How Gen Z is Changing Work Culture...by Speaking Up | Language
Challenging everything from overtime work to abusive bosses, can China’s “post-00s” really rewrite workplace norms?
零零后是如何整顿职场的？
Unlike people in their 30s and 40s who have become jaded supporting their elderly parents, little kids, mortgages, and car loans, many post-00s, unencumbered by heavy financial burdens, are fearlessly raising their voices against toxic culture and unspoken rules that have long plagued Chinese workplaces.
The Weibo hashtag “Post-00s Are Truly Transforming the Workplace (原来00后真的有在整顿职场)” has accumulated 220 million views at the time of writing. The vast majority express praise or astonishment toward the bold attitudes of this youthful group and their ways of instilling the workplace with respect for personal boundaries, while some see their behaviors as bratty and lacking a sense of responsibility.
Here is a guide to how the post-00s are making their voices heard at work, and how other netizens are talking about them.
While stereotypes portray those born in the 1980s as consumed by family and marriage, and the post-90s as either too lazy or too competitive, the post-00s tries to set themselves apart:
The post-80s are obediently working overtime; the post-90s are pretending to work; while the post-00s are transforming the workplace with heavy blows.
Whether it’s out of confidence or inexperience, this young generation’s attitude is showing up in their unexpected resumes. One popular image on Weibo shows a resume that lists being “a friend of Eileen Gu (谷爱凌的朋友)” as a “personal highlight,” as the 19-year-old Chinese-American Olympic gold medalist freestyle skier once said in an interview that she was not an idol but everyone’s friend; someone else highlights that they are a “winner of the 2022 Olympic Cup (2022年奥林匹克杯获得者),” an award given by the International Olympic Committee to the whole Chinese population.
While previous generations care about showing off their skills, for the post-00s, fun is at least equally important:
It doesn’t matter what I am capable of. The most important thing is I’m an interesting person.
Wǒ huì shénme bú zhòngyào, zhòngyào de shì wǒ hěn yǒuqù.
In interviews, rather than playing a passive role as candidates traditionally do, the post-00s are ready to show who’s in charge:
我问完了，你还有什么问题想问我们的吗？
Post-00 interviewee: Compared to other companies, what unique benefits do you think you can offer me?
Nín juéde hé qítā gōngsī xiāngbǐ, nín néng gěi wǒ tígōng shénme dútè de dōngxi?
If it doesn’t go well, they could end the conversation before the recruiter even has a chance:
Xīnzī wǒ kěnéng bú shì hěn mǎnyì, jīntiān xiān zhèyàng ba, wǒ hái yǒu liǎng jiā děngzhe qù miànshì.
比较忙的时候需要你经常来上班，能接受加班吗？
Post-00 interviewee: So can you accept me slacking off at work?
In a 2022 cross-industry survey conducted by job searching platform, 51job.com, 91.6 percent of the respondents report working overtime, while 31.2 percent find their health is affected by overtime work. But the post-00 generation is ready to jump out of their office seats on time, and express their dissatisfaction against unfair demands even at the risk of offending their superiors.
Boss: Don’t always leave work on time. It’s not good. Others haven’t left yet.
Bié zǒng cǎidiǎn xiàbān, zhèyàng bù hǎo, biérén dōu hái méi zǒu ne.
Biérén zǒu bù zǒu hé wǒ yǒu shénme guānxi, wǒ gōngzuò zuòwán le zài bàngōngshì gànmá, mōyú ma?
别人走不走和我有什么关系，我工作做完了在办公室干吗，摸鱼吗？
They know their priorities:
I’m here to work, not to put on a show with everyone else.
For those keen on assigning work right before the days, post-00s are seeing right through their tricks:
Why do you always call for a meeting as soon as it’s time to leave?
为什么一到下班时间，就通知开会？
With an emphasis on work-life balance, these youngsters would respond to the pressure to work on weekends with a cold shrug:
Boss: Why didn’t you answer my call on Sunday?
我周日打电话你怎么没接？
Some manipulative bosses portray themselves as wise but harsh superiors who care about young employees‘ growth, only to justify their exploitations. Post-00 employees might come back at them bluntly:
Nǐmen niánqīngrén jiùshì chī bù liǎo kǔ, gàn bù liǎo dàshì.
你们年轻人就是吃不了苦, 干不了大事。
Post-00 employee: I can do big things, but that does not include making tea, pouring water, getting packages, or cleaning the office. I’m here to work, not to be bullied.
Dàshì wǒ néng gàn, dàn duānchá dàoshuǐ qǔ kuàidì dǎsǎo wèishēng bú zài cǐ liè. Wǒ shì lái dǎgōng de bú shì lái shòuqì de.
大事我能干，但端茶倒水取快递打扫卫生不在此列。我是来打工的不是来受气的。
To the bosses who always make promises but never deliver, these young people fire back with sarcasm:
My stomach is too weak to digest the false promises my leader makes.
Wǒ wèi bù hǎo, xiāohuà bù liǎo lǐngdǎo huà de dàbǐng.
Boss, with such limited funds, it’s difficult for me to help you.
Lǎobǎn, zhè diǎn qián, wǒ hěn nán bāng nǐ bànshì.
Dubbed 仲裁侠 (zhòngcáixiá, litigation warriors), the post-00 youths also frequently resort to legal action against wage theft or unreasonable dismissal, whereas the previous generations are more likely to bottle up their complaints in fear of burning bridges:
Gōngzuò yì nián zhòngcáile sì jiā gōngsī, gào dǎobì liǎng jiā.
Some workplace veterans find hope in this new generation’s belligerent approach, believing the post-00s might help “rectify” the exploitative workplace cultures that they themselves have failed to change:
Měi yí dài dōu yǒu zìjǐ de shǐmìng, bàituō le línglínghòu, wǒmen de xìngfú tuōfù gěi nǐmen le.
The more skeptical onlookers, however, find these workplace behaviors to be childish fits that others will pay the price for, without truly bringing changes to the culture:
Nǐmen suǒwèi de zhěngdùn zhíchǎng zhǐshì ràng nǐmen zìjǐ shūfu le, zhěnggè bùmén de rén dōu yào gěi nǐmen cā pìgǔ.
Others still, believe that the youngsters will soften around the edges as they gain more experience in the real world, making this whole mission nothing but a temporary fad:
Cover image from VCG
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