Gen Z workers in China are picking 'gross outfits' over corporate glam because they don't get paid enough to look fly
Gen Z workers in China are picking 'gross outfits' over corporate glam because they don't get paid enough to look fly
The hashtag "gross outfits at work" has been taking over Chinese social media platforms such as Douyin and Xiaohongshu.
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.
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.
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
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.
At least read the article before commenting. They're dressing this way on purpose against the wishes of their employers.
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.
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".
'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?
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.
I'm American and that describes my job experience across 3 industries pretty closely:
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first industry, sometimes client-facing: polo/dress shirt
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second, client-facing: suit and tie, clean shaven (I quit this one pretty quick)
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third, rarely talk to clients virtually: don't look homeless. I wear a hoodie most days I'm in the office and once didn't shave for 3 months
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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
I'm sure they still cost loads.
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.
The original article contains 747 words, the summary contains 174 words. Saved 77%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
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.