Thread by @opinion

Never ones to miss a chance to cry “hardship,” upper-middle-class, well-educated young Americans are getting in on the Chinese “lie flat” social protest movement, claiming they, too, are burned out and quitting their jobs to do nothing trib.al/e5rjiys

It started among Chinese factory workers burned out from grueling 12-hour, six-day work weeks, and the unrelenting pressure to climb the economic ladder.

So some Chinese millennials formed a movement to opt out of work and the pressures of society trib.al/e5rjiys

What this trend will mean for China is unclear, but Americans who choose to lay down in lieu of work may end up worse off than they think trib.al/e5rjiys

It’s hard to know exactly how many Americans are lying flat. The labor market is behaving strangely:

📈Unemployment is high
📉Many jobs are unfilled

Quit rates are at their highest level in more than 20 year, which could signal a less dynamic economy trib.al/e5rjiys

What’s even stranger are the many reports of burnout from people early in their career.

High-power-track jobs like banking and law are scrambling to keep their young workers from quitting trib.al/e5rjiys

In July, 2.3% of Americans under 45 are planning on leaving the labor force, compared to just 0.9% of Americans over 45.

There was a time when ambition was admired; now opting out of a career garners 400,000 likes on Twitter

Unlike Chinese factory workers, people in the developed world have never worked so little.

Between 1965 and 2003, American men gained an extra 6-8 hours of leisure time a week; women gained 4-8. And since 2003, leisure time has increased further trib.al/e5rjiys

In some ways it’s surprising to see Americans rising up against the cult of work. People may feel overwhelmed, but they’re not actually working harder than previous generations.

So why lie flat now? trib.al/e5rjiys

It could be that work is much less pleasant when you don’t get to socialize with colleagues. Or perhaps this past year made work feel inescapable.

Some realized hard work is not for them. But that choice is a luxury they may come to regret trib.al/e5rjiys

Many of the lie-flatters will probably return to work eventually; they will run out of money or get bored.

But their sabbatical will cost them. Historically, most of the pay increases you’ll experience in your career occur before age 45 trib.al/e5rjiys

The skill development and networking that happens in your 20s and 30s set up your career for life. Work is hard when you start out, but you reap the benefits for decades.

That makes your 20s and 30s a terrible time to have a midlife crisis trib.al/e5rjiys

At 4 p.m. ET, join us on @TwitterSpaces for a debate about American workers and the "lie flat" movement, featuring:

@roybahat
@AllisonSchrager
@s_m_i
@conorsen
@tghilarducci
twitter.com/i/spaces/1BdGY…