Do you feel exhausted by working really hard with relatively little rewards?

Young people in China are subscribing to a call for lifestyle change by “lying flat” or “tang-ping” to respond to society’s pressure to find work and perform well under long hours. Due to a shrinking workforce, young people in China are often expected to work longer hours with little compensation. The spiritual movement of  “tang ping” became a buzzword amongst Chinese social media users as they aspire to not overwork themselves and be content with attainable achievements and still have time to unwind.

Similarly, in other parts of the world like the US, an anti-work movement is gaining traction. Aggravated by mental health issues that were exacerbated by the pandemic, people are burning out and re-examining their work options. Some of these workers are part of the “anti-work” movement which argues that the majority of today’s jobs are not necessary as they enforce wage slavery and deprive workers of the full value of their output. Anti-work supporters feel that individuals should be able to self-organise and labour only as much as required, rather than slogging long hours to create excess goods or capital. Doesn’t this sound similar to China’s “tang-ping” culture?

While there are many ways to respond to such anti-work movements such as improving working conditions and redesigning the work scope, compensation is undeniably a big factor. 

According to Singapore Business Review, 3 in 4 Singaporeans aged 18 to 24 surveyed recently feel that they are unfairly compensated for the skills set they have. The same sentiment is echoed by 47 percent of older employees aged 55 to 67 from a separate survey in 2021. In general, 64 percent of Singaporeans report feeling under-compensated for their work. Moreover, out of the 39 percent who said they received promotions during the pandemic, 19 percent noted that there was no accompanying pay raise. Such perceived unfair compensation has also led to workers quitting their jobs in search of better opportunities in other companies.

Some of these workers are also considering upskilling to improve their job prospects and compensation but there seems to be a general lack of time and energy to upskill as workers take on more workloads with tighter deadlines. 

Do you feel fairly compensated for your job? How do you feel about the rise of the anti-work movement and “tang-ping”?