A Chinese company refuses to hire people for a very strange reason
A Chinese education company in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, has sparked controversy after refusing to accept a job application for people with "5" as the fifth digit in their phone numbers, because the company's manager considers it bad luck.
Job applicants are advised to change their phone numbers if they are really interested in working for the company.
The hashtag "the company doesn't hire people with their number 5" has spread, with many questioning and disapproving how an education company could have such a hiring policy, yet there were also comments from superstitious people who seemed to understand and agree with the manager's decision.
A blogger named "Jimingun" who specializes in astronomy and numerology, explained that the strange employment case was inspired by the ancient Chinese divination text I Ching or Yi Jing, also known as the "Book of Changes."
He added, "Anyone who has the fifth digit in his phone number, may easily conflict with his superiors and bring bad luck to his boss as well."
Overall, comments on the company's hiring policy were negative, and many commented that regardless of whether a manager believed in these things, it was assumed that they had no place in employment policy, and that rejecting candidates on their phone numbers could be considered discrimination.
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