Dress codes have always been prohibitively expensive. When I was a young man getting my occupational feet wet in the nineties it was pretty much, “We’re gonna pay you three dollars an hour and we require three piece suits at all times.”
I’m suddenly thankful my business casual attire can be picked up for like 5 bucks at goodwill.
Hell, for my promotion to my first office job, my previous manager straight up bought me a bunch of cheap polos on his own dollar, basically saying “don’t embarrass me for suggesting you for the position”. Wore those for like a whole year or more before buying my own for cheap.
A full suit? Fuck. Good luck thrifting one that fits well without tailoring, if you can even find matching jacket and pants, let alone several.
I have never found pants that didn’t have to be hemmed no matter what size my waist is. I’ve lost a huge amount of weight- gone from obese to the average weight for my BMI and it’s still true. It’s infuriating. I’m not tiny either, I’m 5’9".
Must be tough finding pants with eight or ten legs (depending on how you categorize the two arms and eight tentacles)
You have no idea.
If a squid wore pants…
Every off-the-rack suit is for some average body which doesn’t seem to exist. I’ve never had a jacket fit shoulder, chest, and arm length.
I can choose to look like a child in his father’s jacket, a child who has grown out of his own jacket, or pay a few thousand (?) for something that actually fits.
If a business wants a particular outfit to be worn then they should provide the uniforms in their dollar.
Agreed. My first job was at a bank and even though I was IT and wasn’t customer facing, they required us to wear long sleeved buttoned shirts. At least for those they gave us 4 shirts for free.
10/10 agree with this
exactly.
“It’s so convenient for both work and home. I have essentially reached a state where the office and my home have become one,” she said.
This is what happens when companies expect you to live and breath for their bottom line.
For those who don’t know, it’s not quite new (except for the word that describes it, Ban Wei 班味). Because of the long working time, a lot of Chinese companies (especially in the tech sector) allow very casual dressing, plushies, even folding beds in the office. Sounds good but is actually horrifying.
‘Sounds good but everything about China always has to be presented as ontological evil so we’re labeling it as spooky and naughty’
It’s just people wearing comfy clothes to their 9 to 5, I also don’t wear my best clothes to work where’s my article about how I’m revolting against capitalism?
I’m not saying everything about China is evil, but 996 is an actual thing, actively resented by Chinese young people. I’ve got friends working such schedules. I’m presenting their views. I had also visited their offices and saw the folding beds.
Yes people all over the world sometimes work long hours, in China 996 is illegal so your friends should report their boss or maybe they are working in an illegal industry like scamming or fraud and choose to do this?
The whole reason 996 is so well know.in the west is it’s part of the reason jack ma was forced out of such a powerful position, the government have actually being doing stuff to stop bad working practices.
Congratulations you support and agree with measures the ccp are taking.
And yes you might know one billionth of the Chinese population but that anecdote us not data, the fact remains fhe people in the article like the statistical majority of working people in China do 9-5 or equivalent.
Have you heard of 996.icu? I don’t know where you get your statistics, but have a walk around 五道口 and you’ll understand.
Also, I don’t know where you see that I’m a fan of CCP. The government is largely responsible for the phenomenon by not prosecuting the companies lol.
Ha you’re clutching at straws now ‘ccp isn’t heavy handed enough in enforcing it’s legislation’ OK buddy, sure.
And obviously I was joking it’s clear you’re emotionally set against ccp and see fhem as ontological evil so can’t even imagine the possibility you and them agree about a complex social problem in China, though I am surprised you went for saying they’re not authoritarian enough lol
China has traditionally had very poor labor conditions but the ccp is working to change that by opposing the very thing you hold up as a moral failing in China- is it really so hard to say you agree with them and say they’re on the right in this?
And again walking around affluent bits of Beijing might be lovely on a summers evening but it’s no replacement for actual statistical analysis of working conditions, it’s probably less informative than your friend’s out of context anecdote tbh.
Chinese government are turning a blind eye on companies, but not on individuals, this is the primary evidence of state-sponsored capitalism.
Right on the front page of 996.icu, Chinese government are willing to prosecute a individual for the use of VPN for work, and confiscated all their income for the duration of their use of VPN (3 years, 1058k rmb, roughly 146k USD, which is more than most people’s life savings), with some additional fine.
Imaging if CCP seek to bankrupt every single company that disobey the law in the same manner, then 996 would never ever exists.
Maybe you can educate me on this, is there any prosecution that fine a company the entirety of its revenue during the 996 policy period?
Every instance of someone taking a company to court over 996 has resulted in them winning. Those choosing not to do so are doing exactly that, choosing not to. In my experience, it’s usually because they’re already well-paid and they get multiple hours long breaks anyway, so they end up working about 8 hours a day.
Is it possible to share your source on “Every instance of someone taking a company to court over 996 has resulted in them winning.”?
I’m pretty sure they’re working a lot more than 9 to 5
I have friends doing 996 (which is illegal, but not everyone wants to go through the trouble of taking their company to court when they’re already well paid), and they get about 4 hours of breaks a day. They’re doing about 8 hours of work, with a long morning break, a long lunch, and a long dinner break. Their lunch breaks are longer than my paid and unpaid breaks combined.
In some carers people do, but the people in the article say they’re doing 9 to 5 which is the most common by far working hours in China due to strict overtime laws.
China has a different work culture to Korea and Japan, 9 to 5 is very common in China. China does have live in factories you’ve probably heard of but most of these are 9 to 5 work day also with many people studying after work at the combined college.
China is a lot more banal and boring than most people want to paint it.
At least read the article before commenting. They’re dressing this way on purpose against the wishes of their employers.
Another woman said the best part of wearing her fluffy sweater to work is that she can head straight to bed once she gets home.
“It’s so convenient for both work and home. I have essentially reached a state where the office and my home have become one,” she said.
It is not protest for the sake of protest, but mostly “convenience”.
You have completely flipped the context of the quote. It’s not just comfort for comforts sake, it’s also a way of protesting the 996 work culture of China.
The article is definitely stating that this is a protest, your quote is about a fringe benefit.
Social media users have joked that if you wear your favorite outfit to work, it’ll be contaminated by the “Ban Wei” as the office vibe creeps into your personal life.
The remaining option: wear your gross clothes to the office.
Candise Lin who creates content on TikTok exploring cultural trends in China, broke down this viral trend in a recent video.
She used an example of one blogger who said that they only wears clothes with holes in them to work to reflect their “crappy job and shabby pay.”
Clearly stated like 2 paragraphs after your quote.
It is definitely protest. But they choose these outfit to protest because they are comfortable, as oppose to vampires costume, which would also violate the dress code.
This is related to what OP is saying. These outfit already exists because of toxic work culture, they are taking it to the extreme.
Pick a position and stick with it for more than a single comment:
It is not protest for the sake of protest, but mostly “convenience”.
It is a protest using existing social expectations of dress code, it’s not just about comfort.
“Protest for the sake of protest” is nonsense. By definition they’re doing it for the sake of something. That something is not convenience, it’s the 996 work culture like the subject of the article.
It’s good to see you and so many people supporting the good things the ccp have done like ban and crack down on antisocial working practices like 996
I’m not saying that this isn’t a protest, but merely providing the context for the protest. They took the relaxed dress code to an extreme and deliberately interpreted it as “anything you like”. It’s more of a malicious compliance protest. That’s why they were scolded by the leader, instead of being fired.
I WFH and I do the “business mullet”. Acceptable shirt + pajama pants. Business on top, nap on the bottom.
WFH developer, they didn’t so much as tell me what time to start my day. I’ll put on a business casual shirt if I’m meeting with higher ups that actually go on camera. Otherwise I’m chillin in my undershirt and shorts
And yet their makeup is impeccable. Article says “young people”, but curiously only cute women in the pictures.
“It looks cute, and yet, you don’t lose that feeling of sexiness.” Ah, the all important feeling of sexiness in the office that women strive for.
It’s worth saying that “sexy” is not translated well in other languages and cultures. It was very common in Thailand and Malaysia while I lived there to hear parents and relatives say their child was ‘sexy’. I wouldn’t be surprised if it also made its way into Chinese-English parlance as “visually appealing” rather than “I’d fuck that”.
It was very common in Thailand and Malaysia while I lived there to hear parents and relatives say their child was ‘sexy’.
Can confirm it still is
The sentence meant to be sarcastic. The dry humor was lost in translation.
Yes, most people are not very exciting to look at, myself included, but this whole ‘show more mid to ugly people’ shit needs to go away
Article says “young people”, but curiously only cute women in the pictures.
I think it is just cute woman get more likes on social media. Since it is not formally a movement, more like humorous complains, cute woman tends to get more attention in this case.
sexiness
Chinese “sexy” is not as formal as their american counterpart, I think she said “可爱而不失性感”, which I feel is a perfectly SFW phrase. And like others have already said, it is probably also a subtle dry humor that got lost in writing and translation.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if millions of people could choose to work in a T-shirt and boxer shorts whenever they wanted?
Companies just have to allow WFH and that could happen.
Nah…
I have to say, I find it weird how focused Americans are on dress codes in offices. In Germany that’s pretty much not a thing, unless you have direct contact to customers (bank teller, etc).
Granted, as a developer standards are lax anyway, but I don’t even own a dress shirt or suit.
Could you get away with whatever you went to sleep in though? That’s the advantage of WFH. Get up, do your work, don’t bother getting dressed unless there’s a meeting. If you need a shower and a change, you can do it on your break.
I agree that American office dress codes are bullshit, but being allowed to be as comfortable as you like in your clothes is, I am guessing, frowned upon even in Germany.
I worked a hybrid schedule. I didn’t bother getting dressed until the other half of the day I went into the office. And I was more productive at home because I was more comfortable in every way including the fact that I could just do my work in boxers and a T-shirt.
Not getting dressed at least somewhat is a sign of depression.
When I still went to the office, I wore the exact same cloth I would wear when I was just going outside. Clean, not significantly more holes than intended.
Nonsense. It’s a sign of comfort. Why should I get dressed if I don’t have to go anywhere? I’ll get dressed if I need to go somewhere.
It can be either. Things like thar absolutely are warning signs of depression, and ignoring that is dangerous. Doesn’t mean everyone (or even the majority) of those that do have depression, but that doesn’t change that it is a warning sign.
That’s fair, but this other person seems to think it’s my duty to get dressed in the morning from the continued conversation I’m having with them.
You get up and work. Unwashed, dirty clothes. That’s not comfort, that’s concerning.
And yes, you and your clothes are dirty after sleeping in them. You sweat about half a liter every night.
Okay? Your clothes are dirty after wearing them all day too. I shower and put on clean clothes before I go to bed.
… And then you sleep in them, thus making them dirty. That’s not that hard.
See, that’s why I can’t dress nice. I’m not lazy; this is an organized protest to better mankind.
I was just thinking about this.
Someone dressing their norm is catching strays.
Lmao that’s great. The quotes of them describing their outfits especially
Democracy in the workplace. We deserve better.
Another woman said the best part of wearing her fluffy sweater to work is that she can head straight to bed once she gets home.
I’m not following this part.
Yeah I never wear outside clothes to my bed. Sheets rotate weekly and 2-3 times a week in summer, only get in bed after shower and dry, only clean clothes. Also I have lots of air filtration with random oscillating fans.
I don’t wear…clothes.
It’s a one-piece pajama in the video. She has a coat over it during the work.
Tang ping homies, tang ping
But I was told behavior like this in China would get several generations of your family sent to re-education camps?
Are you telling me I’ve been consuming propaganda??
they’re dressing in comfortable clothes, not starting a union. shill elsewhere.
Ah yes, the classic “anti-propaganda shill”
What a horrible thought, speaking out against propaganda.
Can you point me to where you were told something like this?
How do I point to my entire public education since the late 90s?
Well, it was probably on some text book then that you could cite.
But, clearly, the answer to my question is “no I can’t.” I suspect that this is probably because, at best, it’s a terrible exaggeration of something you were told.
Yeah dude, let me take some time out of my day to track down the history text books I used in high school so I can cite to you some anti-China propaganda. You’re funny.
Edit: Oh hey look. I literally just googled, “US education anti-china” and here’s a pretty informative article:
https://thehill.com/opinion/education/4472696-the-anti-china-academic-panic-is-hurting-america/
I’m sure that’s the extent of it though, right?
That article doesn’t, at all, support your point. It’s about academics being harassed for being Chinese, not about our education system teaching kids that Chinese people are sent to reeducation camps for petty things.
Heaping dishonesty on top of your empty claims just makes your position look even weaker, and casts a shadow on your credibility and objectivity.
It’s the chilling effect from years of anti-China propaganda, even amongst scientists. The fact that you’re incapable of putting 2 and 2 together there speaks volumes. Or maybe you just don’t want to.
I’m not a scholar on anti-China propaganda in the US (I just live/lived through it), but I am certain that if you actually gave a shit about this, you would do a modicum of research yourself. I’m not making some kind of fringe claim here dude.
Should I just call it “anti-communist” propaganda? Would you understand then? Or are you gonna pretend that’s not real too?
Lol I asked for your “2” and you were unable to provide it.
You’re projecting your ignoring of the facts to maintain your conclusion.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
But a new trend flooding Chinese social media takes casual to the next level, with young workers sharing videos of themselves wearing their “grossest” clothes to the office.
Experts say it’s part of a wider rebellion by young people against the rigidity of the workplace and the grueling working hours it takes to succeed.
It refers to the changes people can go through when they start working a 9-to-5 job — ending the day feeling lethargic and giving up on their appearance due to fatigue.
Social media users have joked that if you wear your favorite outfit to work, it’ll be contaminated by the “Ban Wei” as the office vibe creeps into your personal life.
Yet, the same people showcasing their gross work outfits are those who wear more fashionable attire for social occasions, Jack Porteous of China-focused consultancy firm TONG Global told Business Insider.
Short of just “lying flat” or “letting it rot,” the “gross outfits” are perhaps the closest Chinese professionals can get to venting their grievances without outright quitting their jobs.
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