China News Service, Beijing, February 25 (Wei Xianghui) When going to work after the holiday, many young people decided to take out the ugly clothes and old clothes from the bottom of the box, and even summarized the "disgusting outfits" that became a hot list on the Internet.
These slovenly-looking young people are jokingly called "people who don't give a shit in the office."
Discussions on social media about “disgusting outfits for work”
“Save ugly clothes for work.”
The occasional bright color in the wardrobe may already be the last tenderness of contemporary workers.
There is a saying that after going to work, clothes are divided into two categories. Good-looking clothes are not worn to work at all, and ugly and old clothes are kept for work.
How ugly can the ugliest clothes you wear to work be?
For example, during this year’s Spring Festival, the topic of “disgusting outfits” dominated the hot lists on social media.
Some netizens bluntly said that they are too lazy to wash their faces at work now. After getting up, they wipe their eyes with a towel or face towel, brush their teeth, and go out directly. Others mentioned that they are too lazy to carry a backpack, so they just use milk tea bags or takeout bags. Pack chargers and other needed items for commuting.
If we trace the origin of "disgusting outfits" on the Internet, it may be in September 2023. When a blogger named "AAA Pig Feed Wholesale Sister Zhu" shared her work experience in recent years, she mentioned the teahouse where she once worked. In the winter, the heating and air conditioning were not turned on, so she had to wear flesh-colored velvet pants and velvet sneakers under her red work uniform to work. Therefore, the boss's wife scolded her for looking disgusting.
For most ordinary workers, the main focus of clothing is to keep warm, windproof and sheltered, or simply wear whatever is at hand.
Take Beijing's Haidian District, where migrant workers gather, as an example. In winter, there are long black down jackets, light down jackets, and jackets as the "three major items", which are mainly designed to keep warm, resist stains, and are wear-resistant.
Xia has T-shirts, sun protection clothing, and jeans. The basic styles are suitable for all body types and can adapt to the needs of different people. They form their own "Haidian style outfit".
A disgusting outfit mentioned by blogger "AAA Pig Feed Wholesale Sister Zhu"
Is there really no one in the office who cares?
When a young man no longer dresses exquisitely, he is often teased as "no one cares anymore".
If this context were placed in the workplace, it would most likely be interpreted as "young people reorganizing the workplace."
But this is not the case, and it even seems quite helpless.
Xiao Yin is a high school English teacher. According to school regulations, he arrives at work at 7:20 in the morning.
She gets up at 6:45 and goes out at 6:58 every day, with only 13 minutes of preparation time in between.
"Where is the time to dress up?" she said.
Limited commuting time is one of the reasons why many young people are reluctant to dress up.
The "2023 China Major Cities Commuting Monitoring Report" released by the China Urban Planning and Design Institute shows that the average one-way commuting time in China's major cities is 36 minutes.
The average one-way time in Beijing is 47 minutes, making it still the city with the longest commute time.
One-way commuting time in Shanghai, Chongqing and Qingdao exceeds 40 minutes.
In addition, there are still some young people who are trapped in the "work-related shame disorder".
These people often feel cramped, nervous and uneasy when the company is glamorous.
Xiao Zhang, who works in a state-owned enterprise, has experienced the dilemma of "exquisite shame".
She said that due to the influence of the surrounding environment, her colleagues generally dress casually, and almost no one wears makeup to go to work, so she would not go out of her way to dress up for fear of attracting attention from others.
Last year, blogger Li Weiwei posted a video about "exquisite shame at work". It has received over a million likes so far. In the video, a worker who was originally too lazy to clean up his clothes changed into one the next day after seeing his colleagues dress up carefully. She wears exquisite makeup and beautiful outfits, but is ridiculed by colleagues and bosses because of her conspicuousness. She has self-doubt in her heart that "my abilities are not worthy of my outfit."
“Haidian style outfits” shared by netizens
Finding a balance between "disgusting outfits" and "exquisite shame"
"I don't spend a long time putting on makeup to go to work and then feel ashamed." Xiaoyu, born in 1995, is an editor of a publishing house. Her standards for commuting attire are: her hair is well taken care of and not messy, and she has her own ideas for matching clothes. Happy and comfortable, my skin and complexion look good.
Xiaoyu told China News Service that she would put together a suitable commuting outfit using items from her wardrobe before going to bed or in the morning.
She believes that staying tidy and presentable will help her maintain energy throughout the day.
"I tend to think that people with exquisite shame have not yet found their own style comfort zone."
In psychology, some researchers have proposed the term "clothing cognition" to describe the impact of clothes on people's behavior and emotions.
Research shows that "the formality of clothing may not only affect how others view you and how you view yourself, but it may also influence their decision-making in important ways by affecting how your mind is processed."
According to this view, when a plain-faced migrant worker wearing a loose T-shirt and wide-leg pants laughs at himself for the inexplicable tired "work smell" he has after working for a long time, dressing carefully may be a way to reduce or even reduce the "work smell" Way to disappear.
(over)