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More free time means more consumption, they hope

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For much of the Western world, the two-day weekend is sacrosanct. In China, the right to rest for two days each week is not a given. Many students say goodbye to the concept when they start high school. Overtime is sometimes compulsory for white-collar workers, especially in the go-go world of tech. In 2019 Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, an internet giant, famously defended the “996” work culture—9am to 9pm, six days a week—as “a huge blessing”.

But in recent months a new phenomenon has emerged, as big firms across China have begun to make employees leave the office earlier. Midea, an appliance giant, has launched a campaign against unnecessary overtime, sending workers home by 6:20pm each day. Its boss said: “More than 95% of overtime is performative.” Managers at dji, a drone maker, known for long hours, have started clearing the office at 9pm (the deadline drew criticism online for still being too late).

These new policies align with two of the Chinese state’s current priorities. One is to try to curb a phenomenon known as neijuan—often translated as “involution”. People use the term to describe a situation in which extra input no longer yields more output, like running to stand still. The government wants to prevent this intense, self-harming competition. Perhaps not surprisingly, the new policy has met plenty of cynicism from involuted workers. One newspaper summarised their online snark with the question: “Are the companies that long enforced brutal overtime now going to lead the fight against involution?” Some point to Europe’s new ban on products made with forced labour, including “excessive overtime”, as the motivation for export companies to take action.

The second priority is to give people more time off in order to help bring about the much-needed switch in the economy away from exports and infrastructure towards consumption. In March the government presented a new “special action plan” to increase domestic demand, vowing to deal with “prominent pain points such as the prevalence of overtime culture”, and to protect “rest and vacation rights and interests”. It increased the number of public holidays this year by two days. Getting people to eat out and spend money is difficult if they are stuck at their desk.

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  China’s propagandists preach defiance in the trade war with America

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Many people are receptive to the moves. Deaths from suspected overwork at companies such as Pinduoduo and ByteDance have sparked anger. Tech workers refer to themselves as niuma, or beasts of burden. Though the nation’s top court in 2021 declared the “996” schedule illegal, enforcement of the ruling has been lax. Some firms still have a “big-week, small week” system, whereby employees alternate five- and six-day work weeks.

Many of these trends are visible in Haidian, home to Beijing’s Silicon Valley. Ms Tang is leaving her work at a cloud-computing company at around 9:30pm. She used to think working late was normal, but now says her younger colleagues are less tolerant of it. In a tough economy, however, they may have little choice. “When the economy is good, you can talk about employees’ happiness,” she says. She recently moved to her new job because it is less relentless, and she often gets off by 7pm.

Ms Li has just finished a late dinner at McDonald’s, across the street from a stream of shuttle buses dropping workers at the subway station. After burning out at an e-commerce firm, she too was seeking balance. The 36-year-old took a six-month break, but is back at an internet firm. Of her 15 days of annual leave last year, she took six. She says friends her age don’t want to subject their children to the same rat race, if they even have them. “It’s not just the financial pressure. You don’t see the point of having kids, because you may not be living a very good life yourself.”

Life for workers in the service economy is even tougher: they get only a few days off each month, if any. During a smoke break, a chef at a noodle restaurant in the Sanlitun shopping area said the owner gives the option to take days off at lower pay, but most of his colleagues opt for no rest. Getting Chinese people to stop working hard will not be easy. ■

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This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Your time’s your own”

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China

April 19th 2025

• →China hawks are losing influence in Trumpworld, despite the trade war
• →Chinese officials are encouraging office workers not to work so hard
• →China’s propagandists preach defiance in the trade war with America

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From the April 19th 2025 edition

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Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

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China’s propagandists preach defiance in the trade war with America

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The public seems on board, for now

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They have been showing up on both sides of the battlefield throughout the war

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China’s shoemakers seem more sanguine than its politicians

A trade war will cause a lot of damage, but many have weathered storms before

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To secure exports to Europe, China reconfigures its rail links

A new line will bypass its best friend, Russia

The Panama ports deal is delayed, as China signals dissent

Xi Jinping may be wanting to increase leverage over America

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Источник: www.economist.com