Young professionals in China are rebelling against work culture by dressing down

The dressing down trend isn’t about deliberately choosing ugly clothes but rather rebelling against stringent, traditional office demands. (Supplied)

“Is my outfit gross enough?”

Yang Mengyu, a 24-year-old Chinese white-collar worker, wonders this as she prepares for her day.

She is among the many young professionals in China taking part in the dressing-down trend that translates to something like “wear a gross outfit to work”.

It has become a trending hashtag on social media, with posts gaining about 630 million views on the Chinese version of TikTok (Douyin) and nearly 200 million reads on Weibo.

Instead of carrying designer bags or having perfect makeup, these workers are wearing pyjamas, slippers, and oversized pants in the office.

But it’s not about deliberately wearing ugly or “unprofessional” clothes.

It’s about presenting a carefree style to colleagues, and has been seen by some as something of a rebellion against China’s strict workplace culture and norms.

“I usually wake up at 8:30am and wear whatever I grab. I am lazy enough,” Ms Yang said.

How did the trend become popular?

The trend comes as China’s economic growth continued to slow and youth unemployment rate remains high at 20 per cent.

For young people, particularly those who have little work-life balance and are paid considerably low wages, it’s a way to rebel against the country’s buttoned-down office culture.

The trend was triggered by a popular video on Douyin about six months ago.

In the video, a young woman complained about how her boss had criticised her for wearing flesh-coloured plush pants with plush sneakers under her work clothes.

It sparked a big discussion online.

As the trend has spread, Ms Yang said she didn’t care about people judging her outfits anymore.

“The uglier we dress, the more relaxed our mentalities are … young people now put comfort before how their boss and colleagues feel,” she told the ABC.

“As long as you’re lazy and casual enough, you can just keep doing that.”

Qian Fengqi, a lecturer in Chinese language and culture at Deakin University, said China’s Generation Z were more individualistic.

“This generation values convenience and comfort,” Dr Qian said.

“The pace, intensity, and pressure of work make young professionals focus more on the work itself than work attire.”

Strict culture forces change of mindset

The immense demands of the “996” work culture and complex interpersonal workplace rules have resulted in lots of young people dropping their efforts to maintain the traditional “professional” appearance in the office.

Dr Qian said even though many young people in major cities such as Shanghai still dressed meticulously, even wearing designer brands, the younger generation’s attitude towards work and life has been changing.

“Perhaps some people dress up at work because they are so passionate about the job,” 24-year-old Yaqing Jin told the ABC.

“For someone like me who doesn’t care much about my job, work is just a part of life — I don’t think it’s necessary to dress up,” Ms Jin said.

Ms Jin has been interning at a newspaper in Shandong, Eastern China.

She said many of her peers had similar ideas, especially white-collar workers who often have to do overtime.

“Every friend who goes to work would basically dress down like that … we laugh at each other and say ‘what a cross outfit you’re wearing today’,” she laughed.

“Going to work is very tiring, so I prefer to wear whatever is easy to put on.”

A young female force

A scan of the millions of posts on social media revealed many young female users felt they were expected to wear “exquisite” attire to work.

Jingyi Shen, 25, is employed at a publishing agency in the southern city of Guangzhou.

She said many Chinese women were annoyed there appeared to be an unspoken set of expectations for male colleagues.

“Subconsciously, everyone feels that it’s not a big deal for men to dress sloppily, because they are men,” Ms Shen said.

“Like my former male boss, he wears thongs to work every day, but he doesn’t feel gross wearing them, saying he just treats the workplace as home.

“But [exquisite] dressing is too unrealistic for most [women].”

Dr Qian said the rigid and “harsh demands of employers, especially on young people and women”, have sparked a rebellious mentality.

“We need to appreciate the tension between male-dominated executives of older generation and young, female professionals,” she said.

“As for young females, they are often expected to appear and behave like fair ladies.”

Ms Shen also explained the practical considerations behind the trend.

“Gross outfits take 15 minutes to get ready — exquisite outfits take an hour.

“The 45-minute extra sleep is the biggest difference.”