After 20 years in China, entrepreneur Adrian Diaz says retirement at 65 is a 'Western idea.' Chinese work to 70s-80s, skip vacation for 12 months, and take weekend jobs.
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Source: OT-Team(G), elEconomista
According to a report by Spanish business newspaper elEconomista, attitudes toward work in China differ dramatically from those commonly found in Western countries. The contrast extends beyond wages and employment conditions to a fundamentally different outlook on ambition, productivity, and the pursuit of income.
While retirement in many European countries typically begins around the age of 65, it is common in China to see people continue working well into their 70s or even 80s. Many remain economically active long after reaching retirement age, often working throughout the week rather than adhering to the conventional Monday-to-Friday schedule common in the West.
Against this backdrop, Adrián Díaz, a Spanish entrepreneur who has lived in China for two decades, says he struggles to understand the Western concept of the five-day workweek and the idea of working 11 months a year while looking forward to a month-long vacation.
Speaking in a recent episode of the podcast Un chino y medio, Díaz remarked: “If you enjoy going on vacation that much, then work only seven months a year.”
Díaz argues that individuals should be free to work “for as long as they feel they want to earn money,” describing the traditional Monday-to-Friday work model as outdated.
“Some people may want to work seven days a week, some six, and some only one,” he said. “It all depends on how much money they want to earn.”
He has previously noted that some of his employees seek additional part-time jobs on weekends if they have free time, reflecting what he sees as a mindset that values constant productivity. The same attitude, he says, often extends to vacation time.
Working 12 Months Instead of 11?
In Spain, labor law guarantees employees 30 calendar days of paid annual leave, a right that remains in place even during economic downturns.
Recalling the 2008 global financial crisis, Díaz said he encountered a very different perspective among Chinese workers. According to him, some asked whether they could forgo a year's vacation and work all 12 months instead.
“The idea was: you work 11 months a year—could we work 12 months for one year of our lives and give up that month of vacation?” Díaz recalled. “That would be unthinkable in Spain.”
The objective, he said, was straightforward: helping restore economic growth and recover GDP.
A Different View of Retirement
Díaz believes the contrast is equally visible in attitudes toward retirement, which he sees as part of a broader culture of work and ambition.
“No one has imposed the idea on Chinese people that they should work until 65 and then retire,” he said. “That is a Western convention.”
He also challenged common perceptions about retirement ages in China, arguing that formal retirement does not necessarily mean withdrawing from the workforce.
“People who say that Chinese men retire at 60 and women at 55 have never really been to China,” Díaz said. “Chinese people keep working throughout their lives.”
According to Díaz, many retirees continue earning income even after receiving pensions, whether by running small businesses, selling food from street stalls, or engaging in other forms of work.
For the entrepreneur, this work ethic helps explain China's economic achievements. He argues that many observers admire the outcomes associated with China's development model while overlooking the level of effort that often accompanies it.
“What many people want,” Díaz said, “is the results of the Chinese model without going through the hard work that Chinese people put in.”
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