In recent times, a slogan has been echoing across the internet: We are not oxen and horses, we are human beings. This cry has resonated with many modern laborers, reflecting their frustration and struggle in the current socio-economic landscape.
The modern workforce is increasingly finding itself under immense pressure, with long working hours and a constant pursuit of productivity becoming the norm. The traditional 8-hour workday has become a luxury, a dream that seems unattainable for many. The stark disparity between the working conditions inside and outside the system has only exacerbated the plight of the common worker.
Many workers are now forced to work more than 10 hours a day, with some even enduring the grueling 996 or 007 work schedules. This relentless pace has led to a growing number of tragic cases of workers collapsing due to overexertion. The question arises: are we striving for a better life, or have we become slaves to our work?
Some may argue that the 996 work schedule represents the spirit of hard work and perseverance. However, the faces of young workers who are already exhausted and the tragic stories of those who have succumbed to their fatigue raise serious doubts about the sustainability of this culture of overwork.
Moreover, workers in small workshops often have no days off, with two days of rest per month being considered a favor. They work tirelessly to support their families, often ignoring their own health and well-being. The question then becomes: who is responsible for their health and well-being? Are the medical and labor protection systems in place?
The imbalance between work and personal life has become severe, and workers are increasingly becoming tools for the relentless expansion of capital. The question then arises: why must we be treated as oxen and horses? Why must we be tools from birth?
Under this cry, many workers have shared their thoughts and feelings: Work hard, and life will become sweeter. However, why do we not feel that life is becoming sweeter? Why do we only experience low cost-performance and low returns? In China, can’t we have an 8-hour workday? The poor are the fuel of society, burning ourselves to warm the rich. I thought I was a passenger on the high-speed train of China’s development, but I realized I was just the fuel…
The development of technology is supposed to make life more comfortable for people. If we are still struggling to make a living, then something is definitely wrong. Hard work itself is not wrong; what is wrong is that some people exploit the labor of the hardworking through privileges and monopolies, gaining without working, leading a luxurious life, and being greedy, oppressive, and terrifying.
Many people have become numb and accustomed to being treated as oxen and horses. Even if they have anger and complaints, they can only whisper them in private. Facing their leaders and the strong power, they can only endure and become willing oxen and horses. The key is that there is no overtime pay for overtime work! Companies will go to great lengths to make overtime work seem voluntary! As if voluntary overtime does not require overtime pay! Do workers have dignity?
The health of workers is destroyed by capitalists, and diseases are left to national medical insurance. Who is destroying this country and oppressing the people? We should awaken as soon as possible!
For many ordinary people, the 996 work schedule is also a luxury. They work 12 hours a day without a day off for a month, becoming robots. Under the social call for criticism, some voices have emerged:
Human beings are never satisfied. Our company has a work schedule from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, with weekends off, but the employees are still unsatisfied.
Hardworking Chinese people, be careful not to be manipulated by the West. Think about it, has any country ever had true equality? Do Westerners have it? Moreover, there are still many people in the world who have no work to do.
In China, there are many jobs with 9-to-5 work schedules and double weekends and legal holidays. There are some people who have no education and no skills, and they are not willing to study or learn. They are like donkeys working on a grindstone, doing repetitive and simple work. What are they, if not oxen and horses? People have the ability to learn and improve.
Wang Shuo once said, Have you ever seen any animal work for ten hours a day for survival? – Snow dogs in Northeast China, plow oxen in the south of the Yangtze River,千里马in the grasslands, transportation camels in the outer regions… Are they the same as us, the common workers at the bottom?
We are not oxen and horses, we are human beings. This is the cry of modern workers. Work is a tool, not the purpose. At
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