China white collar curse: 35 and washed up


Source: afr.com afr.com

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Li Yuan Jul 4, 2023 – 1.29pm Save Share When Sean Liang turned 30, he started thinking of the Curse of 35 – the widespread belief in China that white-collar workers like him confront unavoidable job insecurity after they hit that age. In the eyes of employers, the Curse goes, they’re more expensive than new graduates and not as willing to work overtime. Liang, now 38, is a technology support professional turned personal trainer. He has been unemployed for much of the past three years, partly because of the pandemic and China’s sagging economy. But he believes the main reason...