More young Chinese seeking to ‘become the person they want to be’ through flexible employment

A live-streaming host promotes goods in Heihe, Heilongjiang province. (Photo/People's Daily Online)

With the rapid development of new forms of business in recent years, more and more post-90s and post-95s young people in China have shifted to flexible employment in order to enjoy more freedom at work and also do the things they love, China Youth Daily reported Tuesday.

“Now I have the power to take control of my life,” said Rae, a content creator on popular Chinese video-sharing platform Douyin, in her vlog posted on Nov. 20.

“Five years ago, I couldn’t imagine that making vlogs would become my job one day. But my passion for recording things has never changed,” Rae said.

When she first decided to quit her job and devote herself to making videos, many people thought it was not a good idea and said she wouldn’t be able to support herself as a vlogger. Today, she has more than 12 million followers on Douyin, and was among the most accomplished young people on the 30 Under 30 China list of Forbes Magazine in 2019.

Rae has “become the person she wanted to be”, commented an Internet user.

In recent years, the vitality of new business forms in the digital economy has attracted many post-90s people to the idea of flexible employment. Last July, Chinese authorities including the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and State Administration for Market Regulation gave official recognition to a batch of new professions, including online marketers.

Yang Xiao, a post-95s woman in east China’s Jiangsu province, is one of the many new online marketers in China.

Several years ago, Yang, who majored in acting in college, was playing minor roles in films and TV dramas and making commercials, earning about 4,000 yuan ($607.60) to 5,000 yuan a month.

When live-streaming stormed onto the scene on China’s major e-commerce platform Taobao, Yang rode the wave and became one of the earliest live-streaming hosts for sales promotions.

Today, Yang hosts live-streaming shows for more than four hours every day, and has a nine-person team for selecting products, attracting investment, and operations. Her team’s annual sales volume exceeds 30 million yuan.

Yang enjoys her current life very much, and is professional and honest in her work. In her spare time, she teaches women skills for hosting live-streaming shows at vocational training courses that she and her female friends launched. She gives herself a vacation whenever she wants to take a break from work.

Young people aged between 20 and 35 form the majority of flexible employees in the life services industry, with post-90s people accounting for more than 60 percent of the group, according to a recent report on characteristics and trends in the development of new forms of employment and flexible employment in the life services industry.

People in that age bracket account for 82.2 percent of people in flexible employment in the industry, said the report released by Meituan Research Institute, a social sciences research agency under Chinese service-focused e-commerce giant Meituan Dianping.

Huang Chuanxiang, a man with only a high school education, is one of the young people who have benefited greatly from the opportunities for flexible employment created by Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing (DiDi).

Huang had been shifting from job to job and place to place before joining the ride-hailing platform. After receiving their driving licenses, Huang and his friends became part-time designated drivers on DiDi. Later, Huang bought a car with borrowed money, and started to offer fast ride services on the platform. After that, he bought another new car and became a driver providing tailored ride services on DiDi.

In the course of providing all types of services on DiDi, Huang’s monthly income has also grown from 1,000 yuan to about 20,000 yuan.

The harder you work, the more you get, Huang said, describing his present job.

Huang starts work every evening, and goes home when the morning rush hour begins. His parents run a small garden in Beijing’s Shunyi district, and he sometimes helps them with work during the day.

While ensuring thorough protective measures, Huang has barely stopped taking bookings during the COVID-19 epidemic.

“You should work hard when you’re young,” Huang said, adding that he is very happy with his work now, and hopeful about the future.