Would you qualify as a white-collar worker?
Source: Xinhua |
May 17, 2012, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
DECENT pay, a nice office and stylish clothes have usually been considered the trappings of a white-collar worker.
But now it seems that having these credentials is not enough for someone to meet China's modern social expectations.
Chinese netizens recently came up with updated criteria for workers to be labeled white-collar. Much-discussed online in the past few months, the new requirements not only put entry to the club out of reach for most average earners, but have sparked discussion about Chinese society's rising affluence and the consequences of that trend.
The criteria state that to be a white-collar worker, one needs to earn a monthly salary of no less than 20,000 yuan (US$3,164), own an apartment with at least two bedrooms and have a 150,000 yuan car.
The list became a hot topic as many wage earners found themselves off the pace.
The Legal Evening News and Chinese recruitment website 51job.com conducted an online survey which showed that only three out of 562 office workers interviewed met all the requirements, while just 22 had salaries exceeding the threshold.
Xia Xueluan, a professor of social psychology at Peking University, said the criteria showed there was a big gap between Chinese white-collar workers' expected salaries and reality, which put them in a constant state of insecurity and anxiety.
"Four years ago, people with an annual salary of 100,000 yuan were regarded as white collar. As I finally managed to earn that money, the standard has more than doubled," said a post written by Tang Boxiaohu.
"I have a two-bed home, but it belongs to my parents," said Feng Ge, a bank client manager in Beijing, who earns 200,000 yuan a year but still falls well behind the standard.
Meanwhile, white-collar workers are supposed to have enough spare time for entertainment and enjoy a low-carbon lifestyle, according to the criteria.
"The addition of standards on lifestyle and quality of life is the outcome of more awareness among China's white-collar workers of health and happiness," said Xia, who added that the government and enterprises should put serious thought into the implications behind the criteria - the insecurity felt by office workers and their pursuit of happiness - and pay more attention to the group.
But now it seems that having these credentials is not enough for someone to meet China's modern social expectations.
Chinese netizens recently came up with updated criteria for workers to be labeled white-collar. Much-discussed online in the past few months, the new requirements not only put entry to the club out of reach for most average earners, but have sparked discussion about Chinese society's rising affluence and the consequences of that trend.
The criteria state that to be a white-collar worker, one needs to earn a monthly salary of no less than 20,000 yuan (US$3,164), own an apartment with at least two bedrooms and have a 150,000 yuan car.
The list became a hot topic as many wage earners found themselves off the pace.
The Legal Evening News and Chinese recruitment website 51job.com conducted an online survey which showed that only three out of 562 office workers interviewed met all the requirements, while just 22 had salaries exceeding the threshold.
Xia Xueluan, a professor of social psychology at Peking University, said the criteria showed there was a big gap between Chinese white-collar workers' expected salaries and reality, which put them in a constant state of insecurity and anxiety.
"Four years ago, people with an annual salary of 100,000 yuan were regarded as white collar. As I finally managed to earn that money, the standard has more than doubled," said a post written by Tang Boxiaohu.
"I have a two-bed home, but it belongs to my parents," said Feng Ge, a bank client manager in Beijing, who earns 200,000 yuan a year but still falls well behind the standard.
Meanwhile, white-collar workers are supposed to have enough spare time for entertainment and enjoy a low-carbon lifestyle, according to the criteria.
"The addition of standards on lifestyle and quality of life is the outcome of more awareness among China's white-collar workers of health and happiness," said Xia, who added that the government and enterprises should put serious thought into the implications behind the criteria - the insecurity felt by office workers and their pursuit of happiness - and pay more attention to the group.
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