A Guangzhou company is keeping track of employees on business trips by requiring them to send selfies holding the day's local newspaper.

"Buying a newspaper is the first thing I do before going to work," said one employee at a Guangzhou real estate company identified as Roy.

After taking a selfie that shows the newspaper's date clearly, Roy sends the photo to a WeChat group as proof he's clocked in.

"I feel embarrassed when people see me doing this," said Roy. "Taking a selfie with a newspaper on the way to work is quite weird."

Other area companies are resorting to unusual ways to keep tabs on workers.

Another Guangzhou company is using a face scanner that can distinguish human faces from photos.

This comes as a disappointment to an employee at the company surnamed Lu, who learned of the scanner's accuracy the hard way.

"Now it is impossible for other people to clock you in," Lu said.

Global Times