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Chinese Youngsters Turn to Spaces That Mimic Offices to Maintain Routine and Self-Esteem Amid Joblessness, Paying for Corporate Structure with Internet, Coffee, and Common Areas.
Amid the slowdown of the Chinese economy and youth unemployment exceeding 14%, newly graduated university students and unemployed professionals are paying up to R$ 35 per day to occupy offices that simulate corporate routines.
The proposal offers a working environment, internet connection, and in-person interaction as antidotes to isolation while preserving self-esteem and daily discipline.
The movement arises from the clash between labor supply and job scarcity.
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Every year, over 12 million graduates enter the market in China, which increases competition for entry-level positions.
In this scenario, private spaces have set up structures that replicate the traditional office for those who wish to maintain hours and productivity while seeking re-employment.
Daily packages, generally between 30 and 50 yuan, include a desk, chair, shared-use computers, stable Wi-Fi, coffee, snacks, and common areas.
Some places offer meeting rooms for training, mock interviews, and portfolio presentations, creating an environment that resembles formal employment without the employment contract.
How Mimicked Offices Work
The dynamics are simple: the client reserves a shift, occupies a spot, and follows their personal schedule.
The golden rule is to respect the work atmosphere.
Conversations are brief and to the point, and some people use booths for video calls with recruiters.
Meanwhile, activity sheets and individual schedules circulate to help organize study goals, content production, or preparation for technical tests.
The proposal gained momentum from initiatives like Pretend To Work, created by an entrepreneur identified as Feiyu, who experienced unemployment and depression before opening the space.
He describes the service as a social experiment aimed at protecting clients’ respectability.
In his words, he sells “the dignity of not being a useless person”.
Meanwhile, apps and social networks help spread addresses and experience reports.
Posts with photos of desks, monitors, and coffee mugs create a repertoire of habits that imitate corporate life, making the ritual more attractive for those who miss an office routine.
Who Is Looking and Why
There are distinct profiles among the visitors.
Some are recent graduates who have not yet secured their first job.
Another segment consists of professionals who ended partnerships, closed businesses, or were laid off and are seeking a fresh start.
The common goal is to maintain rhythm, show availability, and reduce social pressure of “not doing anything.”
Individual accounts illustrate this effect.
Shui Zhou, 30, learned about the spaces through the Xiaohongshu network after seeing his business fail.
Upon adopting the practice, he said he felt more productive and cheerful, as well as valuing the connections formed through interaction. “It’s like we’re working together in a group,” he told the BBC.
Cases like that of Xiaowen Tang, 23, a recent graduate, highlight another use: the student used the simulated office to fulfill the academic requirement of an internship while writing online novels as a source of income.
In a pragmatic tone, she summarized her strategy with the phrase: “If you’re going to pretend, pretend to the end”.
Academic Pressure, Networks, and Routine
Internship requirements, thesis deadlines, and certification exams form a calendar that pushes students and young professionals to maintain fixed schedules.
Instead of studying at home, they choose an environment with controlled noise and visual signs of productivity.
Moreover, interacting with people in similar situations helps to share interview tips, exam materials, and quick courses.
On social media, weekly schedules, photos of task boards, and goal lists are multiplying.
Still, the primary function of these places remains behavioral: to establish a routine that resembles formal employment, with set arrival times, defined breaks, and a clear end time for activities.
Criticism and Economic Reading of the Phenomenon
Experts observe the trend with skepticism but also with understanding.
Economist Christian Yao links the growth of these spaces to the mismatch between the education system and immediate company demands.
For him, it is a transitional solution that reduces psychological and social damage until re-employment.
In his assessment, “the phenomenon of pretending to work is now very common.”
This interpretation connects the demand for simulated offices to the structural adjustment of sectors that have hired less, as well as to the competition for few entry-level positions.
At the same time, it signals a dilemma: how to translate routine and engagement into concrete opportunities without naturalizing job absence?
Qualification and Job Opportunity Seeking
Despite the criticism, many visitors use part of their time to train skills that have good market acceptance.
Some study data analysis, programming, and artificial intelligence to strengthen their resumes.
Others dedicate time to portfolios, code reviews, and mock technical interviews.
Zhou, for example, reserved daily blocks for online courses and practical exercises in the AI field.
The strategy combines the discipline of the environment with learning goals, creating a roadmap that can be presented in selection processes.
Shared time also fosters partnerships and small projects, often initiated right there.
A Point of Transition
Creators of these spaces argue that the value lies not in “pretending,” but in the transition period they provide.
The Pretend To Work and similar services position themselves as bridges between a moment of uncertainty and the resumption of careers.
The argument is that the environment helps restore self-esteem, sustain support networks, and give visibility to skills that, in isolation, tend to be lost.
On the other hand, doubts about long-term effectiveness abound.
Without enough job openings, organized routines and unlimited coffee do not substitute public policies, job programs, or reforms that connect university training to what companies demand.
Still, the shared routine and a neutral space reduce the feeling of stagnation and keep young people moving.
Costs, Services, and Limits
The daily ticket ranging between 30 and 50 yuan — about 4 to 7 dollars, close to R$ 35 — grants access to basic resources: fast Wi-Fi, coffee and tea, small snacks, as well as individual desks and rest areas.
At some locations, meeting rooms are available by appointment to simulate interviews and presentations.
The corporate aesthetic, with plants, dividers, and standardized lighting, reinforces the sense of a working day.
Despite the conveniences, users themselves acknowledge limits.
The space does not provide contracts, salaries, or benefits.
It serves, in essence, as a backdrop for training work habits, maintaining contacts, and facing family and social pressure.
Amid a cooled market, this combination of routine and belonging explains why the practice has spread and gained public accounts.
In light of this portrait, the question remains: do paid environments that mimic offices serve as a useful transitional tool for unemployed youths or merely highlight — and normalize — the precariousness of the job market?
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