Greener pasture of a shepherd’s life lures Chinese workers penned in by ‘996’ jobs | China
A Chinese farm owner’s effort to recruit herders was successful after a job posting seeking people to work on his farm in Inner Mongolia went viral; The ad caught the attention of city residents struggling to find work and highlighted growing tensions in China’s labor market.
In late April, Zuo Xiaoyong posted an ad on Chinese social media seeking two shepherds, preferably a couple, to take 3,000 sheep to graze on 2,000 hectares of pasture in the summer. The shepherds will also undertake indoor feeding and cleaning duties during the winter months, when temperatures can drop below -30C at his farm, which is about 300 kilometers from the city of Xilinhot near the Mongolian border.
The ad stated that the shepherds would be paid 8,000 yuan (approximately £880/US$1,180) a month and that their housing and food needs would be covered. This salary is well above China’s national urban average of about 6,000 yuan for private company employees.
“The salary is high, but the most important thing is whether you can work long-term and survive the winter,” Zuo told Reuters. ‘This is not tourism’
The simple ad, which featured a video of sheep frolicking in green pastures, sparked outrage on social media when it was released, garnering nearly 59 million views on China’s X equivalent, Weibo.
Zuo told Reuters more than 700 people applied for the two positions. About 10 percent of applicants are recent college graduates, he said, while the others are factory workers and even white-collar types worn down by workplace policies in megacities like Shanghai and Chongqing.
“I didn’t expect it to go viral,” Zuo said. “It appears that ordinary people are having difficulty finding work.”
According to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics in March, China’s official unemployment rate is around 5.2%, while the unemployment rate of young people aged 16-24, excluding students, is 16.9%.
Dissatisfaction with the “996” culture of long working hours (9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week is the norm in many Chinese companies) has become a common problem among blue- and white-collar workers looking to escape the rat race.
James Guo, 21, one of the factory workers who applied for the position, said he was tired of his current job manufacturing shipping containers and wanted a change.
“You have no idea what it’s like to work 13+ hours a day, tightening screws until your hands are swollen and blistered, without even having time to go to the toilet,” he told Reuters.
“My workload is so intense, I can’t handle it anymore.”
Eventually Zuo hired four shepherds, including two couples who had previously worked on a farm. Although he has a shortlist of more than 40 couples for future roles, he says he won’t consider single people or urban youth.
“At our place, you might not see people for a year,” Zuo said. “I don’t know if anyone can stand this much loneliness.”
via Reuters
