Chinese youth embracing flexible jobs

Experts call for better insurance, algorithm oversight for such workers

Taking flexible jobs has become one of the most sought-after career choices for young Chinese people who wish to be in the driver's seat of their careers and value work-life balance. Experts have called for more flexible social insurance programs and stricter supervision of platforms' algorithms to better secure the rights of the flexibly employed.

Zhaopin, an online recruitment portal, recently released a report stating that youths born after 2000 are more open-minded towards flexible jobs than older individuals.

Among the surveyed 20-somethings, over half — 51.3 percent — said that they have already taken a flexible job or have a strong willingness to work flexibly because of the reduced work pressure and looser restrictions associated with flexible jobs. However, the platform didn't specify the exact number of people surveyed.

Zhaopin mentioned that it's not easy to take or keep a flexible job due to the fast growth and development of information technologies and digital economies, which require the employed to possess certain key working skills, time management abilities, clear personal career plans and strong intrinsic motivation to secure more sustainable development for themselves. Employers have also shown increasing interest in hiring flexible workers to save human resources costs and gain new inspiration from the flexibly employed, according to Zhaopin's report. The report indicated that nearly 38 percent of surveyed companies expanded their recruitment of flexible workers this year, with profitable companies taking more positive approaches to hiring flexible workers.

"I quit my full-time job in September last year and now work as a flexible interior designer. I get design projects from some small-sized architectural firms or platforms like Xiaohongshu, a Chinese life-sharing platform," said Zheng Yuan, a 28-year-old from Beijing.

He said he had been stressed at his previous company and was overtasked even on weekends. "I was depressed sitting at the office from 9 am to 9 pm and quit the job due to some health problems. The projects I now take are mostly based on my interests, and I get much more respect form my employers. Payment varies from case to case, but I'm OK with that."

Feng Shuaizhang, dean of the Institute for Economic and Social Research of Jinan University in the southern province of Guangdong, said that flexible jobs are usually classified into two types: one is location-based, with registered flexible workers taking online orders but serving in a specific real-world location, such as food delivery workers; the other is cloud-based, with all services fulfilled online by workers usually having higher educational backgrounds and information technology-related skills.

"Both of these groups need help with working rights protection from the government," he said, suggesting that the government could develop more flexible social insurance programs to allow the flexibly employed to receive fairer returns and insurance coverage based on their contributions.

"It's also important to tighten supervision over platforms' algorithms or involve flexible workers in algorithm design to ensure they receive fair and reasonable online orders and payment," he said.

Li Qiang, vice-president of Zhaopin, added that flexible working or hiring will be a trendy labor relation in the future, attracting more white-collar workers with higher educational backgrounds.

Feng, the dean, added that in addition to policy support, it's also necessary for the public to change its stereotypical view of flexible jobs, as many consider such work to be unstable or indecent.