China’s Slacker Youths: Why They Went From 'Lying Flat' To 'Let It Rot' | Insight | Full Episode

“Tang Ping” or Lying Flat, was a 2021 movement that rejected the work culture in China. Now, it has morphed into the more extreme “Bai Lan” or Let It Rot. What behind this new phenomenon?

Insight speaks to some Chinese youths who identify themselves as “Bai Lan”. They are opting out of climbing the economic ladder, choosing to put in the bare minimum at work and coasting along. What are the reasons for their despondency?

And will this youth movement affect China’s economic recovery, even as it faces headwinds from COVID lockdowns and a property debt crisis?

0:00 China's 'Lying flat' & 'Let it rot' trends
5:26 'Lying flat' vs 'let it rot': a worrying difference
9:03 Why I chose to 'let it rot': a Chinese youth
13:26 The rise of China and inequality
19:28 Anxieties of Chinese youth: Housing, healthcare, education
20:57 Gen Z vs Boomer: Differing attitudes to 'let it rot'
25:50 'Let it rot': a rejection of 996 culture?
32:34 What a 996 worker thinks of 'let it rot' culture
34:12 "We're not selfish": 'bai lan' youths
36:08 How China's tackling 'let it rot' culture
41:14 Should China be worried about 'let it rot' culture?

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[karenng]

Imagine being conditioned to think that a 40 hr work week with time for hobbies and relationships is "slacking". Personal happiness is a worthy goal to prioritise.

[onebridge]

This is happening in other countries as well. The younger generation is learning that quality of life is better than trying to work yourself to death for a company that doesn’t care about you at all. Good for them!

[Its_a_me_WSA]

This isn't called slacking when you're still doing the work you're asked but refuse to go beyond. There is nothing wrong with wanting to have a good work-life balance

[sleepings]

100% full support as a Millennial in the west, this is happening all over the world. We are not slaves.

[ElhuSCIENCE]

Imagine wanting a normal life and not being consumed by your work and be called a slacker for that.

[ChristopherCricketWallace]

they are NOT "unmotivated!". They are educated enough to see that the game is rigged, the numbers don't add up, the promise of working hard and getting ahead is false, and that their govt has screwed them to hold on to power.

They are not lazy. They are screwed and their situation looks hopeless--and they see it.

[zendude]

This is what happens when you realise that working hard and going above and beyond for your employer benefits the employer and not the employee. Kudos to the Chinese millennials for pushing back.

[phoebusapollo]

Bai Lan is minimalism instead of consumption. It’s annoying people who can’t sell, sell, sell and drive overconsumption. Good job young people.

[workhardforit]

My parents told me this:

“Your generation is not lazy, you guys work as hard if not harder than we did during our time yet you earn just as much.

The problem is that, you’re underpaid because salaries have stagnated while the price of housing and basic commodities keep rising.

That’s simply the sad reality.”

[docbrown]

Good for them. I’m Japanese in my late 30s and I relate to these kids. Having watched my mother who sacrificed her life on work and being a single mom, with sleepless nights and working herself to exhaustion only to get fired and replaced by younger workers left a bitter taste in my mouth. My father on the other hand made a lot of money helping multimillion dollar companies get even richer.. my upbringing made me see the world for what it is. I’ve been called a slacker questioned why I’m “unmotivated” but you only live once. I don’t want to spend my life in an office all day everyday and become a slave to a toxic society. I moved to the country and working on going totally off the grid, collecting rain water solar for energy growing my own vegetables etc. Everyday I appreciate the beauty of nature spending time with my loved ones (my cats are especially enjoying it) I have time to enjoy my hobbies, and mostly enjoy the non stress life. I’m glad to see younger generations value the quality of life, and hoping that one day when I master my bai lan style living I can teach the youth to do the same :)

[peterwarner]

As a Gen X who spent the first 25 years of my working life working myself to exhaustion day in day out I encourage younger generations not to make the same mistake.

[hazmat]

This trend is so relatable and I've embraced it for a number of years now. 42yo career millennial, I went above and beyond only to be passed over for a promotion by someone newer who had a fraction of the responsibility and did poor quality work. After that it was like an epiphany, "why even bother?" Now I do the bare minimum at an acceptable level and don't care what anyone on my team or at my company thinks of my reputation. Rather than focus on trying to climb the ladder I now focus on myself and well-being and the improved quality of life that comes with it.

[tender]

I've heard of quiet quitting but "letting it rot" captures it better. I'm with the Chinese youth on this. We only get one life. Spend it wisely. Spend it with the people you love. Spend it doing the things you love.

[notashroom]

As a GenX-er whose health was wrecked by overwork and a toxic work environment, I am glad that younger people have figured out a healthier way at an earlier stage. I've cut my costs and live on a mountain surrounded by beauty now and don't work nearly as much. The compensation was never worth the effort I put into it, and employers don't have any loyalty to employees anymore.

I think globally there's been a cultural shift toward a different understanding of what success looks like. Now it's more self-care and family/social time balancing out the labor time. And that's a good thing.

[rubyrose]

Don't let anyone brainwash you into thinking that doing your job means you're slacking and unmotivated. You're doing the job you're getting paid for. If they want you to give them 120% then maybe they should pay 20% more.

[xenagirl]

This is basically happening everywhere. This generation see's corporate greed for what it is. Things are going to change drastically.

[frostymourne]

Let me remind everyone. This "Slacker" or "Laying flat" or "Let it Rot" attitude is basically just doing your job. Thats all nothing more to it. The fact that Bosses/CEOs and Companies push employees to go above and beyond with no guaranteed incentives as a norm but label them otherwise if they don't do so is absolutely disgusting.

It has already been proven that climbing the corporate ladder by working hard is a myth. You have absolutely no control of whether u get rewarded for hardwork. Most of the time you don't. So just do what you are paid to do within the working hours and enjoy life as much as possible.

[kvnrthr]

I came into this video wondering about this horrible, catastrophic "let it rot" phenomenon, but they actually seem pretty reasonable. They're not mooching off their parents or the government, they do their job and nothing more, then enjoy their life in their spare time. How is this weird? It's the 996 advocates who seem downright baffling to me. For people with their own business I understand, but for employees?

[sophiehaywood]

I love this - people looking after their mental and physical wellbeing and ignoring societal pressures!
I'm in the UK and in a similar boat... I've always been a very hard worker - gifted and talented list, top of my class, full marks in multiple A-level exams etc ...and I have decided to opt out of the ladder climbing culture.
Did a few years in customer service jobs before coming to university and eventually realised I was a fool for trying to do my best all the time when most people, especially the ones who got promoted and given the best shifts, did the bare minimum.
Now I'm in university for something I've wanted to do for over a decade and the pressure that I put on myself is so great that it has become incredibly difficult to get myself to do any work at all. I've burnt myself out. Frustratingly, I know that the prestigious career that I wanted for so long and the very long hours that accompany it will not allow me to have the work-life balance that is essential for my wellbeing. So I've decided that it is best for me to forget my dream and now finish my degree with my version of 'bare minimum' for the sake of my sanity.
My hope now is to run my own small business and live a somewhat modest life, earning as much as possible with as few hours as possible, allowing me to actually live and enjoy my life and raise my future children properly.
I would much rather be happy and healthy than be exhausted, with my name in lights.

[nova]

Honestly, this has been going on for many generations. Anyone over 50 will take the same 'Let it rot' attitude. They're usually in senior managerial positions, do the minimal required that they can't defer to those underneath them, and take all the credit when things go well or find someone to fire when things don't. People are just mad the younger generation is now doing it before their time.