Opinion | China’s Gen Z are ‘laying flat’, but does this new work, life attitude pose a social and economic threat?
- The ‘laying flat’ attitude about work and life is seeing a growing number of China’s Generation Z opt for a simple, frugal and lonely life
- The attitude is seen to represent a silent protest to unfairness, often the result of structural and institutional factors that can no longer be altered by personal efforts
A growing number of China’s Generation Z, born between 1995 and 2010, are embracing a “laying flat” attitude about work and life as they throw in the towel in the face of tough competition and opt for a simple, frugal and lonely life.
Let us imagine a dormitory at a top university in Shanghai where Li and Wang live together. Li comes from a small town in northern Jiangsu province and Wang is a Shanghai native. After graduation, they both find jobs at the same technology company with a monthly starting salary of 10,000 yuan (US$1,553).
A country cannot advance high if many young people choose to lay low
For Li, he has to spend a third of his salary to rent a room and will need to work extremely hard to save enough money to buy a flat in the city where the average price is around 6,000 yuan (US$931) per square foot.
Shanghai native Wang, on the other hand, will inherit at least two flats from his parents worth 20 million yuan (US$3.1 million) combined.
It will be very hard for Li to catch up, and with all other conditions equal, he will be in a disadvantaged position in the marriage market.
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He can take a risk to start his own venture, or he could choose to leave Shanghai, but he could also choose to stay in Shanghai and lay flat.