Hangzhou "Pretend to Work" Company Becomes a Viral Sensation: Some "Employees" Earn 70,000-80,000 Yuan Per Month
Last July, a Hangzhou company named "Pretend to Work Unlimited Company" emerged and quickly went viral online with its counterintuitive "pay-to-work" model, sparking widespread discussion. Seven months later, the company, once predicted to fail within three months, not only survived but also transformed, astonishing many.
It is reported that the company's founder is a post-90s entrepreneur who initially established the company to help a friend's newly graduated child solve the problem of "lying flat at home." Its initial positioning was to provide "workplace experience" for confused young people.
Applying to "join" the company is very simple: fill out an application form, undergo a "pretend interview," receive an employee ID card, and pay a fee to start "working."
"Employees" can choose to pay daily (30 yuan/day) or monthly (299 yuan), the latter being more cost-effective, and can "work overtime" until midnight if they wish.
The company has a 400㎡ office space that provides workstations, high-speed internet, conference rooms, reception areas, a live streaming room, and tea/coffee services.
In an interview with the media, the company's founder stated that the clientele for pretending to work is shifting from seeking the feeling of going to work to light entrepreneurship. Currently, there are approximately 20 stable "employees" per day, with peaks reaching 50. They are mainly divided into three categories: light entrepreneurs, freelancers, and people in workplace transition periods.
Thanks to the regular schedule and improved focus provided by the office environment, some "employees" can efficiently handle their own work and have even achieved a monthly income of 70,000-80,000 yuan, becoming loyal customers here.