When Do Chinese Factory Workers Get “Lazy”?

They are not actually lazy. The people working in our factories are very hardworking. To understand Chinese holiday production delays, it helps to understand why time at home matters so much to them. Around a few important holidays, more overtime pay cannot always replace that time with their families.

A buyer may see an approaching holiday as a shipment deadline. Our workers may see it as a long-awaited chance to go home. At Velkor, we need to make room for both when planning production.

A long way from home

In my experience at our own factories, many of our workers come from places such as Guizhou, Anhui and Wuhan. They have travelled far from home to work in Zhejiang, looking for better pay and opportunities to support their families.

For these colleagues, going home takes planning. Many travel back by long-distance coach for Chinese New Year. It is a journey they need time for, rather than a quick visit after work.

That helps explain why holidays matter so much. May Day, National Day, New Year’s Day and especially Chinese New Year are times when family plans become an important part of our production discussions. The effect differs by holiday and by the people involved.

Some workers may be happy to stay for a day or two of overtime. That does not mean they want to give up the whole break. In the situations I have seen, offering more money does not always change their decision.

And we understand that. Our colleagues have worked hard throughout the year. We want them to go home, rest and spend time with their families.

If someone wants to stay and help with overtime, we appreciate it. But we also want people to feel comfortable keeping their plans to go home. We should not build a delivery promise around the assumption that they will give those plans up.

Why Chinese Holiday Production Delays Can Start Early

As a holiday approaches, customers often ask us to complete their orders before the break. At the same time, some workers are preparing to leave or have already left. In our experience, those two pressures can make the final working days especially busy.

Chinese New Year needs particular attention. I have seen workers leave around ten days ahead of it to make the journey home. That is an example from our experience, not a fixed timetable for every worker or factory.

A factory can still be open while fewer people are available for production. That is why the official holiday dates alone do not tell you the last practical completion date for an order.

Our factory may be ready, but the next one may be closed

There is another part of the schedule that buyers may not see: the factories handling the next stage of production.

Take our aluminum single-gang weatherproof boxes. We may have completed the box bodies and machining at our factory, with powder coating still to follow. But what happens if the factory handling the powder coating has already closed for its holiday?

The boxes cannot complete that next stage on the original schedule, even if our own team has finished its work. Having a box body ready is different from having a product ready to ship.

This is a possible scheduling problem, not a claim that our current batch has been delayed. It illustrates why we need to check the people and factories involved in the remaining work, rather than only our own closing date.

Tell us your holiday shipment plans early

To plan around Chinese holiday production delays, tell us your target shipment date early. We can review the production plan and coordinate the remaining stages while there is still time to make arrangements.

You do not need every detail finalized to start that conversation. Tell us what you know, and identify anything that is still provisional:

• Your target date: goods ready at the factory, vessel departure or arrival at your destination.
• The products and quantities you need.
• Specifications, drawings, packing and labeling requirements, including anything still awaiting approval.

We can then discuss what is realistic. If the timing is too tight, it is better to know early and consider alternatives together.

Our aim is to plan your order properly while giving the people making it time with their families. Please bring us into your holiday shipment plans early, so we can work towards both.

For national holiday dates, see the State Council’s official 2026 holiday notice. Individual factory schedules need to be confirmed separately.