Welfare monitoring in Chinese factories has focused on physical working conditions, with workers' overall well-being largely unexplored. The many codes attempting to define basic standards may not reflect workers' priorities. We used digital diaries to deepen our understanding of migrant workers at a factory in Guangzhou. They suggest factors important to workers – effective relationships and opportunities for learning and development – are very different from the physical welfare concerns raised in the media. We reflect on how our work might be used, to deepen the understanding of social sustainability challenges in global supply chains, and to transform managerial approaches.