It has been over two years since the pandemic began in December 2019. At the time, I thought the days of being confined at home in 2020 were the worst, but now I realize that 2020 might have been the best year of the next decade.
All Unemployed
In February this year, my wife lost her job. Fortunately, she was laid off with some severance. The entire department was cut—the team of over a dozen people she had nurtured from scratch was all let go. At first, they cheered after getting the severance, partying and celebrating every day. Now, over two months later, not a single one has found a job. I can already feel the anxiety of an egg being fried to a crisp, with the air thick with the philosophical question: "Who am I, and where am I going?"
Speaking of severance, here's how it works: if you worked at a company for two years, you'd typically get N+1 = 3 months of severance. But those three months aren't based on your full salary; they're capped at three times the local average salary. In Hangzhou, that's just over 20,000 RMB; in Beijing, it's 30,000 RMB. If your salary exceeds 30,000 RMB, you'll feel the pinch, especially compared to your counterparts in Beijing.
One morning, my wife asked me: "What is the meaning of life?" I realized things were getting serious.
Gradually, friends around me started sharing news of being laid off. We set up a group called "Unemployment Relief Center." Out of over a dozen members, half are unemployed at home. Interestingly, all the unemployed ones are wives. They bought a mahjong table at home—look for jobs during the day and play mahjong at night. Even stranger, all these wives are married to Alibaba employees.
This group is being sustained by Alibaba.
If the probability of this happening around me is already over 50%, how many people are unemployed across society? Look at Bilibili—there's been a surge of jobless content creators. They tearfully denounce their former employers for brutal layoffs without notice, sometimes with no severance at all. They tearfully warn us: don't quit without a plan, have a side hustle, record your layoff meetings, and even outsourced jobs are decent.
Once-dominant internet giants are all on a clear downward slide. If you received the same number of Alibaba shares this year-end as last year, your total compensation is directly 30% less than last year's.
The economy—there's nothing worse than dragging things out! We internet workers can still work remotely from home, but factory workers? If they're locked down and can't get to the factory, they lose their income immediately. Without workers, factories shut down. A few months might be bearable, but now it's looking like we'll have to plan for at least five years.
It Will Get Worse
Beyond the pandemic, there's the Russia-Ukraine war, the US-China confrontation, and the looming economic depression cycle, followed by real estate. On Alibaba's auction platform, as of March, Hangzhou has 51,600 foreclosed properties—the highest in the country! Why so many foreclosures? Because people can't pay their mortgages. Why can't they pay? Because companies are cutting costs, leading to widespread layoffs, so many lose their income.
Recently, for this year's campus recruitment, big companies require resumes to be from 985 or 211 universities. Some, like Alibaba, have halted campus recruitment entirely. At Alibaba, the proportion of employees from these elite universities is steadily increasing.
You might think that's an exaggeration, but my colleagues have impressive educational backgrounds. Graduates from Zhejiang University are common, Peking University and Tsinghua are not unusual, and you can even spot a few Ivy League grads. Competition is fierce.
My wife initially interviewed for two positions at Alibaba and made it to the HR round, close to receiving an offer, only to be told the headcount was canceled. It's been over two months of interviews—more than 20 companies, basically all that are hiring in Hangzhou—and she's still unemployed. There are some offers, but all with pay cuts. And I've realized something chilling about Hangzhou: many companies only offer single-day weekends or alternating weekends, and they don't contribute the full amount to housing provident funds or social insurance. The difference between single and double days off isn't just double—it's over tenfold. Check out this video: The Essential Difference Between Single and Double Days Off
This year, over 10 million college graduates are entering the job market. The postgraduate entrance exam has a 73.8% failure rate. Big companies aren't hiring. Where should they go? You might say: take the civil service exam? Shut up! During the pandemic, civil servants are overworked, their salaries are being cut across the board, year-end bonuses are suspended, and they live in constant fear of making mistakes.
Let It All Burn!
My wife is starting to show PTSD. She's gone into revenge spending. I receive seven packages a day from her—last month, 78 packages in total. She's nearly blown through her severance. She gives off a "I don't care anymore" vibe.
Now that Hangzhou's pandemic situation is serious, she can't go out to have fun. She spends all day at home with the dog, and the dog is about to lose it. She sleeps until 2 or 3 PM, eats one meal a day, and has crawfish for dinner. Back when we first got together, I handed over my entire salary to her. For years, my pay has gone directly into a card under her name, and I live on 2,000 RMB a month. I'm afraid to ask how much savings we have left—I dread a surprise.
In just one month, she's binge-watched over a dozen TV series: "Empresses in the Palace" and "Ruyi's Royal Love" on loop. "The Battle," "The Beginning," "The Dear Child," "Like a Flowing River," "The Story of Minglan," "Home in One's Heart," and so on. Watching "The Dear Child" especially has done real damage—she's developed psychological infertility. "A vibrant woman in her prime, the perfect age to bear children and enjoy family bliss, yet sterilized by reality." The names we had picked out for our future child are now being used for the dog!
What to Do?
As a five-year veteran at Alibaba, I've developed a self-PUA personality from the inside out. I'm an optimist. I believe the future will only get better—even though my secret stash of pocket money has been largely devoured by the A-share market.
But I still believe: the motherland will surely unify, the pandemic will eventually end, China will be number one in the world, and the world belongs to the Three-Body Problem.
So, in this darkness before dawn, the only thing we can do is to make ourselves stronger!
How to Get Stronger?
Invest in Yourself, Not the Stock Market.
Take whatever savings you have left and sign up for a class—learn programming, management, or even cooking. Because isolation isn't fun; if you can turn a radish into a Michelin-star meal, you might temporarily forget the pain of an empty stomach.
Stop Worrying About Everything Else—Focus on Your Own Job.
Stop obsessing over the Russia-Ukraine war. Stop worrying about Shanghai's pandemic. Everyone else is struggling, and you're hardly in a better position. Ask yourself: have you done your job well? Do you still dare to say, "If I'm unhappy, I'll quit"? Try it—spend every day at home watching TV dramas with your wife. Nice, isn't it?
Think about your work, your expertise. Learn a little more every day. Proactively summarize your work, share, and take action. Keep your boss's dream of buying a Ferrari in mind and help him make it happen sooner.
Strive for a Good Performance Review.
Code with your performance review in mind. Make sure you're working in the right direction. If your boss wants a Ferrari, don't give him a yacht—he doesn't live by the sea, so the yacht won't float.
Give early reports and late updates. Your boss is lonely and anxious too. Talk to him, let him fully understand your work, and don't spring any surprises.
First, get one thing done. If you can't fix a bicycle, will your boss let you fix a Ferrari? Once you accomplish one task, your boss will give you the next. Being seen as reliable isn't easy.
Manage Your Energy.
Not time management—energy management. This is crucial.
Don't wake up feeling groggy every day. Do your brain cells still know how to solve a quadratic equation? Get them moving. Don't let them soak in a bathtub all day, thinking about nothing but daydreams.
Learn from the old Zen master: meditate, practice mindfulness. Focus on the present, on your breath. Let your neurons stand at ease, attention, and then do a handstand.
Watch TV Dramas with Your Wife.
Sometimes dramas are actually good. For example, "The Great Decision" shows the Chairman's strategic mastery, and "Like a Flowing River" follows Song Yunhui's journey from technician to factory director.
The point is to pull your wife up—don't let her sink. When you lose both body and mind, the family goes bankrupt. The greatest tragedies in life are losing your job, your wife leaving, and your house being taken away.
The keyword for this year is "tough." Follow me, and let's huddle together for warmth.
This article is reposted from Zhihu
Author: Heishi
Original link: https://www.zhihu.com/question/520706669/answer/2483330222