China's white collar class, saying that the title, after the country's two decades' economic reforms, becomes unwelcomed as it has been depreciated as the substitute of heavy work loads and non-power class, Thursday's China Newsweek reported.
Working in joint ventures, earning high-above average salaries and leading a stylish life, the typical white collar class in China's 1980s to 1990s used to overwhelm many people.
In May of 1985, when Shanghai's first joint venture office building opened to work, it had become the symbolic place for people with higher social status. At a time not far from late 1970s, when China started its reforms, people need courage and vision to shift from secured but thrifty life to work in non-government entities, even with five to ten times higher payments.
Today, among the seemingly similar work staff in a same office building, those earning 2,000 yuan (US$242) monthly think those earning 7,000 yuan (US$846) should be the white collars, whom, however, thinks those income reached above 10,000 yuan (US$1,209) deserves the title. Those earning more than 10,000 yuan people don't want the title too, said the Newsweek.
"My understanding of white collar's life is earn more and spend more," said Wu Fei, who working at an private IT company in Beijing with a monthly income of 7,000 yuan (US$846), "I used to spend more than my salary's money to buy an unnecessary overcoat."
But now, Wu said she preferred to buy cloth in cheap wholesale markets, because she is just one among the most ordinary people.
White collar's life is greatly "normalized" than a decade before. "Pale faces in subway, living in rent-share apartments and collecting various coupons are typical white collar's life," said the Newsweek.
Meanwhile, their income range has also dispersed, there are no big gap between a "white collar" or a "blue collar." The admission income of Shanghai's white collar club is only 2,200 yuan (US$266) per month, and at some state owned enterprises in the city, an ordinary worker's income could reach 5,000 to 8,000 yuan (US$604 to 960) each month.
With increasing working pressures, "white collars" become the targets of fatty liver and premature senility.
A survey conducted by Horizon Group, a leading Beijing-based information and consulting firm, on white collar's pressure shows that two thirds of them expressed their wearies at work, and they described major reasons of the pressure as "too many things need to handle in too short a time" and "too hasty to catch up with the science and technology development."
Xie Xialing, a professor with the prestigious Fudan University in Shanghai, think the white collar should be defined as non-physical labor, high education background, decent income, work in private or foreign funded companies, and being employed.
"The expansion of university enrollment has caused the depreciation of white collar groups," said Yuan Yue, the president of Horizon Group.
In 2002, a university graduate could earn 4,000 yuan (US$484) a month on average, but two years later, the figure declined to 1,500 to 2,000 yuan (US$181 to 242), Yuan said.
"The high investment to high education talents will induce social employment pressures, which will cause various effects," said Yang Heqing, a professor with Capital University of Economics and Business.
"As the backbone to promote China's development, white collar deserve more concerns and less pressure from the society," the Newsweek said.
(Xinhua News Agency June 26, 2005)
