Work & Burnout
打工人
dǎ gōng rén
In English
wage slave / fellow worker bee
Illustration
coming soon
Declining · Fading but still aliveliterally: person who works for a boss
What does 打工人 mean?
A self-deprecating but oddly proud badge for the everyday wage earner grinding through their job.
Hear it explained
Short audio explainer coming soon.
Example
早安,打工人!
Zǎo'ān, dǎgōngrén!
Morning, fellow wage warriors!
What 打工人 goes with
打工人打工魂dǎgōngrén dǎgōng húnworker by day, worker at heart (meme)
资深打工人zīshēn dǎgōngrénveteran wage worker
Where 打工人 comes from
A 2020 wave of motivational-but-ironic memes turned the daily grind into a shared identity. Still used, but the meme energy has faded.