Hello, please let it work.
We had a fantastic launch event for the FT Wellbeing Employee Group. There we talked about the rise of great emotions in the workplace and how managers can help. We who work at FT are fortunate to have Claer on hand, but her wisdom is also available in the award-winning newsletter series: Suter Your Financial Life Out.
As Claer pointed out, we often overlook financial benefits in the workplace, so we lose free money. (I certainly lost £150 subsidy from FT for glasses for computer work 🤦🏼♀️.)
Read expert insights into workplace trends that have begun in China.
PS: I didn’t have time to write office therapy this week. I’m afraid because I had to manage the crisis at home. Let’s say this. London’s fruity e-bikes are a busy blessing.
As always, email us about what bothers you/cool things/why ai won’t take on our work by 2027: isabel.berwick@ft.com
Chinese labor culture terminology is global
You may be familiar with Chinese phenomena, tamping, or lying flat. It began to be widely spoken during the pandemic in 2021, and has a similarity with the later Tiktok phenomenon: “quiet stopping.”
Recently, I learned more about China’s “always on” workplace culture through conditions such as “996” from 9am to 9am a week on the 6th, and even via “007”. But what caught my eye recently was the words used in FT analysis of the brutal job market for UK graduates from over 100 jobs.
“There’s a Chinese term, Naijuan – that means that no matter how hard you try, no matter how hard you work, success is impossible.
I hadn’t heard of Neijuan, so after he wrote to FT about the article, I spoke with Professor Chris Laurie, an Asian business and management expert. In it, Chris suggested that the comparison was not correct because “the British context is very different and very few compared to China.” As Chris wrote, the more complete definition of Neijuan is “a social phenomenon in which increasing inputs do not produce improvement, where intense competition drives individuals to increase their efforts in the self-destructive cycle.
Chris, who teaches at Citi St. George at the University of London, Oxford and Kellogg College at Bayes Business School, said that European and American alumni have not faced the same pressure and competition to enter prestigious schools and universities built since childhood in Asia. “For example, on my first trip to Korea in the early ’90s, my colleagues took the kids out of school after school and picked them up at 10pm. Even the little ones did this.”
Beijing may not be a direct similarity to the UK, but it is clearly relevant at the time of rarity for job seekers. Chris then spoke to me about another move among the youths in China. This has led to a total rejection of adult life beyond Neijuan.
This “full-time child” phenomenon is not the same as the “shut-in” lifestyle known by Hikikomori, a Japanese name that young men cut off from society and stay in their rooms. Instead, “full-time kids” is a return to an era before the young man’s dreams shattered. “This is basically when you can’t get a job despite your childhood dreams, so go back to your parents.
It is almost bland to compare the phenomenon of “full-time kids” with the return of UK university dropouts in 2025 who are unable to obtain graduate-level jobs. Nevertheless, I can see similarities.
*Do you have workplace or cultural terms that others should know in your country? We want to hear about it: isabel.berwick@ft.com.
Five Top Stories from the World of Work
M&S blames the “human error” of cyberattacks reaching £300 million profit: If you think you’ve had a bad week, think again. Details have been revealed about the attack on M&S. I came through staff from a third-party supplier who changed the password and authentication process and put the criminals in Laura Onita.
Strict US Border Control Quick Business Trip Rethinking: Anjli Raval reports on measures that some scholars and businessmen are deploying when they deploy to the US, such as deleting data from burner phones and computers.
Have you been confused by the terminology of your generation? Try a corporate translator. Gen Z is turning to online creators and AI, writing formal emails to help older managers communicate their messages in a way that tastes good for older managers, writes Olivia Surguy.
What management theory about Trump’s rival teams tell us: Leadership experts talk to Andrew Hill about Donald Trump’s management style, including some accounts of “group thinking” on display among his cabinet.
What makes a positive difference in the way staff feel about their work? A good manager, what is that? I wrote in one of my favourite subjects for FT Europe’s Best Employer 2025 Supplements.
One more thing. . .
For antidote to the darkness, bookmark the Ballad of Wallis Island, a film that has already been out in the US and is open at British cinemas later this month. It’s neat, funny with laughter (though at the end you might be crying in a good way). Tim Key and Tom Basden write Carrie Mulligan as Nell, former musical and life partner of Basden Herb. The folk duo reunites to perform a one-off gig for eccentric super fans (keys) who live on remote islands.
US workplace insights from charters: AI agents (yes, they’re again 🕵🏻♀️)
Last week I talked about the rise of AI agents. Summary: It’s not clear how many people know what they are, but they’re talking about nonstop.
As a follow-up, I asked Kevin Delaney, editor-in-chief of Charter, a workplace expert, to the future of a work and media research company to blow up the tangle of posts on LinkedIn loaded with points of research and bullets and blow it straight to the work of readers: What does he think about Agent AI? Is it coming for our work?
“It’s hard to imagine AI not restructuring the work of millions of white-collar workers. AI agents could probably be that challenge because they can autonomously complete tasks. In many areas, it could reduce the amount and quality of work.
AI agents reduce inconveniences in many areas of the workplace. Many small tasks that require focus and adjustments, such as meeting schedules or retrieving information from another part of the company, can be handled by AI agents.
Agents can also perform many of the tasks that make up roles within the enterprise. US executives say they are asking teams to decide whether AI can do the job before hiring people for open work. The increase in capabilities that AI agents represent will certainly increase the frequency with which employment managers come back, no, we say we don’t need to hire people.
High-tech optimists predict that even if employment is no longer this way, the increased efficiency and economic activity generated by AI will lead to the creation of new jobs, and the net impact on employment will be positive. That may be the case in the long run, but it’s easy to see how AI agents can replace human work in the coming months and years. ”
View from the working IT community 📷
A snapshot of this week’s Working Life is, “There’s a view from my office at Manchester Metropolitan University, where I’m CFO. On the right is the Manchester School of Arts. On the left is the new Grosvenor East Building. I agree.
Andrew receives a “lucky dip” from his new workplace, productivity and management book. Send the view from your desk (or rooftop terrace): isabel.berwick@ft.com. There’s no need to be sunny.
And finally. . .
A scream for career returns, an organization that works with employers, allowing more people (okay, women 👩🏽💻) to return to good work after a career break. The 2025 Career Return Indicator is currently available. This is a great resource for businesses building replyers programs.
It’s a tough market, but employers can help by removing recruitment bias. Sample Tip: “Make sure the automated or manual application process is not screening candidates due to CV gaps: Harvard Business School Survey in the UK in 2021, US and Germany found that 43-48% of ATS systems excluded the gap for six months.” 😱
