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Need a job? After Japan, China’s firm offers “jobs” to the unemployed!

Need a job? After Japan, China’s firm offers “jobs” to the unemployed!

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Virendra Pandit

 

New Delhi: A few years ago, one of the leading Japanese multinational companies was reported to have created separate office space for the surplus employees it could not sack because of stringent rules. These “employees” would attend their “duties” daily—they merely played indoor games all day and got paid their salaries for doing nothing.

A somewhat similar situation has arisen in China.

According to media reports, a new ‘social service’ in China arranges rented fake office spaces where the unemployed can “pretend to work,” to avoid the social stigma of being jobless and keep the façade before their family and friends. They can even pose as business owners.

For a daily fee of about 30 yuan (Rs. 350 or USD 4), these services provide a temporary solution for those unwilling to disclose their joblessness to family and friends, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

In northern China’s Hebei province, for example, a video showcasing such a service has gone viral. The advertised office space provides a workspace from 10 am to 5 pm, including lunch hours, for a daily fee of 29.9 Chinese yuan. This arrangement allows individuals to maintain the façade of employment and avoid the stigma of joblessness. 

Another similar service, priced at 50 yuan (USD 7), allows clients to pose as “bosses” in a plush office setting, complete with a leather chair, to take convincing photos for family members. The owner of this unused office space explained that the concept was inspired by the increasing number of layoffs at major companies. However, despite the buzz online, no clients had visited the office yet.

The novel ‘business idea’ to provide fake jobs to the unemployed has garnered over 100 million views. Some view it as a psychological relief for the unemployed, offering a sense of normalcy. Others argue it promotes avoidance of the issue, potentially delaying efforts to find new employment.

Since the post-COVID meltdown, China is facing an acute problem of joblessness. In June 2023, the reports said, 21.3 percent of youth in the 16 to 24-year age group were found jobless. The alarmed government halted the release of unemployment data for several months. By recalibrating the statistics to exclude students, the reported youth unemployment rate dropped to 16.1 percent by November 2023. Amid these challenges, stories of individuals going to extreme lengths to conceal their unemployment status have become increasingly common.

The growing number of job-seeking platforms has added to the pressure, with many people applying for two to three jobs daily. The inability to secure work often feels like a personal failure rather than a reflection of the job market. 

 

 

 

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