Work & Hustle2023informal

下班脑

xià bān nǎo

Off-work brain — the mental state of only thinking about leaving work, having zero motivation.

Origin & Background

Viral trend in 2023 describing workers who are physically present but mentally already checked out.

Examples

I have serious 下班脑 today — can't focus on anything.

一到下午三点就开始下班脑了。(Off-work brain kicks in at 3pm.)

Related Slang

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.

卡点

kǎ diǎn

Arriving at exactly the last possible moment — being precisely on time with zero margin.