“社畜”是什么梗？每个“社畜”身上会有你的影子吗

过度工作新模式的背后

剧《我们不能成为野兽》

Picture this all-too-familiarscenario:

想象一下这样一个非常熟悉的情景：

You spend an hour and a halfcommutingto work each way, five days a week, working overtime without pay.

你花一个半小时上下班，一周工作五天，无薪加班。

Half your weekends are taken up by business trips, while rare holidays get interrupted by pings from your clients, boss, and coworkers on WeChat—all needing an immediate reply, all hours of the day.

你的周末有一半被商务旅行所占据，而很少有的假日会被你的客户、老板和同事在微信上的不断打扰，所有这些都需要立即回复，并占用一天中的所有时间。

No choice but to put on a professional smile and carry on, because you are “社畜 (shèchù, corporate livestock),” and that’s your nature.

然而你别无选择，只能带着职业笑容继续工作，因为你是“企业家畜”，这就是你的天性。

Originating in Japan’s bleaklysubordinatebusiness culture, this expression is a combination of the Japanese words “会社 (corporation)” and “家畜 (livestock)”: grassroots employees penned-up in cubicles, working submissively, exploited and oppressed like draft animals.

“社畜”这一表达源于日本黯淡的从属商业文化，是日文“社（公司）”和“畜（牲畜）”两个字的结合：底层员工被关在小隔间里，听话地工作，像牲口一样被剥削和压迫。

The phrase first appeared onscreen in the 2018 Japanese TV series We Cannot Become Beasts, which featured a downtrodden white-collar worker as the female lead.

这个词语最早出现在2018年日本电视连续剧《我们不能成为野兽》的银幕上，该剧以一位饱受压迫的白领为女主角。

It went viral, picked up by viewers who found it anaptdescription of their own destinies.

“社畜”在网上疯传，被那些认为是对自己生活贴切描述的观众所接受。

The term found an enthusiastic reception in China, which saw an online movement earlier this year against the punishing “996” (9 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week) schedule in IT and other industries.

这个词在中国引起了热烈的反响，今年早些时候，中国在网上掀起了一场反对IT和其他行业“996”（每天早上9点到晚上9点，一周6天）时间表的行动。

Since the word “livestock” is typically an insult in Chinese, 社畜 tends to be used in self-mockery:

由于“家畜”一词在汉语中通常是一种侮辱性的词，因此“社畜”往往用于自嘲：

Get up earlier than roosters, stay up later than dogs, work more than cattle, and eat worse than pigs—that’s our life as corporate livestock!

起得比鸡早，睡得比狗晚，干得比牛多，吃得比猪差——这就是我们社畜的人生！

过劳死

Pressure from work can be lethal. The term “过劳死 (guòláosǐ, death by overwork)” also came to China from Japan.

工作的压力是致命的。“过劳死（过度劳累致死）”一词也从日本传入中国。

过劳肥

However, compared to dying, Chinese livestock seem worried more about the possible havoc that overwork may wreak on their health and appearance, leading to avariationof the term: “过劳肥 (guòláoféi, obesity by overwork).”

然而，与死亡相比，中国的“社畜”似乎更担心过度劳累可能对他们的健康和体型造成的影响，从而导致了术语的别类变化：“过劳肥”

Research shows that long working hours, irregular eating habits, and lack of sleep can lead to obesity.

研究表明，长时间工作、不规律的饮食习惯和缺乏睡眠会导致肥胖。

However, when you want to find an excuse for those extra pounds put on during Chinese New Year, “过劳肥” is a handy term to use.

然而，当你想为春节期间增加的体重找个借口时，“过劳肥”是一个很方便的术语。

After all, no one should be blamed for working too hard.

毕竟，工作非常努力的人不应该受到责怪。

I’m not fat, I’m suffering weight gain due to overwork!

我不是胖，我是过劳肥！

熬夜秃

Receding hairlines are another problem.

另一个问题是发际线的升高。

Stress and lack of sleep are blamed for causingprematurebalding among millennial livestock—or 熬夜秃 (áoyètū, all-nighter baldness). So if you see your fellow staying late in the corporate barn, kindly remind them:

压力和睡眠不足是导致“社畜”过早秃顶或叫“熬夜秃”。因此，如果你看到你的牲同伴在公司谷工作到很晚，请提醒他们：

Go home and sleep soon, or risk going all-nighter bald!

早点儿回去睡觉吧，小心熬夜秃！

Humorously speaking,maybe lay off the burgers and fried chicken for a while—after all, you are what you eat.

幽默地说：暂时也不要吃汉堡和炸鸡了，毕竟你吃的就是你自己呀。

scenario [snrio]设想；情景

例句：

Discovering your child takes drugs is a nightmare scenario for most parents.

对大多数父母来说，发现自己的孩子吸毒简直就是场噩梦。

commute[kmjut]上下班往返

例句：

Mike commutes to London every day

迈克每天都去伦敦上班。

subordinate[ sbrdnet]下级;部属

例句：

Sixty of his subordinate officers followed his example

他的60个下级官员都以他为榜样。

apt [pt]恰当的;易于…

例句：

This type of weather is apt to be more common in winter.

这种天气在冬季往往更为常见。

variation [verien] 变化，变更

例句：

This delicious variation on an omelette is quick and easy to prepare

这种稍加变化的可口煎蛋卷做起来又快又容易。

premature[primtr] 未成熟的;过早的;提前的

例句：

The premature celebrations of last night seem not to have been repeated during the day.

昨晚提前举行的庆祝活动在今天白天没有重演。