If you want to give birth, let the migrant workers off work first

Overtime makes young people "have no time to have children" and "dare not have children for fear of unemployment". /"Twenty Not Confused 2"

"Eight hours to work, eight hours of sleep, minus the daily commute, meals and necessary household chores, people don't have much time for themselves. If you work 12 hours a day or more, it will definitely reduce the fertility rate. If the problem of excessive overtime is not solved, then there will be no other measures. ”

The hottest topics during this time are nothing more than part-time jobs and having babies.

On the one hand, the abolition of transfer and the mandatory implementation of paid annual leave, on the other hand, the exemption of tuition fees for children, the abolition of marriage restrictions on birth registration, etc., the two things do not seem to be related.

However, Jiang Shengnan, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, directly linked overtime to fertility.

Jiang Shengnan suggested strengthening the supervision of the implementation of the 8-hour work system, "Without solving the root causes of 'no time to have children' and 'afraid to have children for fear of unemployment' caused by overtime work, other ways to increase the fertility rate can only treat the symptoms but not the root cause." ”

In a word, let netizens like and forward. Some people praised the good proposal of the committee members, while others poured bitter water and further complained about the pain of overtime.

"I worked overtime until eight o'clock in the evening, and the next day my boss said that I left work too early and that the work was not saturated."

"The big factory has been working overtime for many years, and my health has gone wrong. But if you don't work overtime, I'm afraid that I won't be able to keep my job. ”

"From working with my eyes open until I went to bed, I simply didn't have time for myself, let alone take off the order and have a baby."

"The Woman Who Sold the House"

In recent years, the phenomenon of excessive overtime has been criticized and discussed from time to time, and the harm of overtime is also a cliché.

When it comes to fertility, everyone often revolves around two things: giving money and taking vacations. But is it enough to trade money for time and give the green light only to the rest days of workers during the reproductive period?

The problem of overtime, a breakthrough

Before becoming a member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference this year, Jiang Shengnan served as a deputy to the National People's Congress for five years.

Since then, many people have known the researcher and writer from Wenzhou University through her motion.

"It is recommended that the draft civil code delete the cooling-off period for divorce", "It is recommended to extend the paternity leave for men", "It is recommended that the abduction and sale of women and children be the same crime", "It is recommended that the 35-year-old limit be abolished for the civil service examination"... These bills concern the rights and interests of every ordinary person, so some people praise this deputy's "down-to-earth" is very valuable.

Jiang Shengnan, representative works "The Legend of Miyue", "Yan Yuntai", "Heavenly Holy Order" and so on.

Jiang Shengnan said in an interview with New Weekly that she did not deliberately think about which issues can resonate with people, but just delved into the problems she found before and found a new breakthrough.

"I have observed that there is a general '35-year-old' threshold for corporate recruitment, and many people may be unemployed by the age of 35." With past experience in politics, she will look for an issue with the smallest incision and the greatest prying force.

"For example, starting with the removal of the 35-year-old limit for civil servants. After mentioning it last year, I saw that some places have relaxed the age limit for civil service applications this year, and although there are additional conditions, at least they are loosened, which is a good start. ”

Every year, the National People's Congress and the National People's Congress receive a large number of proposals from all over the country, but which proposals can be paid more attention to and implemented faster depends on the feasibility.

"In fact, there have been similar suggestions before, but why have they not been implemented? I'll dig into the reasons behind it. Why are people unemployed at 35? Because I am older, I can't work extra classes. ”

"When I grew up, I understood Brother Octopus." /SpongeBob SquarePants

Jiang Shengnan did a simple calculation problem -

"996" seems to comply with the labor law's stipulation that overtime should not exceed 3 hours a day, but in fact it works a total of 72 hours per week, which is 60% more than the statutory 44 hours, which is equivalent to two people can do the work of three people.

Not to mention that in some enterprises where overtime is more serious, almost one person does the work of two people. "This will inevitably have an impact on the unemployment rate."

She also saw the impact of overtime on her physical health. A friend around her told her that she used to work overtime just to feel tired, but after the "yang", overtime would even feel breathless.

Workers' right to health and rest urgently need to be protected. "People are not machines, it is impossible to work with their eyes open, and they fall asleep when the work is over."

Behind the seemingly relaxed ridicule is the harm of overtime to health.

At the same time, the proposal also continues the focus on women's rights. Jiang Shengnan believes that if you want to increase the fertility rate, you need to really think about women.

"A lot of people push women to have children as soon as they see the fertility rate dropping. But has society taken into account the economic and time costs of childbirth? Is there a condition for women to have children with peace of mind? ”

From extending paternity leave for men to implementing an eight-hour workday, she hopes her voice will make a difference.

Jiang Shengnan talks about male paternity leave. /《What to do! Talk Show Special"

"We have been talking about the decline in fertility for several years. There must be more than one reason for the low fertility rate, but if the problem of excessive overtime is not solved, then other measures cannot be discussed. ”

She believes that "workers do not have time to fall in love, get married, take care of children, women face the dilemma of workplace and childbirth, if having children represents marginalization or even unemployment in the workplace, they will naturally prioritize survival." ”

Workplace and childbirth should not be a dilemma

In fact, whenever the fertility rate is mentioned, some netizens always say that they are too busy with work and have no time to get married and have children. This year, through the proposal to implement the eight-hour work day, such voices were finally heard.

"Eight hours to work, eight hours of sleep, minus the daily commute, meals and necessary household chores, people don't have much time for themselves. If you work 12 hours a day or more, it will definitely reduce the fertility rate. Jiang Shengnan said.

Moreover, childbearing often means women have to pay more. Not mentioning maternity leave, parental leave, just fixed prenatal check-ups during pregnancy, etc., will force women to reduce their working hours, resulting in their disadvantage in the workplace.

Gender discrimination in the workplace is not uncommon. /Weibo screenshot

On social media, we often see complaints directed at maternity workers. They have reasons not to work overtime, but the workload may be shifted to other colleagues. At the same time, they themselves lose out on promotion opportunities and even employment opportunities due to reduced work output.

Therefore, many women who choose to give birth still work overtime during pregnancy, and some even work until the last moment of labor. Replying to work messages just after giving birth, working overtime at home during confinement, and letting their children become "Internet left-behind children" after returning to the workplace are the true portrayals of many Internet factory mothers.

Jiang Shengnan talks about gender discrimination in employment. /《What to do! Talk Show Special"

Some scholars have pointed out that society only recognizes the value of paid work outside the family, and women as individual workers must prove their value through the workplace, and this concept of "work first" is obviously in conflict with the traditional requirement for women's "family first".

Even if "work first" is recognized, the workplace is cruel to women who are likely to have children. A post-95 girl who works in an Internet factory told New Weekly: "The women we can lead here have no children. But male leaders have children. ”

A study by Peking University showed that overtime did not significantly affect men's willingness to have children, but it did affect the willingness to have children in women who did not have children. This also reflects from the side that childbirth has a greater impact on women's workplace development, and the main responsibility for taking care of children remains with women.

After hearing about the hardships of childbirth in the workplace, young women are naturally cautious about it. And this is just to keep the job and realize self-worth.

Chizuko Ueno points out that "there is only a limit to what everyone can do in their own time." For women, work and childbirth are often incompatible.

But is this rightfully so?

When we discuss the phenomenon of overtime, it is also time to reflect on the impact of "workism".

Workism, that is, the belief that work is more important than the family, and the value of people lies in work. The highly educated elite saw work as central to their personal identity, and The Atlantic called this "faith" "workism."

In modern industrial society, work is not only a source of income for workers, but also a reflection of their social status and personal value. Since the work is significant, overtime has become acceptable.

"Proud Battle"

But when everyone agrees that work is more important than family, childbearing becomes "insignificant".

In November 2022, a joint study by the Family Institute and the Institute for Social Trends found that workist values are important factors in low fertility worldwide. Both men and women have a lower willingness to have children among those who value work more than their families. Such work-oriented values are undermining the effectiveness of national policies to encourage childbearing.

However, pure "workism" may underestimate the beauty of family life and the value of childbearing. On the one hand, the ultimate purpose of work is to live a better life; On the other hand, although fertility does not directly create value, it is "the reproduction of labor".

"I, get off work at the point"

No matter how important work is, pathological long-term overtime should not be a common phenomenon. "How to balance work and family" should not be a question that belongs to women alone, it may not even be a problem.

For millions of workers, work and life are equally important. Workplace and childbirth should not become a dilemma for ordinary people.

[1] I gave birth to a baby in an Internet factory, and my child became a "left-behind child"| Leopard change

[2] Working hours and young people's sexuality, intimacy and fertility intentions | ZHANG Chunni,PAN Xiuming. [J] Journal of Shandong Women's University

[3] Industrial Time and the Reproductive Experience of Working Mothers: An Ethnographic-based Survey | NIE Yan. [J] Youth Development Forum