q: Will you tell your mom if something upsets you at work?

W: I will. I won’t be upset exactly. Something might just be off, but not upsetting.

Q: So what happens when something is off?

W: I will just vent with my family.

Special Olympics

Q: Let me ask you about Special Olympics. You have participated in many Special Olympics activities, haven’t you?

W: Yes, the community Special Olympics activities.

Q: Do you participate every year?

W: Yes, every year.

Q: When do they normally take place? Have you participated in any this year?

W: July is the month, like right around this time of the year.

Q: Do you know the exact date for this year?

W: I don’t know. Maybe around the 20th.

Q: Oh, that’s like tomorrow. Do you like participating in Special Olympics activities?

W: I do.

Q: What’s your favorite?

W: Long jump.

Q: What prizes have you won?

W: I won prizes at long jump because I always came in first.

Q: That’s awesome. Did you win a lot of prizes?

W: Not a lot. You can only win one prize.

Q: What’s the prize like usually?

W: They gave you whatever they had available, like an electric fan.

Life

Q: Do you go out as a family when you have time?

W: No.

Q: So, your parents just stay home?

W: My parents will go out. My dad goes to the park behind where we live, and my mom goes out with people she knows.

Q: Do you go out with relatives about your age? There must be relatives about your age.

W: There are, but we don’t go out.

Q: Do you travel as a family?

W: No.

Q: Have you thought about getting married?

W: I have.

Q: Is anyone matchmaking for you?

W: I don’t need it. I have the freedom to find my own date. And I do have a girlfriend.

Q: Oh, you have a girlfriend? Your mom said you don’t.

W: She doesn’t know everything.

Q: How did you meet your girlfriend?

W: On QQ.

Q: Have you met in real life?

W: Not yet.

Q: You hope to get married some day, do you?

W: I do.

Q: How do your parents treat you, in your opinion?

W: My parents treat me very nice.

Q: Is there any difference in the way they treat you? Who is the bad cop, your mom or your dad?

W: They are both very nice.

Q: How do you get along with your parents?

W: We get along very well and my mom is super nice to me.

Q: Are both your parents retired?

W: They are.

Q: If you get married one day, will you continue to live with your parents, or will you move out?

W: I will continue to live with my parents.

Q: Do you often buy things for yourself?

W: No. Actually, I buy food every day.

Q: Do you mean snacks? What snacks?

W: Nothing in particular that I really like. I just buy drinks.

Q: Do you have any interests?

W: Not really.

Observation of W at Work

Observation date: July 16, 2017

Observation place: Restaurant where W works

Observer and writer: Jingjing Shen

Time	What W did	Remarks
11:00–11:10	Arrived at the store and got ready for work
11:10–11:25	Made dough at own station
11:25–11:28	Had no orders	Chatted with co-workers at the station
11:28–11:30	Spread ingredients on the dough	Reminded the co-worker making salad next to him to put on gloves
11:30–11:33	Made dough and spread ingredients and sauce on the dough
11:33–11:35	Spread sauce on the dough	The manager on duty walked up to W and reminded him not to hold the dough in his hand while spreading sauce
11:35–11:44	Went to the back of the kitchen to fetch flour, made dough and put the dough aside
11:44–11:50	Made dough and refilled sauce	The manager on duty reminded W that the bread sticks were not made well and the pizza crust was made too narrow. A co-worker pointed out that there were bubbles in the cheese sticks
11:50–11:55	Placed takeout orders at the drinks window, made dough and put it aside	A co-worker spreading sauce gently reminded W to do a more even job when making dough
11:55–12:02	Had free time, washed hands, and made dough	A co-worker spreading sauce reminded W not to make the pizza crust too thin
12:02–12:10	Had free time and cleaned up flour on the counter
12:10–12:15	Made dough, dropped some on the floor and tried to pick it up	The manager on duty pointed out that the flour on the floor couldn’t be used and should be marked as wasted
12:15–12:25	Had free time	Fetched things for co-workers
12:25–12:40	Made dough and spread ingredients on the dough	W had an emotional episode and got super excited, kneading and tossing dough with excessive force He calmed down gradually Everyone was very busy at the store
12:40–12:45	Made dough and bread sticks
12:45–12:50	Helped pass out takeout orders
12:50–12:55	Had free time
12:55–13:14	Made dough and fetched appetizer plates for a co-worker
13:14–13:15	Washed hands, had a drink, and took a rest	Went to the employees’ break section
13:15–13:45	Folded boxes in the kitchen and placed them in the dining area	W was still unnaturally excited
13:45–14:20	Had free time and took a rest
14:20–14:39	Was interviewed in the dining area
14:39–15:10	Had lunch in the employees’ break section in the kitchen and played on cell phone
15:10–15:30	Received the first order of the afternoon, fetched flour, made dough, and spread ingredients on the dough
15:30–15:37	Helped pass out takeout orders
15:37–15:38	Wiped tables and cleaned up the drinks station
15:38–15:45	Made dough
15:45–15:48	Had free time, used the bathroom, and chatted with co-workers
15:48–15:53	Helped fetch ketchup and refilled pizza ingredients on the counter
15:53–16:10	Took out trash from the kitchen
16:10–16:20	Fetched cheese sticks, made dough, spread ingredients on the dough, and helped bring out a dine-in order
16:20–16:40	Had free time and helped co-workers next to him
16:40–17:00	Fetched flour and made dough
17:00–17:10	Had free time
17:10–17:40	Fetched flour and made dough	W spread the wrong ingredients and tried to wipe them off with water. The manager on duty stopped him and asked him to immediately throw out the dough
17:40–19:00	Made dough and helped a co-worker refill pizza ingredients
19:00–19:15	Brushed the counter and cleaned up the flour on the counter
19:15–20:20	Helped put things away and cleaned up
20:20–20:30	Punched out and got ready to leave

Translated by Cissy Zhao

Edited by Andy Boreham and Zijian Chen