Resilience in the Grind: The Quest for Agency and Emotional Resilience in China’s High-Intensity Workplaces

Contemporary young people in China are subjected to dual emotional and physical pressures within high-intensity, highly competitive work environments, frequently characterized by excessive overtime and disproportionate compensation. This paper employs three primary analytical frameworks—workplace burnout, personal agency reconstruction, and collective awareness—to examine how these young individuals gradually lose passion and inspiration under harsh working conditions and, over time, manifest various physical symptoms due to prolonged emotional suppression, resulting in a state akin to “learned helplessness.” Furthermore, this study explores how young people in “toxic” workplace cultures seek to regain a sense of control, redefine the meaning of life and work, and reestablish personal agency through psychological counseling, interest development, rational analysis, and self-management. This paper also considers how young people seek emotional resonance in collective actions and community support, using shared experiences and mutual aid to strengthen both individual and collective resilience, thereby fostering potential transformations in workplace culture. The findings reveal the diversity of strategies employed by individuals and groups to confront workplace pressures and highlight the dynamic adaptation and evolution of personal agency and social consciousness within the modern workplace environment.