At present, there are close to 200 million people in flexible employment in my country.

Among them, university graduates account for a considerable proportion, and the number continues to rise——

How to find a new way of flexible employment for college students and grow up to the sun

  At 2 o'clock in the morning, the live broadcast room of a special farmer-helping platform was still brightly lit, and An Qiujin in front of the camera was dressed in an iconic dress: eyebrows with bangs, black sunglasses, and a bright orange apron tied outside the loose black shirt.

At this time, the 24-year-old boy has been broadcasting live for more than 10 hours, but he still has a lot of punches in the field connection with the fruit farmers, and he is not tired.

  After graduating from Jiageng College of Xiamen University in 2018, An Qiujin became a gourmet video creator.

With the rise of the online economy, positions such as network writers, short video producers, and online delivery personnel have gradually become the "reservoir" for college students' employment. An Qiujin is like a blossoming wave with dreams. Towards his own sea of ​​stars.

What kind of life do these young people lead?

Why does flexible employment become a phenomenon?

How can an employed person climb the hill to grow into the sun?

Painting group portraits: have the courage to pursue dreams, dare to try to innovate

  Similar to An Qiujin, Liu Ning'er chose a "not so traditional" career-e-sports host after graduating from Communication University of China in 1995.

In front of the camera, she talked and laughed freely, and behind the camera, she continued to work hard for it: dancing and fitness at 10 am every day, homework and commentary at 1 noon, and live broadcast at 4 until around midnight.

I will give myself one or two days off each month, but I have to travel frequently between different cities to catch up with the season.

She said: "This job is lively and interesting, and the love in my heart supports me to keep going."

  The status of Wu Mengwei, the author of online literature, is different from that of Liu Ning'er.

He graduated from Nanchang Institute of Technology with a major in electronic information engineering. "Crossover" started a life of "dreaming as a horse, writing to travel the world": working 5-6 hours every night, updating 4,000-6,000 words of novels.

If you take a day off in the middle, you will choose to make up.

"Usually I am more homely, and I like to work at the desk in the dead of night. But I will get fat after sitting for a long time." Wu Mengwei laughed about his normal life.

  Freedom, love, and dreams are the unanimous inner demands of several young practitioners.

So, how to define the concept of "flexible employment"?

What are the characteristics of this group?

  Many experts believe that flexible employment positions are closely related to the Internet economy, and generally refer to self-employed, temporary or informal employment models. Its flexibility is reflected in the form of work, length of time, labor relations, etc., and can basically be divided into part-time There are three types of employment, namely private employment, individual industrial and commercial households, and new employment.

Compared with freelance, flexible employment covers a wider range, which can be "part-time jobs" or self-employment, and so on.

  Based on years of research, Zhang Chenggang, director of the China New Employment Forms Research Center, Capital University of Economics and Business, described a "group portrait": the post-95s and post-00s are mainly employed, and the graduates from ordinary undergraduates and higher vocational colleges account for a relatively large proportion. In order to actively choose a job or use it as a "springboard" for entrepreneurship and secondary employment, under the same conditions, the income is slightly higher than that of practitioners in traditional positions.

They have a certain degree of autonomy and creativity, and can respond quickly and make changes according to market needs.

  The interviewed experts said that the number of university graduates who choose flexible employment in some provinces is on the rise: Taking Jiangsu Province as an example, the total number of graduates in the province in 2017 and 2019 was 556,000 and 562,000, respectively, and the year-end flexible employment rate Respectively 2.5%, 2.9%, an increase of about 2500 people.

According to Max Research Institute's "China Undergraduate Employment Report 2020", the proportion of 2014 undergraduates who started their own businesses within half a year has risen to 4.8% within 5 years of graduation.

With the extension of graduation time, the proportion of self-employed entrepreneurs continues to rise.

  From the perspective of employment demand, the "China Flexible Employment Development Report (2021)" released by the School of Labor and Human Resources of Renmin University of China shows that the proportion of flexible employment adopted by Chinese enterprises in 2020 is about 55.7%, an increase of about 11 percentage points from 2019, nearly 30% Of companies intend to stabilize or expand the scale of flexible employment.

"The new blue ocean opened up by the Internet economy is creating more matching job platforms for young people who are interested in working for flexible jobs," said Zhu Di, a researcher at the Institute of Sociology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Seek the reason: integrate into the digital age and pursue self-worth

  The twilight is sinking, two or three dishes are on the table.

The father and daughter sat opposite each other, chatting about the chores of the day during the meal.

This kind of ordinary farm life was edited by Empress Wang Xiaonan in 1995 into a picture of "family sitting opposite each other, and the lights are amiable".

A few years ago, in order to take care of her father who was suffering from kidney disease, Wang Xiaonan, who had just graduated, resigned and returned to Dazhai Township, Huaxian County, Henan Province to become a short video producer.

The rural life gave her creative inspiration and helped her find her career direction.

  Judy has conducted research on youth career choices. She found that many young people like Wang Xiaonan are eager to find a balance between work, life and family. Flexible employment positions have created the possibility to meet this demand.

In addition, the young people's desire for freedom and the desire to control their lives have also become an internal driving force favored by flexible employment.

In many cases, flexible employment is not a helpless move, but an active choice to realize self-worth or accumulate experience for entrepreneurship.

  Experts such as Ma Liang, a researcher at the National Institute of Development and Strategy of Renmin University of China, believe that the innovation of digital technology has promoted the development of the sharing economy and online economy. Content platforms such as cloud customer service, short videos, and online education create conditions for flexible employment. , Space, and form expand the extension of college students' career choices, and enrich the job opportunities on the supply side.

  Li Chang'an, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics, analyzed that in the process of my country's economic development towards high-quality, there is bound to be a change in development mode and economic structure.

On the one hand, the employment market characterized by traditional permanent workers has changed; on the other hand, the social demand of high-quality, high-skilled workers has increased, and the employment share of other workers has decreased.

Therefore, with the number of college graduates reaching 9.09 million this year, facing fierce employment competition, self-improvement towards high-skills is one way, and flexible employment is another viable channel.

  On this channel, whether it is Liu Ning'er in Shanghai, An Qiujin and Wu Mengwei in Xiamen and Nanchang, or Wang Xiaonan who lives in Dazhai Township, "a big net" expands for them in different places. Forms of employment and bring considerable income.

Zhang Chenggang analyzed: "Under the macro background of the country's implementation of'employment priority', flexible employment is conducive to the rational flow and allocation of manpower and information resources between regions, making it easier for third- and fourth-tier cities to attract labor employment, and for the development of'small town youth'. Open up space. Some young people who have returned to their hometowns to start their own businesses have accumulated strength for rural revitalization, which has narrowed the gap between urban and rural development to a certain extent. Some young people have "tested the water" through flexible employment, and then set up studios and registered companies to start their own businesses. Innovation and entrepreneurship have cultivated new momentum."

Exploration direction: guarantee + guidance, activate a pool of spring water

  "Establishing a company, having a considerable income, buying an apartment..." Xue Haipeng, who graduated from Beijing Union University with a major in computer science, felt that he was one step closer to his life goal after successfully completing a large-scale enterprise web design project.

Although he has a hearing impairment, it did not hinder him from planning his life: with his professional learning and two years of Internet experience, he started from the knowledge and skills service website "part-time job" receiving orders, gradually increasing income, accumulating reputation, and then establishing shops, Preparing to establish a company.

  In interviews, many young people said that flexible employment is not a "brain fever", but that they have been prepared or have started their own businesses since they were in college.

Zhang Chenggang reminds that if a job seeker does not have a clear career development path and market awareness, it is easy to lose himself.

This requires the school's employment guidance center to guide students to make career planning in time and establish a correct outlook on career choices.

Schools should also make overall arrangements in professional settings and training programs to adapt to the trends and needs of flexible employment development.

  The reporter noticed that most of the flexible employees have unstable monthly income, and they are generally allocated according to orders or projects. It is easy to cause problems such as different pay for equal work and wage disputes due to the non-standard design of the pay system.

Li Changan reminded that college students must have a good understanding of labor contracts and related laws, enhance their legal awareness, and protect their rights and interests. Labor arbitration departments need to pay enough attention to these new issues.

  Social security is a general concern of interviewees.

Judy’s survey shows that among nearly 10,000 young people who are engaged in live broadcasting, food delivery and other occupations, 25% of the respondents said that they do not have any social or commercial protection.

It is not difficult to find that the blurring of the labor relationship between practitioners and employment platforms, urban and rural household registration restrictions, and "cross-platform, multiple employers" have become factors that affect social security.

  In this regard, the interviewed experts called for the establishment of a new type of social security system that adapts to a flexible employment model. The government prepares and provides financial subsidies, and laborers and companies with labor relations pay a certain amount of funds.

Ma Liang also suggested to promote data sharing between relevant government departments, strengthen the connection between the government and enterprises' employment and social security data, and use platform-based social security to solve the problems encountered by the platform economy.

  In fact, the "spring breeze" of related policies has already blown: "Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Supporting Multi-channel Flexible Employment" and a number of central ministries and commissions jointly issued "Opinions on Supporting the Healthy Development of New Business Forms and New Models, Activating the Consumer Market and Driving Employment Expansion" ", creating a good policy environment for flexible employment.

At the recent State Council policy briefing, relevant persons in charge emphasized "support for multi-channel and flexible employment" from the four aspects of lowering the threshold, strong support, excellent service, and promotion of incubation, which provided a "reassurance" for practitioners.

  Under the guidance of the top-level design, the exploration of the place has become clearer.

Ma Liang told reporters: Looking vertically, many second- and third-tier cities have become the influx of flexible employment, opening green channels for talent identification and settlement, and working hard to optimize the business environment and promote policy implementation; horizontally, standardize competition Mechanisms, improved industry supervision, and strict control of the phenomenon of "bad money driving out good money" have provided sufficient guarantee for flexible employment.

  "New things and new models are bound to have their own development laws. Relevant departments and public opinion should be inclusive of'knowing the truth and guiding the actions', so that job seekers can find new ways to grow in the sun, and finally achieve the common development of social development dividends. Create and share." Li Changan said.

(Reporter Li Xiao)

(Project team: our reporter Li Xiao, Wang Simin, Chen Zhiyin, Jiang Xinjun, our reporter Gao Yuan)