Agony of Ageism: Why turning 35 is a ‘curse’ in China

They say your 30s are just your 20s with money. Having worked for a few years, you have made enough to enjoy the finer things in life. But not if you are living in China. Approaching the mid-30s is a reason for people to worry. It is the age, when the Chinese believe, they lose their appeal. They call it the “Curse of 35”.

The bitter truth of turning 35

Many Chinese white-collar workers fear that their job is under threat once they turn 35. They claim that companies do not prefer working with people who are above this age, according to a report by The New York Times (NYT). But what’s wrong with 35?

If the Curse is to be believed, employers consider hiring people in their mid-30s to be more expensive than fresh graduates. That’s not all. Middle-aged workers are also not willing to put in those extra hours and work overtime.

The “Curse of 35” is not a myth. Many companies hesitate to hire people in this age group. In fact, the Chinese government has made it official. It has capped the hiring age of most civil servant positions at 35, according to the NYT report.

The Chinese internet is abuzz with the “Curse of 35” phenomenon though there is no clarity on how it started or became viral. The job market remains weak in post-pandemic China and age discrimination is prevalent – it is not considered against the law.

A post that went viral online sums up the dilemma of the Chinese working class. “Too old to work at 35 and too young to retire at 60.” It refers to people not finding enough job opportunities in their 30s and the fact that the older generation may need to continue working with the government considering raising the retirement age in the country.

The Chinese fear turning 35 as more and more people in this age group are finding themselves without jobs. Flynn Fan told NYT that he worked until 11 pm for three months in 2021. But none of it mattered when the AI company that employed him in Shanghai decided to lay people off last year. At 35, he is unemployed. He has sent his résumé to 300 companies and landed 10 interviews but has no job offers yet. According to him, 35 is like a “plague”.

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.

Companies and their limitations

Companies in China are brazen about the fact that they want to hire younger people. A job posting at a firm that sells maternity products has set the age limit at 32.

Chinese companies like to chase the hottest trend instead of perfecting what they already have, Zhang told NYT. So experience and expertise aren’t the qualities they value most, the report says.

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.

Tang Ying, 36, was grappling with depression and insomnia as she feared she would lose her job at a small tech firm in Guangzhou. “Many places only want people under 35. I have been battling with this thought a lot,” she told the publication.

The pandemic only added made matters worse for those in their mid-30s. Nearly two-thirds of people aged 35 and above were laid off in March 2020 and were still looking for jobs in September, according to a report released by the Development Research Centre of the State Council, which was based on data and a survey from Chinese job portal Zhaopin.

‌The impact on social life

While age discrimination at work affects all older employees, people in their 30s, who are facing this problem for the first time, are the most affected. It’s the age when many in China take big life decisions about marriage and children. And with no job security, they are forced to put them on hold.

“Stay away from homeownership, marriage, children, car ownership, traffic and drugs, and you’ll own happiness, freedom and time,” the viral social media post said.

Thirty-eight-year-old Sean Liang is a victim of the “Curse of 35”. The tech support professional has been unemployed for the past three years and he blames his age for it. “… in the eyes of the society, people like me are obsolete,” he was quoted as saying by NYT.

He moved back to his village as he could not afford rent in Guangzhou in southern China. With no steady job, he is not married and while he loves children he does not believe he can give them a good life.

The “Curse of 35” is difficult to escape. It is haunting middle-aged China as they stare into an uncertain future.

With inputs from agencies

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