Added to office group chat while in ICU: China overwork case goes viral

A report circulating widely on Chinese social media has renewed attention on work pressure inside the country’s tech industry after a 32-year-old programmer reportedly died following what his family described as prolonged overwork — and continued receiving work messages while he was in emergency care.

According to the Hindustan Times, the man collapsed while working and was later hospitalised in critical condition but was still added to a new office group chat and asked to address work issues as he fought for his life. The report said he later died, with the case triggering a wave of online reactions about overtime culture and employer expectations.

The report said the programmer had been handling the workload of multiple roles, and that messages continued even after he had been taken to hospital. The outlet said the man’s family linked his death to intense work demands and was seeking compensation, while the circumstances around his collapse and medical emergency were still being discussed online.

In related reporting, Singapore-based publication Mothership cited Chinese media accounts describing how the worker was still being contacted for 'urgent' tasks after being hospitalised, with the case gaining momentum as screenshots and chat references spread across platforms. The outlet said the death has become a flashpoint for public debate around burnout, staffing shortages and “always-on” expectations in modern workplaces.

As the case continues to circulate, it has become a widely shared example of how workplace communication tools — designed for speed and coordination — can also extend work demands beyond normal hours, with public attention now focused on accountability, labour protections and the human cost of extreme workloads.