The practice of unemployed adults pretending to have a job is an ongoing trend in China.
It is an absolute fact that no one wants to work without getting a salary and even worse to pay for their presence.
It has been observed that several companies are getting fee from young individuals in China.
The major development comes when China has been going through a slump in its economy and job market.
Unemployment in China remains high at more than 14%. It’s getting very difficult to get real jobs and some of the individuals are paying to go into an office, rather than just stuck at home.
Shui Zhou, who was running a food business back in 2014, started going into a mock office by paying 30 yuan. The office was run by a business called Pretend to Work Company, located in the city of Dongguan at 114 km in the north of Hong Kong.
It has been observed that these operations have been increasing rapidly in major cities including Wuhan, Chengdu, Nanjing, Shanghai and Kunming.
The environment within the offices showcases the workplace equipped with computers, meeting rooms, internet access and refreshment rooms.
Individuals can use computers and search for jobs, and the daily fee requirement is usually between 30 and 50 yuan which includes lunches, drinks and snacks.
In this regard, a senior lecturer Dr Christian Yao at Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Management in New Zealand shed light on the current situation in China, stating, “The phenomenon of pretending to work is now very common. Due to economic transformation and the mismatch between education and the job market, young people need these places to think about their next steps or to do odd jobs as transition.”
Meanwhile, Zhou, who came across the Pretend to Work Company to work while browsing social media, was of the view that the environment needs improvement. He has been in this office for more than three months and it seems no chances of future employment.
Furthermore, in Shanghai, Xiaowen Tang rented a workstation at a pretend workstation earlier this year and hasn't found a full-time job yet.
While her university has specified the rule for students to sign an employment contract or provide a proof of their internship certificate within one year, otherwise they will not receive a diploma.
In fact, she was paying her daily fee and sat in the office to write novels in order to generate some pocket money.
Shui Zhou is now spending time to enhance his skills in artificial intelligence (AI) as some companies have been recruiting individuals gaining experience in this field and ultimately making it easier to employ as a full-time job holder.
