Shanghai Lujiazui: 24/7 Work, DingTalk, and Longing for a Smaller City | 21 Nov 2022

Описание: 21 November 2022. Lujiazui, Shanghai.Same afternoon. Same college friend. We walked east along the Huangpu River. Blue sky, white clouds, gentle breeze. Perfect for talking.

———
First topic: DingTalk and WeChat.

“You know what,” he said, “phones aren't phones anymore. They're just extensions of our desks.”

After work? Group chats keep buzzing. On vacation? Your boss @s you. Wake up in the middle of the night, glance at your phone—200 messages in the work group.

“That ‘read receipt’ feature on DingTalk is inhuman,” he said. “If you've seen it, you have to reply. Not replying becomes an attitude problem. But seriously—11 p.m.—am I supposed to be reading this?”

A 2025 survey found that 65.4% of internet industry workers ranked “instant responses and friendly tone outside work hours” as their second biggest burden after overtime . As early as 2022, courts began hearing “invisible overtime” cases—an engineer named Wang won 19,000 RMB in overtime compensation after being constantly pulled into DingTalk meetings after hours .

“Technology makes it possible,” he asked. “But ethically—shouldn't there be limits?”

The river breeze blew. He didn't wait for an answer.
———
Second topic: Cixi and old classmates.

He's from Cixi, Zhejiang. Now settled in Shanghai. He goes back once or twice a year—dinner with old classmates, soccer games.

“Every time I go back, I feel a little envious,” he said.

Cixi is a powerhouse in Zhejiang's county-level economy. Its comprehensive competitiveness ranks 6th among China's top 100 counties . The income ratio between urban and rural residents has narrowed to 1.50 . His old classmates—some run small local businesses, some landed stable government jobs, some took over family factories.

“When they're off work, they're really off work,” he said. “Soccer is soccer. Drinking is drinking. Nobody pulls out their phones.”

In 2025, Cixi was named “Happiest City (County Level)” for the 11th time . Green at every window, parks at every doorstep. Morning views along Xinhe River,四季 in the forest park, small bridges and flowing water at Minghe Ancient Town—all part of daily life .

“Sometimes I think,” he paused, “grind it out in the big city till forty, then retire to Cixi. Would that be so bad?”
———
The Huangpu River flowed on our right. Lujiazui's skyscrapers stood on our left.

We walked a long time. No conclusions.

About technological ethics. About city choices. About that imagined “retire to Cixi at forty”—all floating there, like clouds across the river. Visible. Untouchable.

———
Where do we begin to understand a city?

We begin with its heights—Lujiazui's towers, the 8,000 financial institutions it attracts.

And we begin with its “human confusions”—one person's riverside complaints, that late-night work message on his phone, that flicker of longing in his eyes when he talks about home.

A city is an amplifier.
It amplifies opportunity. It also amplifies exhaustion.

#应该从哪里开始了解一座城市 #记录你身边的声音 #人间百态 #慢下来看世界 #职场那些事 #金融从业者 #人生哲理 #上海 #陆家嘴 #黄浦江 #慈溪 #幸福城市 #隐形加班 #钉钉
#WhereToBeginUnderstandingACity #RecordingTheSoundsAroundYou #HumanCondition #SlowDownSeeTheWorld #WorkLife #FinancierLife #LifePhilosophy #Shanghai #Lujiazui #HuangpuRiver #Cixi #HappiestCity #InvisibleOvertime #DingTalk #WanderingWithYeJun #YeJunsWorld #NotesOfAWanderer #WhereToBegin

2022年11月21日，上海，陆家嘴。同一个下午，同一个同学。我们从江边出发，沿着黄浦江往东走。蓝天白云，江风不大，适合聊天。

———
第一个话题，关于钉钉和微信。

“你发现没有，”他说，“现在的手机，根本不是手机，是工位的延伸。”

下班了？群消息还在响。休假了？领导@你。半夜醒来顺手看一眼手机，发现工作群里已经讨论了两百条。

“钉钉那个‘已读’功能，简直反人类。”他说，“你看了就得回，不回就是态度问题。可问题是，晚上十一点，我真的该看这条消息吗？”

2025年的一项调查显示，65.4%的互联网从业者将“线上秒回、语气友好”列为加班之外的第二大负担。而更早的2022年，已经有法院开始审理“隐形加班”案件——工程师王某因下班后频繁被拉进钉钉会议，最终获得1.9万元加班费赔偿。

“技术可以实现，但伦理上要不要制衡一下？”他问。

江风吹过来，他没有等答案。

———

第二个话题，关于慈溪和老同学。

他老家在浙江慈溪，现在定居上海。每年回去一两次，和中学同学吃饭、踢球。

“每次回去，都有点羡慕他们。”他说。

慈溪是浙江县域经济的排头兵，经济总量常年居全省县市首位，综合竞争力保持全国百强县第6。城乡居民收入倍差缩小至1.50，村级集体经济越来越强。他的那些同学，有的在本地做小生意，有的进了稳定的单位，有的干脆回家接手家族工厂。

“他们下班是真的下班。”他说，“约球就约球，喝酒就喝酒，没人掏手机。”

2025年，慈溪第11次获评“最具幸福感城市（县级市）”。推窗见绿、出门入园，新城河绿道的晨韵、森林公园的四季、鸣鹤古镇的小桥流水，成了市民的日常。

“我有时候想，”他顿了顿，“在大城市卷到四十岁，然后回慈溪养老，是不是也挺好？”

———
黄浦江在右边流淌，陆家嘴的摩天楼在左边矗立。

我们走了很久，没有结论。

关于技术伦理，关于城市选择，关于那个“四十岁回慈溪”的想象——它们都悬在那里，像江对岸的云，看得见，摸不着。

———
我们可以从何处开始了解一座城市？

从它的高度开始——从陆家嘴的摩天楼，从它吸引来的八千多家金融机构。

也从它的“人的困惑”开始——从一个人在江边的吐槽，从他手机里那条半夜弹出的工作消息，从他聊起老家同学时眼里那一点向往。

城市是放大器。
它放大机会，也放大疲惫。