About this episode
Jack, from the UK, worked at a Chinese mega-company for two years. In China, these companies are often referred to as ‘mega factories.’ Jack shared photos on Chinese social medias that captured his life before, during, and after his time at the company, highlighting the dramatic changes he experienced. Tune in to discover more about Jack’s adventure working in one of China’s mega companies!
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大家好！欢迎回来MaoMi Chinese！
这几天我在网上看到了一个很有趣的视频。视频里是一个英国人，他在中国的一个大公司做游戏设计，工作了两年。他发了自己两年里的照片，有在中国公司工作前的照片，他看起来还很快乐。有在中国公司刚开始工作的照片，他有点累，但是还是比较开心。有在中国公司工作了一年多的照片，他看起来非常累。后来他没有工作了，他在照片里看起来又开心了。中国网友们说，这是英国人在中国大厂打工的记录。网友说的“大厂”是什么呢？在中国大厂打工是怎么样的呢？今天，我们一起来聊一聊吧！
视频里的这个英国人叫Jack，中文名叫杰凯。他在英国出生，上学，长大。他说，他在英国学校的时候，每天四点放学，放学以后都是自由时间，想做什么做什么。每个夏天他有三个月的假期，他经常跟朋友一起出去玩儿，踢足球，打网球，打游戏。他很喜欢打游戏，对游戏也很感兴趣，所以他以后想去一个游戏公司工作。
中学毕业以后，他去了曼彻斯特大学，他在大学学中文和西班牙语。后来，他又去了中国北京留学。他说，他在北京留学的时候，认识了很多好朋友，觉得中国太好玩了，大学毕业以后也想在中国工作。后来，他认识了他的妻子，他的妻子是中国人。2022年，他在中国的一个很大的游戏公司找到了工作。
在中国，人们叫这种大公司“大厂”，意思是非常大的工厂。为什么人们叫这些公司大厂呢？在中国，工厂的工作是很累的，工人们每天都要在流水线上工作很久。流水线，意思是不同的人做不同的工作，最后做出一个产品。人们工作十二个小时，甚至更久，这是很正常的。在大公司里，公司的员工也是这样的。他们做不同的工作，但是大家的工作合起来，成为一个产品。他们也经常要加班。996工作制就是从这些大公司来的。在这些大公司里工作就像在大工厂工作一样，所以，人们叫它们大厂。
Jack杰凯发了很多他在大厂工作时的照片。他说，他的公司里什么都有。公司里有一个特别大的食堂，他们可以在里面吃早饭，午饭和晚饭，而且免费，也就是不用钱。除了食堂，每天还有车送他们上班和下班，也是免费的。公司里也有很大的篮球场，网球场，健身房，还有洗车的店，理发店，甚至还有宠物中心。但是，后来杰凯发现，虽然公司里什么都有，但是大家都不用。比如，网球场只有在工作时间前和工作时间后开。他喜欢打网球，晚上七点以后去网球场，看不到人，因为大家还在加班。他还说，他以前经常去健身，但是开始加班后，他也没时间去健身了。因为他每天都要加班，他也没时间和他的妻子一起。
刚开始，他觉得有点累，但是还是很开心，因为在“大厂”的工资特别高。慢慢地，他越来越累，也越来越不开心。因为加班太多了，他觉得公司不尊重员工的时间，也不尊重员工的家人的时间。他在中国的社交媒体上发了一张自拍。自拍，也就是自己给自己拍照，拍自己的照片。中国网友说，他看起来太累了，就和其他中国打工人一样，有“班味儿（see episode 160）”。今年七月，杰凯没有再工作了。他又发了一张自拍，中国网友们说：“原来人不工作，真的会更好看！”
这就是杰凯在中国大厂工作的故事。你也会想跟他一样，在中国的大厂工作吗？
Hello everyone! Welcome back to MaoMi Chinese!
Recently, I came across a very interesting video online. In the video, there’s a British man who worked as a game designer at a large company in China for two years. He shared photos of himself over those two years. In the photos before he started working at the Chinese company, he looks quite happy. In the photos from when he had just started working there, he looks a bit tired but still relatively cheerful. In the photos taken after he had worked at the company for over a year, he looks extremely exhausted. Later, when he stopped working, he looked happy again. Chinese netizens called this the record of a Brit working at a “big factory” in China. But what is a “big factory”? And what’s it like working in one of these large companies in China? Let’s have a chat about it today!
The British man in the video is called Jack, and his Chinese name is Jie Kai. He was born, raised, and educated in the UK. He mentioned that, when he was at school in the UK, he would finish school at 4pm, and after school, he had free time to do whatever he liked. Every summer, he had a three-month holiday, and he often spent time with his friends, playing football, tennis, and video games. He was really into video games and found them fascinating, so he decided he wanted to work for a gaming company in the future.
After finishing secondary school, he went to the University of Manchester, where he studied Chinese and Spanish. Later on, he went to Beijing to study abroad. He said that while studying in Beijing, he made a lot of good friends and found China incredibly fun. After graduating from university, he wanted to work in China. He also met his wife, who is Chinese. In 2022, he landed a job at a major gaming company in China.
In China, people refer to these kinds of large companies as “big factories,” which literally means very large factories. Why do people call these companies big factories? In China, working in a factory is very tiring; workers have to spend long hours on the production line every day. The production line means that different people do different tasks, and in the end, they produce a finished product. Working twelve hours or even longer is quite common. In big companies, it’s similar. Employees do different tasks, but all their work comes together to create a product. They often have to work overtime as well. The 996 work system came from these large companies. Working in these big companies is a bit like working in a huge factory, so people call them “big factories.”
Jack shared many photos of himself while working in the “big factory”`. He mentioned that his company had everything. There was an enormous canteen where they could have breakfast, lunch, and dinner for free. Besides the canteen, they also had shuttle buses to take them to and from work every day, also free of charge. The company had large basketball courts, tennis courts, a gym, a car wash, a hair salon, and even a pet care centre. However, Jack later realised that, although the company had all these facilities, nobody used them. For example, the tennis courts were only open before and after work hours. He liked playing tennis, but when he went to the courts after 7pm, there was no one there because everyone was still working overtime. He also mentioned that he used to go to the gym regularly, but after starting to work overtime, he no longer had time for it. Since he was working late every day, he also didn’t have time to spend with his wife.
At first, he felt a bit tired but still quite happy because the pay at the “big factory” was really high. Gradually, though, he became more and more exhausted and less and less happy. Due to all the overtime, he felt that the company didn’t respect the employees’ time, nor did it respect the time of the employees’ families. He posted a selfie on Chinese social media. A selfie, of course, is a photo you take of yourself. Chinese netizens commented that he looked too tired, just like other Chinese workers, and said he had the “working class smell” (see episode 160). In July this year, Jack left his job. He posted another selfie, and Chinese netizens commented: “So it turns out that not working really does make you look better!”
That’s Jack’s story of working at a “big factory” in China. Would you want to work at a “big factory” in China like him?
糟糕！我不想这样的生活！好在我住在法国所以我们福利非常好。我们不需要上班，政府都给我们钱！工厂的工作对身体和灵魂不好。
这也太幸福了！