Will Nine-to-five Soon Become a Thing of the Past?

Lu Yan

Soon after graduation， WuMengwei， an electronic and information engineeringmajor， followed his passion and became a writercontributing to online novel websites. He usually worksfive to six hours every night and jots down some 4，000 to 6，000 words.

“I’m not really a social person. Ienjoy letting my thoughts flow at night and write，” Wu said. “But sitting downfor too long has admittedly made megain weight.”

Wu is among China’s 200 millionwho do not work for a company or any employer， a number recently releasedby the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS）.

“Today， many people opt to work on their own or for themselves. They have more choices and can get more creative in their career pursuits， as well as canquickly respond to and change withmarket demand，” Zhang Chenggang， aprofessor at the Capital University ofEconomics and Business， said， addingthat the digital age has increased jobopportunities and created room formore diversified development.

Job Alternatives

A guideline released by the StateCouncil in 2020 highlighted flexibleemployment， including individualbusinesses， part-time jobs， and newoccupational forms， as an importantway to boost employment and increaselabor income， as well as to broaden newwork channels and nurture new driversof progress.

Zhang added those who don’t workfull-time under one employer for arelatively long period fall into the flexwork category.

Some 12.69 million new urban jobswere added last year， an increase of830，000 from 2020， Ning Jizhe， headof the NBS， told a press conferencein January. The surveyed urbanunemployment rate， in turn， fell underthe 5.5-percent target.

Ning attributed the job marketperformance partly to the job creationfueled by China’s continuous economic recovery and development， as well asthe country’s pro-employment policywhich has expanded job opportunitiesfor college graduates and rural migrant workers.

Although employment insome industries such as service，manufacturing and constructioncontracted， that in certain other sectors expanded， contributing to overall jobmarket stability， Ning said.

In addition， “new business formsboost the consumer market by making service consumption more convenient，and employ a large workforce tomeet the needs of a widely dispersed clientele，” Zhang said.

Food delivery is one such businessform. When COVID-19 put China ina bind over the first half of 2020， thenumber of registered couriers on fooddelivery giant Meituan was nearly 4million. “The delivery service marketoffered income opportunities for a large number of groups with a relatively lowlevel of education and skills， or whowere temporarily unemployed due tothe epidemic，” Zhang said.

On platforms like Meituan， peoplecan register to become part-timecouriers， taxi drivers or manicuristswho offer house calls. Fixed workinghours are usually not a requirement，which means one can work more or less according to their own schedule.

Zhang said job quality of flexibleemployment in the digital age hasimproved， mainly in terms of moresecure income and flexible workinghours. “Flexible employees who workthrough the platform are mainly paidfor their hours and per order， whichhelps avoid wage arrears，” he explained.

Digital technology has driven thedevelopment of the sharing and online economies， Ma Liang， a researcher with the National Academy of Development and Strategy under Renmin Universityof China （RUC）， believes.

Ma said content platforms such as cloud customer service， shortvideos， and online education havecreated perfect conditions for flexible employment， expanded the extension of college students’ career choices interms of time， space and form， andenriched the variety of supply-sideemployment positions.

China is expected to see 10.76 million new graduates pour into the job market from the country’s universities andcolleges this year， 1.67 million morethan last year， according to the Ministry of Education.

Over the past two years， 16 percent of college graduates in China have optedfor flexible employment， according todata from the China Higher EducationStudent Information and Career Center.

More than 1.6 million peopleare working in jobs related to live-streaming， an increase of nearly 300 percent between 2020 and 2021.

But some voices are saying thatflexible employment is a nice wayof saying you’re unemployed. “Idon’t believe that flex work equalsunemployment or taking on the odd job here and there. For me， it’s a new way oflife and a new way to carve out a careerbased on what I’m good at and interested in. This way， I can follow my heart andmy passion，” Huang Zixuan， a contentcreator with over 30，000 followers onpopular platform Bilibili who mainlyproduces online gaming and electronicdevice unboxing videos， said.

However， Huang added he doesface challenges in managing his timeand striking a balance between workand life. He also gets stressed out byunstable income and unfriendly viewer comments.

Some people choose not to work ata company because they would like tomanage their own schedules. Onlinestore owner Wang Shenghui oncesigned up as a driver on ride-hailingplatform DiDiChuxing when businesswasn’t going well. “I drive to earn some extra cash whenever I want. Right now，my online store has picked up again， so I can stop driving and focus on my main business. When I’m worn-out， I can take a break and travel during the off-peakseason as most people are， basically， atwork. It feels great to have control overthe rhythm of my life，” Wang said.

“Sure， I might seek a stable job when I’m no longer able to support myselfthis way， but the important thing is that I do have a say in my career choice，”Huang， the content creator， said.

The flex trend is not just limitedto China. A document released by theInternational Labor Organization in2015 read that over the past few decades， in industrialized and developingcountries alike， there has been amarked shift away from standard tonon-traditional employment， and thetransformations in the world of work，regulatory changes and macroeconomic fluctuations and crises have allcontributed to this evolution.

The transformation includeschanges in economic structures，from agriculture and manufacturingto services， increased pressure fromglobalization， technological revolution as well as changes in entrepreneurialstrategies.

Cost-effectiveness

According to the China DevelopmentReport on Flexible Employment （2022）released by researchers at RUC， 61.14percent of Chinese companies werehiring flexible workers in 2021， anincrease of more than 5 percentagepoints over 2020.

Compared with the traditional long-term employment model， the advantage of flexible employment lies in its lessrigorous entrance and exit mechanisms. On the one hand， job seekers enjoy alower employment threshold and theoption to leave at any given time. Onthe other hand， companies enjoy moreleeway in terms of employee selectionand allocation.

“Flexible work increases the abilityof enterprises to cope with uncertainty， and can meet the seasonal， cyclicaland other special personnel needs ofenterprises，” Zhang said.

The lower human resource costsof flexible workers are also a hugeattraction for companies， accordingto a report released by Chinese onlinerecruitment platform Zhaopin last year. Varied job models， less social securityspending and tax burdens and greaterresilience to uncertainty are their other main reasons for hiring part-time labor.

“Also， if I’m not satisfied with aperson I hired ad interim， I can easilyfind a replacement，” said Du Chunyong， vice president of online recruitmentplatform Zbj.com.

However， some of the above reasons in fact add a sense of insecurity for flexworkers. According to Zhaopin’s report， many are reluctant to stay flexible partly because ofjob instability， possiblylower income， as well as a lack of social recognition and welfare.

Supporting Mechanisms

To address these concerns， andenable people to have more job options or even start up their own businesses，the country has rolled out severalpolicies to protect the rights of peoplewith non-standard occupations. In the 14th Five-Year Plan （2021-25）for DigitalEconomy Development released by theState Council in January， individualsare encouraged to use new onlineplatforms such as social media，knowledge distribution， audio andvideo sharing websites for employment and entrepreneurship to promoteflexible employment and part-time job innovation.

The guideline released in 2020stated further efforts should focuson expanding the channels for flexworking by encouraging people in this situation to establish small economicentities， with more policy support forkey groups such as college graduates，migrant workers， and the unemployed.

For fresh graduates， the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security （MOHRSS） announced that socialsecurity subsidies will be granted tosupport their flexible undertakingsthrough multiple channels and newtypes of occupation.

China’s social security system ismade up of five different insurancetypes， namely pension， medical，unemployment， work-related injury and maternity insurance.

Employers are obliged to maketimely payments for themselves andtheir employees. It is the former’sresponsibility to correctly calculate or withhold payments for both parties.When unemployed， people still need to foot their social insurance bill ontheir own dime at local public service centers or neighborhood residentialcommittees.

For those graduates who are willing and able to start up their own business， the ministry will offer preferentialbacking and provide entrepreneurialtraining， guaranteed loans and venuesupport.

Some colleges and universities haveintroduced a series of measures such assetting innovation and entrepreneurship credits and relaxing the duration ofacademic studies， so that they canfocus more on innovation and businessstrategizing. Some have also createdplatforms to provide business fundingand cover daily living costs.

Due to difficulties in determininglabor relations， high job mobility，and complications in investigatingand obtaining evidence for work-related accidents， most flex workershave long been unable to enjoy work-related injury insurance benefits.The MOHRSS had already taken thisinto consideration and formulatedpolicies accordingly. “The government， intermediary employment platformsand companies should all conduct their own research and prepare for futurechanges to protect the rights of allrelevant parties，” Zhang concluded.