In China, pajamas, work, sleep for those tired of overtime
A part of Chinese youth refuses to enter the race for promotions and intends to enjoy a simple life without sacrificing their life at work. This trend is reflected in what could be described as casual attire at work, with some going so far as to go to the office in pajamas.
China, Beijing Getty Images - d3sign
By: Stéphane Lagarde Follow
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From our correspondent in Beijing,
We knew “Casual Friday”, as the English say. Except that here, it's every day, and it even gives rise to a selfie competition on social networks. Particularly on
Xiaohongshu
, the Chinese Instagram, where we take photos of ourselves at work, in casual, even neglected, outfits.
“Beggar chic” style
Tops, but also fluffy pajama bottoms combined with a track jacket. Everything is often mismatched. It's not necessarily in good taste – the orange socks and sandals combo is all the rage for example – but the “beggar chic” style is giving rise to a veritable fashion parade on social networks. Last month, an Internet user with the nickname “Kendo S” photographed herself on Douyin – the Chinese version of TikTok – in a brown dress and sweater, over pajama bottoms with holey mittens.
The hashtag
“
work outfit
” immediately caught on. The idea is to have fun of course; to also make fun of it a little, or at least to distance yourself from jobs that are sometimes poorly paid, sometimes boring, sometimes both. “
I don't think it's worth spending money on dressing for work, after all I sit in a corner all day
,
”
a designer from Wuhan in the center of the country
told the
New York Times
. These outfits are also an opportunity to assert yourself, to simply say: “
I do what I want, when I want
”
,
or even
“
my life does not end at work
”
.
“
Tang Ping
” and “
no future
”
“I don’t care” outfits at work don’t necessarily please the employer. Some of them fear that this will harm the company's image. There are also sometimes comments from office neighbors. But regardless, this movement is also a form of “
silent demonstration
” for those who have a stable job. A trend that is part of a more general movement. There was the
“
Tang Ping
” which in Chinese means “
to do the plank
” or “
to lie flat
” for those who prefer to wait and see, rather than engaging in poorly paid and/or tiring work.
There was also “
Bailan
”, an expression which means “
to let rot
” or “
to let fall
”
,
for those who are looking for a stable job, but refuse to enter into a competition or the illusion of a career. promising given the slowdown of the Chinese economy and the drying up of interesting jobs, or even jobs at all. And so today there is casual dress at work which manifests, if not a “no future”, at least a counter-culture in opposition to the vision of the elders who threw themselves headlong into overtime and racing. to advancement.
Read alsoIn China, the disenchanted generation nostalgic for life far from megacities
Refusal of “996”
Nothing political here, most of these young and old just ask to live
a simple life
, without pressure, trying to find a minimum of meaning in existence. “
Tang Ping is absolutely not against the party, but against capitalist conditions,”
asserts Jean-Louis Rocca
. A group of people no longer tolerate or are no longer able to play the game of competition on which relationships at work were based
.
Many Chinese withdraw from this logic, to find themselves in less competitive activities, or return to their parents in the countryside. They refuse to get married and they don't want children
."
says this professor at the Sciences Po International Research Center (CERI)
.
This movement mainly concerns the middle class, but it also worries the authorities. Studies on the subject are published in Chinese universities, sometimes critical of those who only see young people as lazy.
“Work had gone completely crazy
,” continues the sociologist at CERI, “people worked in “
996
” (9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 6 days a week),
with extremely strict hierarchical relationships. And today there is a segment of society which refuses or in any case contests what was the heart of the Chinese economy before Covid: a society of competition, of always more and of consumption. »
“3.12 Movement”
The economic slowdown gives wings to this movement of emancipation.
The
videos
broadcast on
In reality, these manifestations have always existed, but they were previously erased by censors. The new thing is that white-collar workers are also affected. On March 12, an avalanche of complaints on Excel spreadsheets posted by employees of marketing and advertising agencies on the Tencent platform denounced the working conditions in thousands of companies on the east coast.
The “3.12 movement” then spread to other sectors: online games, high tech, big data, influencer agencies
.
“
Seeing these grievances appear online, many leaders in the sector asked their HR to try to delete these tables, which led to an escalation in conflicts
,” says Mr. Wang contacted by RFI. For this boss of an events company:
“
we must not bury our heads in the sand,
but on the contrary take the opportunity to confront what is going wrong, while many agencies have closed their doors in recent years and budgets are decreasing
” .
Grievance books 2.0
Recently, a
“table of salary statistics for various industries in the civil engineering group”
appeared online, notes “
Professor Li
” in a tweet. The document lists the benefits, salary levels, schedules of major construction companies across the country. “
Many of these companies have salary arrears and often require their employees to work unpaid overtime
,
”
underlines this Chinese network watchdog, citing the case of a Canton company working for the railways. Chinese who paid the workers' pay three months late.
Which is also obviously the case for some office workers. “
I was surprised, because apart from gossip, most of the comments were filled with deep resentment,”
notes Mr. Ma.
“This is probably linked to the general slowdown and
high turnover
which increases complaints
”
,
insists this director of an advertising agency. These 2.0 grievance books of the March 12 movement and the days that followed, disappeared as quickly as they appeared, deleted or blocked, we read for
“violations of the platform's directives.
»
Also read: China: youth unemployment rate at its highest
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