A restaurant owner in China has rewarded some of her top-performing employees with brand-new BMW cars, saying the gesture was intended to make their daily commutes more comfortable during harsh weather.
The owner, who runs a beef hotpot chain in Henan province, reportedly noticed that several employees travelled to work on electric scooters. Concerned about their daily commute during cold, rainy and windy conditions, she decided to provide selected workers with cars.
According to the South China Morning Post, the employees were taken to a BMW dealership on September 24 under the impression that they were attending a meeting. Instead, some were surprised to discover that they had been given new cars.
Each vehicle was reportedly worth around 300,000 yuan, or approximately Rs 43 lakh. The cars had been purchased in full by the owner around two weeks earlier, meaning the employees receiving them did not have to make payments towards the vehicles.
The gesture was reportedly prompted in part by an employee returning from a particularly cold commute with a visibly red face. The incident made the owner question why her employees should have to face difficult weather conditions on their way to work when she had the means to help them travel more comfortably.
The BMWs were given to selected high-performing employees, turning the gesture into an unusual form of employee recognition. Rather than a conventional bonus or workplace benefit, the reward directly addressed an everyday challenge faced by employees travelling to and from work.
The incident has drawn attention online, particularly for its focus on employee welfare and the commute experience. It also highlights how employers can use unconventional rewards to recognise performance while addressing practical challenges faced by their workforce.
