Woman In China Travels To Work Wearing IV Drip, Triggers Debate On Hustle Culture

Job pressure is an unavoidable aspect of the modern-day work experience. Some jobs have high-pressure deadlines, requiring employees to sacrifice their personal lives and put their work ahead of everything else. One such story has surfaced from Shanghai where a woman was seen walking down the subway with an intravenous (IV) drip inserted in her hand and a bottle of fluid over her head, South China Morning Post reported.

A video of the woman was filmed by a passer-by when she was on an escalator in a subway station at about 10 pm at the end of last month, news portal The Paper reported.

''At first, I thought she was holding a drink bottle. When I realised it was an IV fluid bottle and she was having an IV inserted, I thought she was strong and life was not easy for her. My heart ached a bit for her,'' the man who took the video posted on Douyin.

Notably, the woman in the video has a dance studio in Shanghai, which is 20km away from her house. She revealed that she could not afford to go to the hospital in the daytime since she had just started her business and had not hired any staff yet. 

''If I went to receive the IV at the hospital after 10 pm every day and finished the drip at 2 am, I wouldn't have enough rest because I need to open my studio early. So I asked doctors if I could take the IV fluids away. I told them I had studied medicine before and I could insert it myself. The doctors agreed,'' Ms. Dongdong told South China Morning Post.

She admitted that her behaviour looked ''absurd'', and warned people not to attempt it.

''Please be aware that there are too many uncontrollable factors in the infusion process, like acute allergy and the tubes falling apart. The latter could cause infection. There also might be adverse reactions, which could put your life at risk. It's dangerous to receive an IV infusion outside the hospital. I am sorry that my behaviour has negatively affected the public,'' she said.

The video has now sparked a debate on the work and hustle culture in China, and many sympathised with her.

''Life is not easy. I understand this girl's frugality. Hiring a taxi for a journey of 20km is expensive,'' one person commented, while another wrote, ''I cannot control my tears. It's like seeing the old me.''