Did you know that fake coworking spaces have recently appeared in China, where employees - mostly young people - can still pretend to be working after losing their jobs. They get up every day, pretending to go to work, in an attempt to make a favorable impression on their parents. The coworking space, however, is often paid for by the parents as well.
Well, the girlfriend of the user u/Stock_Case_7184, the narrator of today's story, could very well have used such a coworking space if it existed in the US. At least, the woman successfully fooled her boyfriend for almost six months, pretending to be working. Okay, let's just cut to the chase now.
More info: Reddit
Many young Chinese people, after losing their jobs, still pretend to have one, paying for special fake coworking places - so did this American lady
Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The author of the post is 32 years old, he has a well-paid job, and covers almost everything but food and cleaning in their couple's life
Image credits: wayhomestudio / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Recently, the man suspected something strange in his girlfriend's tax documents, but she just shrugged it off
Image credits: margonikolskaya / Freepik (not the actual photo)
However, she confessed later that she lost her job about six months ago and pretended to still work, taking money from her dad and collecting debts
Image credits: Stock_Case_7184
Then the woman confessed that she impulsively quit, and was too embarrassed to tell this to her boyfriend
So, the Original poster (OP) tells us that he and his girlfriend usually had separate financial responsibilities. The man usually took care of the apartment, the cars, and utilities, and the woman provided food. Our hero admits that he earns enough to support them both. Still, their relationship has developed so that the girlfriend pays for food and cleaning out of her salary.
And so, in recent months, the author began to suspect that something was wrong with his partner's gross income. More precisely, it was listed as incredibly low on her tax documents. Our hero assumed this was a mistake, and the woman confirmed that they had switched payroll providers at work. She said she would log in and get another one soon, but time passed, and nothing changed.
And finally, the girlfriend confessed to the author that she had been fired from her job six months ago, and all this time she had been asking her father for financial assistance and collecting debts via credit card. Moreover, upon detailed questioning, our hero also discovered that no one had actually fired her - she had quit impulsively, because she just didn't like her job.
The woman confessed to the OP that she just felt too embarrassed to tell him about it, and with each passing day, her resolve just waned. The author was surprised because, from his perspective, if the girlfriend didn't have a job, she could help around the house - but she never cooked or cleaned. And now he's in two minds about how to perceive this and what to do next.
Image credits: gorynvd / Freepik (not the actual photo)
In fact, in recent years, statistics on impulsive quitting among workers - especially among young people - have shown a rising trend. For example, CNBC claims that by 2023, 72% of Gen Z and 66% of millennials said that they were contemplating a career change in the next 12 months. These figures have only increased in recent years.
Among the main reasons for such behavior, this study published at the National Library of Medicine cites, in particular, "stagnation in career exploration," "low evaluation from affiliation," "upward comparison of careers between friends and acquaintances," and "lack of work-life balance." At the same time, other studies show that young people are more likely to seek exciting, enjoyable jobs.
"Rather than being trapped in jobs with low pay or unstable schedules, these workers sought out roles that were a better fit for their own personal and professional goals," notes Daniel Schneider, Malcolm Wiener Professor of Social Policy. On the other hand, accumulating debt and deceiving significant others is definitely the wrong approach.
By the way, as we said, the author's girlfriend isn't actually alone in her approach. For example, various media have repeatedly reported on the phenomenon of young people having lost their jobs, still pretending to be at work. For social media, to impress their parents, to avoid "losing face." Some similar cases have already occurred in Western culture, too.
In the comments to the original post, the author noted that he is 32 years old and his girlfriend is 29, so the emotional immaturity sometimes characteristic of teenagers cannot be blamed here. Many commenters expressed extreme bewilderment at the woman's behavior and even called on the guy to reconsider this relationship. So what do you, our dear readers, think about this case?
Many commenters claimed that this was way too immature on the woman's side, and some folks even urged the man to reconsider this relationship
