Defying expectations for proper work attire reflects a growing aversion among China’s youth to a life of ambition and striving.
Already a subscriber?When the weather turned cold in December, Cindy Luo started to wear her fluffy pyjamas over a hooded sweatshirt at the office. Wearing cozy sleepwear to work became a habit and soon she didn’t even bother to wear matching tops and bottoms, selecting whatever was most comfortable.
A few months later, she posted photos of herself to a “gross outfits at work” thread that had spread on Xiaohongshu, a Chinese app similar to Instagram. She was one of tens of thousands of young workers in China to proudly post pictures of themselves showing up at the office in onesies, sweatpants and sandals with socks. The just-rolled-out-of-bed look was shockingly casual for most Chinese workplaces.
Defying expectations for proper work attire reflects a growing aversion among China’s youth to a life of ambition and striving that marked the past few decades. As the country’s growth slows and promising opportunities recede, many young people are choosing instead toThe intentionally lacklustre outfits became a social media movement when a user named “Kendou S-” posted a video in March on Douyin, the Chinese sibling service of TikTok.
“It’s the progress of the times,” says Xiao Xueping, a psychologist in Beijing. She says young people grew up in a relatively more inclusive environment than earlier generations and learned to put their own feelings first., the ruling Communist Party’s main newspaper, criticised young people for “lying flat” in a 2022 editorial, urging them to keep working hard.
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