Few employees of a company in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, have arrived late on the job since a regulation stipulating that tardy workers would be made to climb stairs was issued.

"Latecomers have to register at the front desk," reads a message sent each morning at 10 am through QQ, an instant messaging service in China.

Those who arrive to the office late are made to go to the bottom floor and climb to the 19th floor within fifteen minutes in order for the record of their tardy arrival to be canceled.

Staff are made to exercise each morning, and many choose to climb the stairs, while latecomers have to climb twice. The first one to reach the top floor will receive 200 yuan ($32.12) as a bonus.

The company instituted this system to improve workers' health.

One employee said it is impossible to cheat because there are staff standing outside the elevators on every other floor. She added that though it is tiring to climb so many stairs, employees are in support of the new regulation.

"Latecomers are fined 100 yuan each time they are tardy," she said. "It is actually not difficult to climb to the 19th floor. Since we can avoid the fine, we think the option is very considerate."

She said that since the regulation was announced a month ago, almost no one comes late anymore.

West China City Daily