After Liang quit his banking position in Zhejiang province China, his pals hosted a party and beat gongs and drums to celebrate, echoing traditional marriage traditions.
His unemployed friends planted a flower on Liang’s breast under a red banner proclaiming, “We’re done with this bullsh*t job!”
They were surrounded by wedding lanterns, flags, “double happiness” placards, and food tables. Each visitor received an invitation saying, “Eat and drink well. Get away from bitterness quickly.” In China, with its terrible economy and record-high youth unemployment, celebrating quitting a good job may seem weird. However, Liang, 27, who operates a café and develops content, claimed he is happy since leaving in May, as do many online..
I did monotonous, mechanized work. It sapped my energy. “A bank’s PR department inhibited his creativity. Your creative ideas would have been discarded.”
Chinese social media has witnessed hundreds of resignation party posts this year as the country recovers from COVID-19 and faces economic and social issues. Most quit in their 20s due to low pay or burnout.
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Chinese LinkedIn equivalent Maimai reported that 28% of 1,554 employees across sectors surveyed from January to October 2022 resigned. The number of individuals planning to quit doubled.
The US Great Resignation saw about 50 million people resign their employment in two years. In China, the problem appears to be just beginning, while in the West, it is declining.
Overworked youth who have spent their lives competing academically and climbing the corporate ladder are disillusioned.
Experts say the trend could exacerbate the country’s growing economic headaches, as a falling birthrate and shrinking workforce spell trouble for future growth — and for generations of Chinese youth.
The school rat race
Many children in China begin the educational rat race at a young age, with years of after-school tutoring and high-pressure exams culminating in the dreaded “gaokao” college entrance exam — which most students get just one shot at.
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“I think people in the West, people outside of China, don’t understand how hard it is to be a child [there],” said Nancy Qian, a professor of economics at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. “The youth are dealing with a lot of disappointment and pent-up exhaustion and resentment from working so hard.”
Many grew up during a time when the economy was running at full speed and the future seemed promising. But, as the products of the one-child policy, which was relaxed only in recent years as authorities tried to reverse the falling birth rate, they’ve had to deal with high parental expectations while competing in a cutthroat system.
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Qian said they were assured the sacrifices would pay off once they were wealthy. Instead, they’ve faced record unemployment and stagnant wages due to a weak economy and an overwork culture.
The principles and work ethic they’ve been taught their whole lives are undermined, Qian added. “They’re totally exhausted.”
Instead of just making ends meet, young individuals in a more prosperous era demand meaning and purpose, which their occupations sometimes lack.
A market mismatch
Experts argue a mismatch between education, skills, and jobs heightens dissatisfaction.
According to the Ministry of Education, university enrollment in China nearly doubled in ten years to 57.8% in 2021.
However, Columbia University sociology professor Yao Lu found that many people are overqualified for their professions, meaning they don’t need the skills and information they obtained in school.
She said, “They are working in jobs that may be relatively stable and may pay reasonably well, but those are jobs that don’t typically require a college degree,” such as local district office administrative roles and food delivery drivers.
She stated that this mismatch has major social effects, including low employee life and job satisfaction.
Bachelor of music graduate Veyron Mai from Foshan was unable to find a job as a music teacher. His blue-collar labor included vehicle washing before becoming a restaurant server.
He worked in July with “strongly corrosive” cleaning products.
“Even gloves hurt and ruined your hands. A month of working there made me ashamed to show my hands. What makes me a music student?
A “structural imbalance” existed between supply and demand, said Lu.
Despite the spread of higher education degrees, China’s economy doesn’t need as many highly skilled individuals, and economic restructuring takes time, she said.
Fewer workers in China?
Since the economy faces several challenges, the labor market mismatch may be long-term.
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China’s fertility rate has been declining for years, reducing births and working-age adults. The country’s old population is rapidly aging, increasing demand for pensions, health care, and other welfare services.
According to Qian, “the worst-case scenario is if the dispirited youths permanently drop out of the labor force, which will mean even fewer workers to support the elderly in the years to come.”
She added that the resignation trend may harm fertility, but how is unclear.
She said young folks without long work hours may focus on relationships and have kids, or they could delay that process due to “income loss and depressed emotions.”
“Anything that lowers fertility rates is a serious concern for the future,” she said.
Many resigning workers remain employed.
CNN interviewees and web writers have gone on to other jobs or sectors. Who knows how long this trend will persist?
Liang manages a cafe in Taizhou, an eastern city with mountains and beaches. He remarked, “At my age, I can just quit when I want to.” But maybe after a year or two, I’ll have to return to work.”
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