Take this job and ...

Young Chinese have very different views on career security compared to previous generations, but their impulsive decisions to terminate employment point to growing affluence and the unwillingness to acclimatize

What's a better strategy? To follow your heart and quit a job that's not giving you satisfaction or to stick to it until you find the next, hopefully better, job?

There is a noticeable chasm between China's generations when it comes to such choices. Conventional wisdom has it that those born in the 1970s tend to value job security and would not voluntarily leave their current employers unless they have secured their next position. Those born in the 1990s, on the other hand, would simply get up and do it in a dramatic way, just like in movies -"I can't take it any more!"

This has become so commonplace that some employers are refusing to take "I quit" as an acceptable letter of resignation. They demand something in at least 500 words so they'll know why people are leaving.

That is according to a recent post online that presumably recounts a young woman's decision to "fire" her boss and a funny dialogue that ensued between the two parties. As usual, I want to qualify it by saying that this particular story has not been vetted for veracity, but similar stories abound. True or not, it was not an isolated incident, but a general phenomenon worthy of analysis.

We Chinese like to assign numerical names to generations, among others. What is known as millennials in English-speaking countries is divided into "post-1980" and "post-1990" in China.

The terms are nearly impossible to translate because they refer to those born in the 1980s and '90s. Of course, it's simplistic to lump such a big chunk of populace together. For one thing, people have repeatedly pointed out that "post-1985" have more in common with "post-1990" than with their slightly older peers.

That makes the subject of this article the 20-somethings in Western parlance. The use of age group in such discussions has not vanished in the Chinese context; it is just being nudged to the sideline by the years of birth, which can be a permanent label and need not change over the years.

China's 20-somethings are prominent for (a) being single children, (b) being college educated, and (c) having grown up with Internet and mobile gadgets. They have just entered the workforce en masse.

And surprising to some, they have displayed a penchant for job-hopping. The young woman in the latest story is said to have changed three jobs in a year.

She cited some of the reasons for quitting. Highest on the list was her employer's policy not to take deliveries of employees' personal orders.

That means she has to go down 21 floors - three times a day on average - to meet the couriers. Her supervisor countered that, if the time she used in online ordering is factored in, that would add up to at least an hour a day for this personal affair alone. Stricter employers would ban such activities wholesale, he says.

Another reason she gave was the pep-talk meetings, during which she had to peep at her cellphone for distraction. She could not bear the lengthy platitudes about corporate values and culture. Her supervisor argued that this form of boredom comes with every job.

I may not have a vantage point for observation, but the young men and women I have known or worked with do not seem to share too much with the above stories.

As I see it, the aversion toward ritual-like meetings cuts across generational lines, and as long as they are not frequent most would bear them with a grain of stoicism. As for handling personal business during office hours, Chinese employers are more flexible as far as I know. You don't fly in their face and they would probably turn a blind eye.

The important thing is, be reasonable - for both sides.

It is very difficult to generalize about who is right and who is wrong when a new employee quits on an impulse. One has to dig deep and find out both sides of the story before coming to a conclusion. It is just like a marital squabble. One should not assume that one side is automatically and totally in the right.

But if one cannot hold a job - any job - for longer than three months, most people would suspect the employee may have a problem adapting to a work environment. He or she may not be adequate at teamwork, for example.

Social adaptability is a skill that is picked up by most people. More of China's youngsters lack it because they have skipped the crucial link of siblings, with whom they would have to share and compete. High-tech gadgets have taken away much of the necessity for face-to-face communication, to the extent that some heavy users display split personalities online and in reality.

Above all, the youngsters who cite seemingly trivial causes for voluntary termination of employment can afford it.

Our society has reached a level of affluence that a growing number can climb the learning curve not in playgrounds and classrooms, but on the job. The woman in the post is said to spend 14,000 yuan ($2,130; 1,960 euros) a month of her parents' money, far exceeding her 8,000 yuan salary, which is not meager in the first place.

Her parents have three properties in Beijing, not counting those owned by the four grandparents. So, taking impromptu journeys overseas to find new inspiration for life is indeed a romantic undertaking for her.

I envy her for that luxury. It is always nice to know you have that option when you're caught in a dead-end job or you don't get along with your colleagues. But it would be an abuse if one indiscriminately applies it, venting every glint of frustration with a grand enunciation of relinquishment.

The woman in the uncorroborated story ended up changing her mind and staying in her job.

Her parents decided to cut off their subsidy, which made it necessary for her to earn her own living. Honestly, I don't think many Chinese parents can act with such principles.

It sounds more like the American way. The freedom to veer from prescribed roads and to embark on spontaneous trips in life - physical or figurative - hinges on financial freedom, one's own financial freedom.

Most Chinese youngsters understand that.

Those who wallow in their parents' wealth will ultimately learn it, too.

Contact the writer at raymondzhou@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 03/04/2016 page22)