画大饼
huà dà bǐng
Drawing a big pancake — making empty promises, especially by bosses promising raises or promotions that never come.
Origin
Traditional idiom repurposed for modern workplace culture, describing hollow promises from management.
Examples
My boss loves to 画大饼 but never delivers.
又画大饼了，这次我不信了。(Drawing another big pancake, but I won't believe it this time.)
Related terms
草台班子
cǎo tái bān zi
Literally a 'straw-stage troupe' — any operation that looks official but is actually disorganized, unprofessional, and improvised; the viral extended form 'the whole world is one giant clown show' applies that to everything.
内卷
nèi juǎn
Involution — excessive, often pointless competition where everyone works harder but nobody gains more.
打工人
dǎ gōng rén
Working people / wage slaves — a self-deprecating term workers use to describe themselves.
996
jiǔ jiǔ liù
Working 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week — describes the grueling work culture in Chinese tech companies.