Like a Boss

孙佳慧

How to spot a capitalist collaborator

精神资本家语录，你听过多少？

With the end of the Lunar New Year， people all over China have trudged back to work. Struggling to overcome their so-called “holiday syndrome，” many try to motivate each other by saying： “Soldier on， workers （加油， 打工人 Ji`y5u， d2g4ngr9n）！”

打工人 is just the latest trendy， self-deprecating label that young Chinese office workers have assigned themselves， following “996 （ji^-ji^-li&， working from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.， six days a week），” “corporate livestock （社畜 sh-ch&），” and “overtime dog （加班狗 ji`b`ng6u）.” Just like the language of workers struggle  that formed the basis of the older generations political education， these buzzwords indicate young workers growing dissatisfaction with excessive stress， unpaid overtime， and other injustices in the workplace.

These memes sometimes even turn into action， with 打工人 exposing mistreatment by employers on social media， or sharing tips for protecting ones rights and how to take legal action.

However， its not easy to unite the workers： Some just wont join the revolutionary ranks， even if they suffer from the same oppression as all other 打工人. Though these individuals have never possessed any capital themselves， they seem to sympathize with employers rather than fellow proletariat， and find excuses for all that the company does. Thus， they are called “spiritual capitalists （精神資本家 j～ngsh9n z～b0nji`）” by netizens.

Spiritual capitalists are everywhere in daily life. They could be your supervisors， colleagues， or well-meaning parents and teachers， who fob you off with platitudes or tell you to “hang in there” when you complain about work. Middle managers are likely to develop spiritual capitalism： Perhaps they get a sense of ownership after years of working in a business， and the meager power they hold makes them feel that they are no longer an ordinary laborer， but a potential boss.

A spiritual capitalist is usually easy to spot by how they act or talk. First of all， they never admit that a business pays its employees because workers create value： Rather， its because the company is being generous， and the employees should be grateful in return：

You should thank your company that you didnt lose your job during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Y#q！ng q～ji`n h1i m9iy6u sh～y-， n@ y～ngg`i g2nxi- n@ de g4ngs～.

疫情期间还没有失业，你应该感谢你的公司。

To be frank， as a new graduate， the company didnt expect you to make any real contributions. Youre lucky to have been able to get this job， and should work hard to repay the company in the future.

T2nb1i ji2ng， n@ j～nni1n c1i g`ng b#y-， g4ngs～ b#ng b& zh@w3ng n@ zh8n n9ng y6u sh9nme g7ngxi3n. N9ng d9d3o zh- f-n g4ngzu7 sh# n@ de x#ngy&n. N@ y～ngg`i n^l# g4ngzu7， y@h7u hu！b3o g4ngs～.

坦白讲，你今年才刚毕业，公司并不指望你真能有什么贡献。能得到这份工作是你的幸运。你应该努力工作，以后回报公司。

Another hallmark of spiritual capitalists is that they will often invoke “classic business sayings （商业金句 sh`ngy- j～nj&），” well-known quotes about business by tycoons and entrepreneurs， to bolster up their argument―never mind that these sayings often come from millionaires who are completely out of touch with ordinary workers lives. Jack Ma， the founder of the Alibaba Group， once called 996 “a blessing for employees （员工修来的福报 yu1ng4ng xi$l1i de f%b3o），” and stated：

In many companies， there are those who want to do 996 but never have the chance. If you dont do 996 when youre young， when will you do it？

H0ndu4 g4ngs～、h0ndu4 r9n xi2ng ji^ ji^ li& d4u m9i j～hu#. R%gu6 n@ ni1nq～ng de sh！hou b& ji^ ji^ li&， n@ sh9nme sh！hou k0y@ ji^ ji^ li&？

很多公司、很多人想996都没有机会。如果你年轻的时候不996，你什么时候可以996？

Though many workers probably wouldnt mind more hours if given extra pay， spiritual capitalists will imitate sayings like Mas to argue that employees should work overtime for no extra reward：

“996 is a blessing.” The company is giving you an opportunity to grow and develop.

“Ji^-ji^-li& sh# f%b3o.” G4ngs～ sh# z3i g0i n@ ch9ngzh2ng h9 j#nb& de j～hu#.

“996是福报。”公司是在给你成长和进步的机会。

Sometimes， they will add folk sayings to make their argument sound more persuasive：

“Idle when young， and beg when old.” Youth should be a time to strive for your dreams. The first few years are a learning process for you， and you dont even have to pay tuition， so you should cherish every opportunity.

“Sh3ozhu3ng b& n^l#， l2od3 t% sh`ngb8i.” Ni1nq～ng de sh！hou ji& g`i w-ile m-ngxi2ng f-nd7u a！Y# k`ish@ de j@ni1n du# n@ l1i shu4 sh# y！ g- xu9x！ gu7ch9ng， h1i b%y7ng ji`o xu9f-i. N@ y～ngg`i zh8nx～ j～hu#.

“少壯不努力，老大徒伤悲。”年轻的时候就该为了梦想奋斗啊！一开始的几年对你来说是一个学习过程，还不用交学费，你应该珍惜机会。

But if your overtime work doesnt produce good results， spiritual capitalists will immediately throw away these “work to learn” theories. Whether its because the company didnt give you enough support， or due to events outside of your control， they will argue that the worker should take all responsibility for failing to meet their objectives， and the company is perfectly within their rights to slash the employees bonus or salary：

The company is not a school， and you are no longer a student. As a professional， you should take responsibility for your own actions and not look elsewhere to assign blame.

G4ngs～ b% sh# xu9xi3o， n@ y0 b% sh# xu9sh8ng le， zu7w9i y！ g- zh！ch2ngr9n， n@ y～ngg`i xu9hu# w-i z#j@ zu7 de sh# f&z9， b%y3o zh2o k-gu`n l@y5u.

公司不是学校，你也不是学生了，作为一个职场人，你应该学会为自己做的事负责，不要找客观理由。

A company is not a charity. You should reflect on yourself and catch up with the pace of the company.

L2ob2n k`i g4ngs～ y0 b%sh# zu7 c！sh3n de. N@ y～ngg`i f2ns～ y！xi3 z#j@， g8nsh3ng g4ngs～ de ji9z7u.

老板开公司也不是做慈善的。你应该反思一下自己，跟上公司的节奏。

And even when the company does something bad enough to make headlines， there are still some who will rally to their defense on social media. If a company forced their employees to work overtime but slashed the year-end bonus， they

will say：

Our performance wasnt good this year. Its a hard time for the whole company. As an employee， you should pay attention to the interests of the whole and take a longer view. Only when the company develops well can its employees develop well.

J～nni1n xi3oy# b& h2o， g4ngs～ y0 h0n k&nnan. Zu7w9i yu1ng4ng y3o y6u d3j%gu`n， y2ngu`ng y3o ch1ngyu2n. G4ngs～ f`zh2n de h2o， yu1ng4ng g-r9n c1i n9ng f`zh2n de h2o.

今年效益不好，公司也很困难。作为员工要有大局观，眼光要长远。公司发展得好，员工个人才能发展得好。

And if the products are found to have quality issues：

No one is perfect！

R9n f8i sh-ngxi1n， sh% n9ng w% gu7！

人非圣贤，孰能无过！

If a company refuses to hire anyone over 35—as is commonly reported in the tech industry—spiritual capitalists wont admit its ageism. Instead， they will say its the rule of the market：

The workplace is about survival of the fittest. Young people accept lower pay for the same work you do， so why wouldnt the company lay you off？

Zh！ch2ng ji&sh# sh#zh0 sh8ngc%n， g3n y！y3ng de hu5r， ni1nq～ngr9n y3o de g4ngz～ b@ n@ d～， n3 g4ngs～ w-i sh9nme b& c1idi3o n@？

職场就是适者生存，干一样的活儿，年轻人要的工资比你低，那公司为什么不裁掉你？

And when this grueling regime leads to headlines about women being fired for getting pregnant， or a young programmer dying of a heart attack after continuously working 12-hour shifts， spiritual capitalists might comment under the article：

Its the same in every company. Youre just angry because youre not mature enough.

Zh- zh6ng sh# n2l@ d4u y！y3ng， n@ zh-me sh8ngq# zh@n9ng shu4m！ng n@ h1ish# b& ch9ngsh%.

这种事哪里都一样，你这么生气只能说明你还是不成熟。

Though spiritual capitalists are criticized and hated by laborers， some point out that they are also the victims of todays workplace culture. Last year， netizens coined the term “workplace PUA （职场 PUA zh！ch2ng PUA）” to describe the tactics used by companies to psychologically control their employees. Like an emotionally abusive “pick-up artist，” a company might hint at a promotion， subtly threaten to derail an employees prospects， or gaslight workers into believing that their lack of career growth is their own fault—all in order to undermine the workers confidence and keep them loyal to the company.

Maybe all of these spiritual capitalists were once ordinary workers， gradually brainwashed into parroting the “live to work” doctrine. Maybe they are afraid to join in their colleagues complaints because they dont want to lose their own job. Or maybe theyve been part of this cutthroat system for too long to remember to have empathy for their fellow workers. Regardless， it may be time to remind them of this new spin on a classic saying：

Workers of the world， unite！ You have nothing to lose but your overtime！

Qu1n sh#ji- d2g4ngr9n li1nh9 q@l1i！ N@men sh～q& de zh@sh# ji`b`n！

全世界打工人聯合起来！你们失去的只是加班！