In a unique response to the daunting job market, young adults in China are increasingly opting for pretend workspaces, where they can simulate employment in a controlled environment. The Pretend To Work Company has been a huge hit since debuting in April of this year. In fact, it sold out all its workstations in just one month! The trend underscores the burden that the booming gig economy has placed on recent graduates and freelancers, against the backdrop of climbing youth unemployment — now up above 14%.
Shui Zhou, a 30-year-old client of Pretend To Work Company on what he learned to make his initiatives successful. He spends 30 yuan, or roughly $4.20, daily for access to a mock-up office located in Dongguan. He typically arrives between 8 am and 9 am and frequently works until 11 pm. For him, just the experience itself is creating a sense of normalcy in what’s otherwise a very chaotic economic environment.
“Our daily fee generally ranges from 30 to 50 yuan and sometimes includes lunch, snacks, and drinks,” said Zhou, reflecting on his three months of using the service. This new environment lets him focus and develop his AI skills, helping him feel productive, even if he’s not technically employed.
Second, Feiyu, owner of Pretend To Work Company, shares that nearly 40% of their customers are recent university graduates. These graduates won’t just be posing to illustrate their new-found internship experience in fully equipped professional work space. The other 60% are those that work with freelancers & digital nomads that thrive in an organized working environment.
Xiaowen Tang, 23, sublet a desk at such a company in Shanghai earlier this spring. She is under intense pressure from her university. “My university has an unwritten rule that students must sign an employment contract or provide proof of internship within one year of graduation,” she explained. This pressure forces most millennials and Gen Zers into the arms of wonderful alternatives such as Pretend To Work.
Similar costly operations have blossomed not just in Shenzhen, but across major cities in China, such as Nanjing, Wuhan, Chengdu and Kunming. These fake cubicles become a protected environment for people who are fighting the demons of unworthiness from the lackluster economy.
Dr. Biao Xiang are shining a light on this phenomenon. He explains it by the gap and anger that young peoples experience because there are not providing with jobs. “Pretending to work is a shell that young people find for themselves, creating a slight distance from mainstream society and giving themselves a little space,” he noted.
Feiyu has learned that the services TTW Co provides extend far past the workstations. He asserts, “What I’m selling isn’t a workstation, but the dignity of not being a useless person.” This idea strikes home with everyone who enjoys the peace of mind that comes with a false sense of job security.
Even with all this success under his belt, Feiyu is candid about how unsure he feels about the sustainability of his business model. “It uses lies to maintain respectability, but it allows some people to find the truth,” he remarked. He’s adamant that these impostor work environments need a real metamorphosis. Without it, the idea risks losing political momentum and might not be able to see its full potential.
Zhou’s journey paints a nuanced picture of this trend. As much as he loves the sense of structure that not actually working offers, he is deeply passionate about honing his craft. “I feel very happy spending my time learning,” he stated. The powerful experience gives him the freedom to chart his professional aspirations without succumbing to the stigma that is sometimes tied to unemployment.