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Young Chinese are sick of working long hours

bbc.com

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Re: Young Chinese are sick of working long hours

#21

Post by Someone1234 »

eumenides1 wrote: post #11

“In my experience young people, especially the post-90s generation, are reluctant to work overtime – they are more self-centered,” says labour rights expert Li Jupeng, one of many who have observed some millennials challenging the 996 concept. self-centered is a funny word. It implies selfish, but is it really selfish if it's self-preservation?

I have to imagine something was lost in translation there? My brain just cannot fathom how "overtime" by the very nature of the word can be anything but an optional extra.

You'd just as likely selfishly choose overtime as you would not choose it.

Re: Young Chinese are sick of working long hours

#23

Post by walshemj »

eumenides1 wrote: post #11

“In my experience young people, especially the post-90s generation, are reluctant to work overtime – they are more self-centered,” says labour rights expert Li Jupeng, one of many who have observed some millennials challenging the 996 concept. self-centered is a funny word. It implies selfish, but is it really selfish if it's self-preservation?

Probably a translation from a Confucian concept in English

Re: Young Chinese are sick of working long hours

#24

Post by Someone1234 »

Freak_NL wrote: post #4
nickthemagicman wrote: post #2

Welcome to the club! There's 400 million Americans who feel the exact same way!

Japanese too. Keep in mind that this article is written from a British/European standpoint, where working overtime is an exception, not the norm.

Then why call it "overtime."

Mandatory overtime as a concept is contradictory, that's just the new work-hours.

Re: Young Chinese are sick of working long hours

#25

Post by imglorp »

ausjke wrote: post #20
yakuza00000 wrote: post #17

Poor Chinese Millennials. They are frustrated their country turned dictatorship. They are constantly monitored by the big brother, social credit score, public cameras that have facial recognition. Their words censored by wechat, and the great firewall. If they say something wrong, they will be watched and put on no travel list. There's no moving up the ladder; they're stuck trying to buy a $500k house with a meager $…

gosh this sounds like a revolution in the cooking state, is this totally true? maybe not that bad I hope. the big problems are the debt and the house bubble, one of them blows up will cause serious issues, so far so good it seems.

Last time they stood up to speak, 10,000 students were murdered in public to make an example. They might think twice now.

Re: Young Chinese are sick of working long hours

#26

Post by madeofpalk »

ausjke wrote: post #20
yakuza00000 wrote: post #17

Poor Chinese Millennials. They are frustrated their country turned dictatorship. They are constantly monitored by the big brother, social credit score, public cameras that have facial recognition. Their words censored by wechat, and the great firewall. If they say something wrong, they will be watched and put on no travel list. There's no moving up the ladder; they're stuck trying to buy a $500k house with a meager $…

gosh this sounds like a revolution in the cooking state, is this totally true? maybe not that bad I hope. the big problems are the debt and the house bubble, one of them blows up will cause serious issues, so far so good it seems.

Not sure if I'm missing sarcasm or anything, but this sounds like the exact same problem as everywhere else in the world.

Re: Young Chinese are sick of working long hours

#27

Post by jsemrau »

eumenides1 wrote: post #11

“In my experience young people, especially the post-90s generation, are reluctant to work overtime – they are more self-centered,” says labour rights expert Li Jupeng, one of many who have observed some millennials challenging the 996 concept. self-centered is a funny word. It implies selfish, but is it really selfish if it's self-preservation?

Well, who "wants" to work overtime ? Most European work cultures survive well with a great work-life balance.

Re: Young Chinese are sick of working long hours

#28

Post by kevas »

collyw wrote: post #16
IloveHN84 wrote: post #3

Who's not tired of working overtime?

Me. I think I am underpaid (actually I think most devs in my country are underpaid) so i don't do it with the exception of when I made a major cock up and the team was waiting on me.

Serious question: why do you think you're underpaid? Why do you feel you should be making more. The market has said that you're currently worth/getting paid X. So... why think you're Y?

Re: Young Chinese are sick of working long hours

#30

Post by bena »

ekianjo wrote: post #9
Freak_NL wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Japanese too. Keep in mind that this article is written from a British/European standpoint, where working overtime is an exception, not the norm.

Japanese may work overtime but they are hardly "busy", at least in major corporations which constitute a large bulk of the salary men workforce. Lots of useless meetings where people sit around saying and doing nothing. They just stay late.

It's been so long, but I remember reading something about that, the illusion of productivity.

The author was relating an experience in which the secretary would do this little fake jog thing to wherever she was going. It wasn't any faster than walking and he asked her why she just didn't walk. She said that she didn't want to seem like she was slacking.

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