Live to work or work to live: how do young Chinese balance work and life?

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‍By CGTN’s Wang Jingyi

Is it a Chinese or Asian thing to work longer hours? A 2014 study found the average Chinese worker put in somewhere between 2,000 and 2,200 hours per year.

Data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operaton and Development (OECD) meanwhile showed workers in Germany clocked in 1,366 hours in the same year. Average annual work hours in the Netherlands were 1,420, compared to 1,427 in Norway, 1,458 in Denmark and 1,473 in France. For China’s neighbor South Korea, the number was 2,124.‍

Does working longer hours necessarily mean working harder? Why do Asians work so long?

Harvey Dzodin, freelance columnist for China Daily told CGTN’s The Point that every Asian tiger went through a workaholic stage in its transition from a developing country to a developed one.

He linked a Confucius background to the Chinese work ethic, echoing a similar statement by former Singapore Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew when he compared China and India.

Filial piety pushed people to work hard to support their family, Dzodin noted, while a still developing social safety net meant people toiled to save money for a rainy day.

Man looking at Beijing Central Business District through window/ VCG Photo

Dzodin said he was convinced the Chinese will work shorter hours in the future, observing an updated work attitude in China’s younger generation.

“I always tell my young Chinese friends to work hard and play hard. It’s not enough to be a math or science wiz but you need to be interesting and go along to get along,” he said.

"The Point with Liu Xin” is broadcast on CGTN every weekday at 9:30 p.m., 5:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. BJT (1330, 2130 and 0230 GMT). Follow us at @thepointwithlx.