CATTLE CLASS

by Sun Jiahui （孫佳慧）

Picture this all-too-familiar scenario： You spend an hour and a half commuting to work each way， five days a week， working overtime without pay. Half your weekends are taken up by business trips， while rare holidays get interrupted by pings from your clients， boss， and coworkers on WeChat—all needing an immediate reply， all hours of the day.

Quit？ Rage against the machine？ No—no choice but to put on a professional smile and carry on， because you are “社畜 （sh-ch&， corporate livestock），” and thats your nature.

Originating in Japans bleakly subordinate business culture， this expression is a combination of the Japanese words “會社 （corporation）” and “家畜 （livestock）”： grassroots employees penned-up in cubicles， working submissively， exploited and oppressed like draft animals.

The phrase first appeared onscreen in the 2018 Japanese TV seriesWe Cannot Become Beasts， which featured a downtrodden white-collar worker as the female lead. It went viral， picked up by viewers who found it an apt description of their own destinies. The term found an enthusiastic reception in China， which saw an online movement earlier this year against the punishing “996” （9 a.m. to 9 p.m.， six days a week） schedule in IT and other industries.

Since the word “livestock” is typically an insult in Chinese， 社畜tends to be used in self-mockery：

Get up earlier than roosters， stay up later than dogs， work more than cattle， and eat worse than pigs—thats our life as corporate livestock！

Q@ de b@ j～ z2o， shu# de b@ g6u w2n， g3n de b@ ni% du4， ch～ de b@ zh$ ch3——zh- ji& sh# w6men sh-ch& de r9nsh8ng！

起得比雞早，睡得比狗晚，干得比牛多，吃得比豬差——這就是我們社畜的人生！

Pressure from work can be lethal. The term “過勞死 （gu7l1os@， death by overwork）” also came to China from Japan. However， compared to dying， Chinese livestock seem worried more about the possible havoc that overwork may wreak on their health and appearance， leading to a variation of the term： “過勞肥 （gu7l1of9i， obesity by overwork）.”

Research shows that long working hours， irregular eating habits， and lack of sleep can lead to obesity. However， when you want to find an excuse for those extra pounds put on during Chinese New Year， “過勞肥” is a handy term to use. After all， no one should be blamed for working too hard.

Im not fat， Im suffering weight gain due to overwork！

W6 b%sh# p3ng， w6 sh# gu7l1of9i！

我不是胖，我是過勞肥！

Receding hairlines are another problem. Stress and lack of sleep are blamed for causing premature balding among millennial livestock—or 熬夜禿 （1oy-t$， all-nighter baldness）. So if you see your fellow livestock staying late in the corporate barn， kindly remind them：

Go home and sleep soon， or risk going all-nighter bald！

Z2odi2nr hu！q& shu#ji3o ba， xi2ox～n 1oy-t$！

早點兒回去睡覺吧，小心熬夜禿！

And maybe lay off the burgers and fried chicken for a while—after all， you are what you eat.