A 75,000-character long essay unveils the workplace grievances of ordinary employees.

On June 4th, 'Inside DingTalk' swept through the Chinese internet. Penned by Teng Yaxin, a former product manager at DingTalk, the essay delves into the internal dynamics of the company, sparking widespread resonance online.

On June 8th, Ma Ruila, a former vice president of DingTalk, penned 'Outside DingTalk,' expressing his 'empathy' for subordinates:

"I understand the immense pressure, the futility felt after exertion, the cycle of frequent reporting, rapid iteration, and the lack of tangible progress."

On June 10th, as public sentiment continued to swell, the Alibaba Partnership Committee issued a rare statement, asserting that DingTalk's management style did not align with the true essence of Alibaba's culture.

On June 11th, Alibaba announced that Chen Hang (codename Wuzhao), the former CEO of DingTalk, would step down, with Chen Yusen taking the helm.

What began as an internal reflection has snowballed into a public spectacle, drawing widespread attention. It not only reveals DingTalk's growing pains in its AI transformation but also underscores the public's strong aversion to 'high-pressure workplaces.'

Deciphering Systemic Dilemmas in Big Tech through an In-depth Expose

From a purely communicative perspective, 'Inside DingTalk' and 'Outside DingTalk' might be perceived as emotional outbursts of resignation. However, a closer examination reveals them as insightful reports addressing the pathologies of big tech companies.

The 'Symptom Checklist' of Big Tech and Emotional Outlets for Employees: 'Inside DingTalk' uniquely portrays DingTalk not as a highly efficient startup team but as a colossal machine distorted by KPIs, rife with power dynamics, and hesitant amidst the AI wave.

Employees, treated as mere cogs in the machine, are propelled forward, inevitably leading to physical and mental strain. This predicament is not unique to DingTalk but is a shared dilemma among all workers, making 'Inside DingTalk' a conduit for societal emotions.

Former Executives' 'Graceful Empathy' and Value Scrutiny: Ma Ruila's 'Outside DingTalk,' while relatively restrained due to differing perspectives, raises poignant questions about whether some have misconstrued Alibaba's core value of 'Employees Second.'

If 'Employees Second' is interpreted as 'employees making unlimited concessions,' the very foundation of organizational ethics is undermined, reducing employees from respected individuals to mere profit-generating tools.

Official Pronouncements and Decisive Leadership Action: At this critical juncture, Alibaba's highest authority needed to step in. The Alibaba Partnership Committee's stern rebuke of DingTalk's executives signaled that the issue had escalated beyond internal resolution, indicating a 'cultural crisis' that could shake the company's very foundations.

The day following the statement, former DingTalk CEO Chen Hang (Wuzhao) was ousted, demonstrating Alibaba's unwavering commitment to governance aimed at eradicating the toxic 'power dynamics' within its ranks.

Governance Growing Pains in the AI Transformation Era: This is a common challenge faced by global internet giants, including Alibaba domestically and Google and Apple abroad. The urgent need for innovation in the AI era can lead to extreme management styles, where opportunists may compromise ethics for short-term gains—a matter that warrants everyone's attention.

Seeking Freedom Amidst Constraints: DingTalk's AI Dilemma

Undoubtedly, the viral spread of 'Inside DingTalk' and 'Outside DingTalk' has exposed DingTalk's internal 'high-pressure management' issues.

Delving into the company's history, DingTalk's governance dilemma stems from a deeper root: an irreconcilable structural contradiction between its original product DNA and the demands of the AI era.

The most direct manifestation of this contradiction is the Unresolvable Dilemma Between 'Empowerment' and 'Control.' Originally a 'To B' tool with company managers as the paying decision-makers, this fundamental business logic imbued DingTalk with a 'control' undertone.

In the AI era, nearly every software mentions 'empowerment,' aiming to enhance efficiency through AI models, ultimately reducing repetitive labor and helping employees find meaning in their work.

However, DingTalk's original bias towards managers means that 'empowerment' can easily become a 'control amplifier,' erasing employees' psychological buffers. New features like read receipts and smart attendance actually exacerbate workplace anxiety.

Due to DingTalk's misaligned software positioning, despite continuous updates, its reputation has suffered. Faced with this, company management grew anxious, leading to a situation where:

Executive will superseded user needs, resulting in a 'chef-like approach to product development.'

'Inside DingTalk' mentions that during the development of DingTalk's flagship AI project, ONE, supervisors arbitrarily adopted a UI design model resembling Douyin's 'information flow cards,' which did not align with office scenarios, causing the product to deviate from the real needs of frontline users.

As the saying goes, with the wrong direction, the more effort expended, the greater the mistakes. After entering a vicious cycle, DingTalk's executives began to hesitate, leading to a new problem:

Strategic fluctuations lead to significant internal resource consumption.

Strategic fluctuations were evident in the flagship AI project, ONE, which survived only 10 months, undergoing multiple directional changes and unclear responsibilities before fading away.

The root cause of strategic fluctuations is philosophical confusion about the product, posing a question for DingTalk in the AI era:

What is DingTalk's AI implementation direction?

Is DingTalk an 'efficiency tool for bosses' or a 'collaboration platform for employees'? Attempting to serve both masters may result in failing at both. AI transformation requires not just technological accumulation but also a serious examination of one's product philosophy.

Has 'Strict Governance' Become Counterproductive?

Speaking of DingTalk, its founder, Chen Hang (Wuzhao), is an unavoidable topic. He returned during DingTalk's most difficult period and was known as Alibaba's 'fire captain.'

Combining his contributions to 'entrepreneurship' and 'stewardship,' Chen Hang should be a meritorious figure. However, his sudden removal was due to the severe distortion of his core management approach, 'strict governance.'

The original intention of 'strict governance' was to 'break through,' which is commendable.

When DingTalk fully transitioned to AI-driven operations, Chen Hang aimed to lead DingTalk to new heights, redefining office entry points through AI. However, breaking out of comfort zones is not easy; it requires extreme execution and entrepreneurial passion, making 'strict governance' somewhat necessary.

Yet, if 'strict governance' is overdone, it becomes counterproductive.

One manifestation of the distorted 'strict governance' philosophy is the transformation of high-pressure management into 'performative involution.'

In 'Inside DingTalk,' DingTalk's management launched the 'Wangshu Initiative' to compete with rival Feishu. The assessment criterion was simply who worked harder and stayed later, with late-night workplace inspections becoming common. Those leaving early had to write self-criticisms.

In this atmosphere, employees were not creating value but 'performing' value creation. More unsettling is that during Chen Hang's 'strict governance,' the corporate organizational structure also quietly changed.

Management power became highly concentrated, and the organizational structure gradually stiffened—an inevitable result of distorted 'strict governance' decisions.

Returning to 'Inside DingTalk,' it mentions that during DingTalk's product review meetings, when grassroots product managers (junior product managers) presented data-driven arguments, superiors often rudely interrupted with 'I think.'

Given the uncertainties of transformation work, a highly centralized decision-making approach can indeed enhance efficiency to some extent. However, it also suppresses the innovative capabilities of grassroots employees, which is more detrimental than beneficial for internet companies.

The core contradiction of 'strict governance' lies in the dilemma of 'overcoming others by first overcoming oneself' due to a lack of balance.

Chen Hang's intention with 'strict governance' was good, but he overlooked a fact: true combat effectiveness comes from consensus, not fear.

You can use power to make employees work overtime, but you cannot rely on power to gain their identification. If employees lack enthusiasm for their work, overtime becomes mere formality, and organizational creativity disappears.

Therefore, in the long run, Chen Hang's departure might be a positive development.

The Path Forward: People-Centricity

Enough about old stories; let's discuss new topics.

In response to the public opinion storm generated by 'Inside DingTalk' and 'Outside DingTalk,' Alibaba's senior leadership has generally adopted the right approach, maintaining an 'emotional and principled' industry original intention. DingTalk is likely to undergo systemic reforms.

Acknowledging unwelcome advice is itself a sign of organizational health. The Partnership Committee's statement indicates that senior leadership did not treat this as a short-term crisis but as a long-term opportunity: DingTalk will optimize its executive team and reshape its company culture.

Reshaping a 'people-centric' cultural foundation will be a crucial direction for DingTalk's reforms. After all, in the AI era, innovation relies on employees' passion and creativity. Managers need to shift from 'supervisors' to 'motivators,' implementing 'emotional and principled' values.

Balancing corporate efficiency with humanistic care and returning to Alibaba's core values. True 'Employees Second' does not mean employees should make concessions in the face of interests but rather respect individual value and protect physical and mental boundaries. Only by freeing employees from the burnout of being 'workplace prisoners' can sustained innovative vitality be unleashed.

A pragmatic attitude is also needed in advancing AI strategy. Faced with the crossroads of AI transformation, DingTalk should abandon the mindset of 'token competition' and the practice of formalistic overtime, focusing instead on addressing genuine customer pain points and striving to find a new balance between technological innovation and organizational health.

In any case, DingTalk needs a true cultural revival—not just writing 'emotional and principled' on walls but embodying it in every management action. When work is no longer about pleasing leaders but about advancing products—only then can DingTalk thrive in the AI era.

After the leadership change, can DingTalk make substantive changes? Let's wait and see.