‘Curse of 35’: The Bitter Truth Of Turning 35 In China

Cici Zhang, a 32-year-old woman, was told by her employers that she is too old and would be replaced with a young graduate after three months of training.

Beijing: While the 20s is regarded as the decade of hassle and figuring things out, the 30s are considered relatively stable in terms of their personal and professional lives. However, such is not the case in China if you’re in your mid 30s. The reason: the ‘Curse of 35’. It refers to a situation where organizations in China don’t prefer to work with employees above the age of 35.

According to a report in The New York Times, the “Curse of 35,” is said to be a “widespread belief” that Chinese workers lose their appeal after 35. Critical life decisions, such as career choices, marriage, and starting a family, the Curse of 35 poses a formidable challenge. This phenomenon has gained significant attention as the Chinese job market weakens and age discrimination remains rampant.

Although the origin of this phenomenon remains unclear, the prevalence of age discrimination in the job market is undeniable.

Another reason for this curse is that companies seek to hire younger people as they are “less expensive” as compared to older and more experienced employees.  According to The New York Times, people have paused their major life decisions because of its unaffordability.

One young worker tells the paper he worked till at least 11pm every night for one three-month period. He’s now 35 and unemployed after deep job cuts at the AI company he worked for. Six months later, he’s had 10 interviews but no offers and describes his age as like a “plague.”

Indeed, a February 2021 South China Morning Post article on the trend says it’s most apparent among tech companies, which consider developers over 35 too old to handle 70-plus-hour weeks.

How is Chinese social media reacting to this?

Chinese social media is filled with various posts about this prevalent fear, reports The New York Times. “Too old to work at 35 and too young to retire at 60. Stay away from homeownership, marriage, children, car ownership, traffic and drugs, and you’ll own happiness, freedom and time,” reads a post on a social media platform in China that went viral. And, it is just one of the many posts that talks about the widespread belief of the Curse of 35 among Chinese white-collar workers.

Cici Zhang, a 32-year-old woman, was told by her employers that she is too old and would be replaced with a young graduate after three months of training, the publication reports.

Hiring reduced in major firms

In the first quarter of this year, major Chinese internet companies such as Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu hired approximately 9 percent fewer employees than during the peak of the pandemic.

Additionally, prominent real estate developers reduced their headcounts by substantial percentages. Economist Wang Mingyuan warns that around 50 million people between the ages of 16 and 40 could face unemployment by 2028, potentially triggering severe crises, NYT reported.

The trend to hire workers below 35 is more prominent in the tech sector, where the “996” work culture – working from 9 am to 9 pm, six days per week – thrives. Those above 35 are considered too old to handle to workload, according to February 2021 article in The South China Morning Post.

Between 2021-2022, the number of marriage registration in China has steadily declined up to 10.5 per cent– which is reported to be the lowest number ever since the country began publishing data in 1986.

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