Reducing Work Stress Among Chinese Gen-Z

In a 2018 speech, China’s President Xi said, “the new era ‘belongs to those who work hard,’ and ‘happiness can only be achieved through great endeavors’” (Wang). Until very recently, China has been trying to catch up with more advanced global economies, putting heavy pressure on workers. Chinese tech giants have grown tremendously with productive yet toxic work practices. As a result, facing intense work and academic pressures, many Chinese Gen-Z have abandoned the idea of hard work leading to happiness and decided instead to just “lie flat.

China’s new buzzword “lying flat” (躺平), reflects Chinese Gen-Z’s growing anxieties and hopelessness toward succeeding in modern China under high societal pressures. This new term tells young Chinese people “don’t buy a house, don’t buy a car, don’t marry, don’t have children, don’t spend” (An). This phrase seems extreme, but what it really means is that instead of worrying about wealth and moving forward in life, Chinese Gen-Z would rather relax in the present and make enough to afford the necessities.

Chinese Gen-Z faces pressure not only to find prestigious jobs but also to work long hours on those jobs and survive toxic work environments. A survey by Aurora Mobile Ltd. found that “only 38.5% of the graduating class of 2021 was planning to enter the workforce” (Ren). Wanting to break free from the high-pressure lifestyle, millions of young Chinese no longer want a traditional job, which, for many, is too stressful to handle.

In August 2021, the 996 work schedule (9am-9pm for 6 days), which has helped China’s tech giants Alibaba and Tencent grow (Huang), was deemed illegal by China’s supreme court. This is certainly a big step toward reducing stress among China’s young workforce, however, more has to be done in order to combat China’s toxic work culture.

Given that “lying flat” is Gen-Z’s refusal to become “money-making machines” for companies (An), companies should take more action to improve their working culture by allowing worker participation in company decision-making.

(look at other countries with healthy work cultures and employee-centered policies)