No job, no problem? The rise of China’s resignation bloggers

(Reporting by China Desk intern Zhang Guanghui)

At age 30, Lu Xixi resigned from the internet company ByteDance without securing another job (the Chinese call this luoci 裸辞, which literally translates to “naked resignation”). Instead of finding a new job, she shared her experience of resigning from an internet giant on social media platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin, amassing over 120,000 followers.  

Lu said that through livestreaming sales, advertisements and knowledge payment, she was able to earn over 50,000 RMB (roughly US$6,905) in August this year. 

Chinese social media platforms have recently seen a proliferation of “self-media” bloggers like Lu, who launched their online careers after quitting their jobs.

Citing data analysis platform Feigua (飞瓜), Chinese media Yicai reported that participants in the topic “I resigned” on Xiaohongshu increased by 21,232 people in the first half of the year, with most of them being former employees of internet companies such as ByteDance, Tencent and Alibaba.

Posting a photo of their work badge on resignation day, along with attention-grabbing captions like “one ‘like’ and I quit”, is a typical starting move for many of these bloggers to gain initial traffic and followers, earning them the label of “resignation bloggers”.

Xia Zhinan, dean of Newrank Research Institute (新榜研究院), a new media research organisation, told Lianhe Zaobao that China’s employment pressure has been high in recent years, with internet companies routinely cutting costs, boosting efficiency and laying off employees. The surge in resignation bloggers reflects the younger generation’s dissatisfaction with traditional workplaces and work styles.

He said, “Many people follow resignation bloggers as a form of emotional projection. These bloggers quit their jobs and pursue lives that others only dream of — it is a vicarious resignation for their followers.”

Lu’s resignation last October coincided with growing public discussion about employment issues in China.

According to Xiaohongshu statistics, workplace-related posts were up 132% year-on-year in September last year. Before that, after youth unemployment rates hit a record high of 21.3% following three consecutive months above 20%, the Chinese government suspended publishing related data. 

Lu said when interviewed, “Back then, my husband and I were both working at internet giants and the layoffs were brutal. We were both almost 30, and it was very likely that we would’ve lost our jobs if we continued grinding away at these big tech companies.”

The internet industry is a key driver of employment in China, but it is seeing persistent layoffs in recent years. Last year, Alibaba laid off about 20,000 employees, the most in a decade; Tencent’s workforce also shrank by roughly 3,000.

Lu Xixi compares resignation blogging to ride-hailing and food delivery gigs, seeing all three as common fallbacks for the unemployed. “It’s like a reservoir for the unemployed,” she said.

Much like Lu, a blogger known as Yuanbaomei (元宝妹) worked for three internet firms, enduring a near-constant workload for six years after graduation, rarely taking more than a day off. She even had to work on her laptop during a trip to Tibet, pushing her to her physical limits. 

“Cars need maintenance; so do people,” she said.

On the day she submitted her resignation in April this year, she wrote on social media: “If leaving a job that makes me unhappy can unleash ten times the energy and drive to impact a hundred times more people, why shouldn’t I?”

But leaving the involuted internet industry also comes with new challenges.

When she resigned, Lu leveraged her work experience and posted content such as “I quit from an internet giant and can finally tell the truth”, garnering over 1,000 likes and quickly earning her a following and even advertising deals. But income from advertising deals was nowhere near her previous salary, and the absence of advertising opportunities during the off-season led to periods of anxiety and uncertainty.

Lu realised that she could not just be a blogger; she also had to “do business”. She started to host livestream sales and offered paid consulting services to those seeking job interviews and self-media management expertise, gradually boosting her income.

She now sees herself as a “one-person company” — while it is a lot of work, she finds true joy in doing what she is passionate about. 

“I crave freedom and would prefer not to work for someone else if possible. Furthermore, the stigma against my age and the fact that I’m married without children is practically a career killer,” she said.

But it is not all sunshine and roses for these resignation bloggers. A month after resigning, Yuanbaomei lamented on her Xiaohongshu with 15,000 followers that even as a resignation blogger, financial pressures and stress remain. 

“I earn more than I did at my job, but I still feel anxious,” she remarked.

She told Lianhe Zaobao that she feels fearful every time she makes money. “Is this money going to last? Will I be able to make this much again?” she questioned.

Yuanbaomei subsequently had an epiphany: she needed the psychological safety net of employment in the internet sector to maintain a structured routine and her mental well-being. In July, she ended her two-month hiatus and returned to the workforce.

Chinese recruitment platform Liepin (猎聘) noted that resignation bloggers are going quiet and gradually returning to the workforce.

Xia observed that most resignation bloggers are unable to maintain their careers for a long time. “Creating and managing content every day is incredibly time-consuming and demanding, generally sustainable for about six months. If they can’t generate traffic and monetise their content through advertising or sales, resignation bloggers quickly face income problems,” he noted.

The Xi’an cyberspace administration office of the Chinese Communist Party posted an article in July asserting that while it is courageous to resign to reset one’s life, individuals have to carefully consider if they can survive without a job.

The article also emphasised that alleviating workplace anxiety requires fostering respectful and equitable labour relations, addressing company policies such as excessive overtime and undue pressure, and protecting employee welfare.

Latest statistics from China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed that the jobless rate for 16-to-24-year olds in China, excluding students, stood at 17.6% in September, the second highest figure recorded this year.

Zou Sheng, an assistant professor at Hong Kong Baptist University’s School of Communication, told Lianhe Zaobao that the fact that resignation bloggers are able to resonate with the public reflects the growing prevalence of instability in career development, anxieties about the job market and a trend among young people towards more unconventional career paths.

He pointed out that producing and consuming the content of resignation bloggers is somewhat like “a shared process of emotional catharsis”.

Xia said that discussions about resignation bloggers are still gaining traction on Xiaohongshu and Douyin, noting that “this is fundamentally a product of the times”.

While Yuanbaomei dislikes the “resignation blogger” label, she does value her unique experiences as a content creator. She said that the Chinese are constantly being “pushed” along a prescribed path throughout their life, from education to marriage and children. It is therefore worthwhile, she argues, for people to step away from societal expectations and take the time to find a path they truly love.

This article was first published in Lianhe Zaobao as “就业压力大裁员成常态 中国职场人做起“离职博主””.

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