Labour Dynamics in Chinese Small and Medium Enterprises

Abstract

Over the past few years, China–Africa engagements have intensified, manifesting in an escalation of Chinese small-scale entrepreneurs investing in African countries. Nevertheless, there is little research on everyday workplace encounters, management styles and labour dynamics in these businesses. This study fills this lacuna by examining labour and management practices in Chinese-owned smes in Zimbabwe, and how local employees experience and perceive Chinese management styles and practices. We employed an ethnographic qualitative methodology, conducting interviews and informal conversations. Secondary data came from newspaper and civil society reports. The findings revealed that workplace regimes in Chinese smes are complex and ambivalent, marked by precariousness, conflict, contestation and conviviality. The findings also highlighted meagre salaries, job insecurity, long working hours and unfair dismissals. We argue that the socio-spatial context of work in Chinese smes in Zimbabwe is imbued with complex power dynamics driven by divergent cultural interpretations of work and being a worker.