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Hi, everyone, and welcome back to Happy Hour. 欢迎回来酒馆. Hi, 安澜.

Hi, Lulu, hi, everyone.

Can I propose a topic today?

Go for it.

Now, have you noticed how fierce and how competitive or even bad the job market has become?

Yeah, and it's not just in one or two countries, it's pretty much all over the entire world at the moment.

It's all over and companies are downsizing.

Yeah.

Pays are cut and things like 0-hour contract starts to come out.

Are you trying to tell me something?

Oh, it's not a hint. You can relax.

Okay,okay. Thank you, thank you.

So basically, we're very grateful that you guys are still listening to us.

Please do listen to us.

But to cope with that, many people now start to find or start to look for plan B.

Well, yeah. And there's actually a term for this now, career cushioning.

Career cushioning, career cushion. Cushion本来就是一个垫子.

Yeah.

那Career cushion被叫做职业或者职场缓冲. It's like your professional safety net.

Yeah.

Your plan B, in case you lose your current job.

Precisely. So today we're going to be diving into career cushioning, what it means, why it's become so popular, and whether or not it's a smart strategy or a sign that something is broken.

Yeah. We'll talk about the language, some of these you probably have heard already, side hustles, right, multiple income streams, passive income, skill stacking. And we will explore why this conversation is so popular right now.

Well, yeah. And also, the big question. If everyone has a backup plan all the time, what does that do to loyalty, to focus and also to mental health?

If you always have to look for a plan B, what about plan A?

Yeah.

So let's get into it.

So let's start with the basics. What actually is career cushioning.

Well, the term is actually borrowed from dating.

Okay.

You know what cushioning means, right? In romantic relationships, it means having another partner lined up, in case your current relationship fails.

That's awful.

I know, but have you never heard of 备胎?

I have, you know I always like to think that doesn't really happen.

Then you... chances are, you’re probably someone else's 备胎? You're probably someone else's cushion.

I… wouldn't surprise me.

Yeah. Sad to know that.

True.

But back to this, so career cushioning is just a professional version, developing plan B or backup options while you are still employed. So as to soften the blow, if you do lose your job or decide to leave.

Yeah. So, it's not about quitting, it's about preparing for all scenarios.

Yeah, it's really bracing for that crash landing so to speak.

Well, yeah.

And according to a 2023 survey, about more than 2/3 of workers in the US are now career cushioning in some form. So it's not just a niche for a few people. It seems to be the majority.

Well, yeah. So the question is, what does this actually look like in practice?

I guess it can take several forms. I mean you're a professional, you probably find this is very familiar, networking actively.

That's true.

You go to networking events.

Sometimes, you know. Not just within your company but across your industry and building relationships so that you have somewhere to turn if things go south, if things go badly.

Yeah. And you tell yourself it never hurts to build more connections.

But also investing in yourself, upskilling.

Upskilling is one of the hottest words in career world.

Well, yeah. And then you have side hustles. So upskilling is you learn the new skills to make yourself more marketable, whether or not your current job requires them.

So always have more to offer.

Yeah.

And then there's the side hustle. 中文叫副业.

Okay.

Yeah, so主业，副业. In English, you've got a main hustle, a main job and side hustle.

So it's a freelance work, the consulting or the small business that brings in an income, independent of your main salary, your primary salary.

If you go on social media, everyone is doing side hustle.

Yeah.

You literally cannot meet people without a side hustle, or at least they're thinking about starting a side hustle.

Yeah.

And of course there's the discrete job searching, the on-the-job job searching.

Okay.

The going on, the updating your CV while you're still employed.

Yeah.

And going on things like LinkedIn or in China Boss直聘.

Yeah. And now AI has sort of added to this because you can get AI powered side hustles. People that create content AI, Micro tools, optimization services, all with minimum technical expertise.

Exactly. You know, there's a 20 something making close to a mil a year just creating AI generated background noise for people to sleep to.

Okay, I'm in the wrong business.

Yeah, that is insane, but AI obviously enables just about anyone to career cushion.

Well, yeah. So here is a nuance, career cushioning itself isn't either good or bad. It depends on why you are doing it. If you are anxious about actual risks, layoffs, industry decline, a toxic boss, it's smart. If you're just restless and distracted, it might be a problem.

Yeah, I do agree. Remember I asked if everyone is so busy working on their plan B what about their plan A? So the cons are it can really distract you from your current job, your current role. It can create conflicts of interest. And also, if your boss finds out that you’re job hunting on the side, that could backfire.

Well, yeah. So essentially, it's a tool, it's not a solution, and you have to use it wisely.

Okay. So let's build up our career cushioning vocabulary.

Yeah.

Shall we? We talked about career cushioning. 这个职业缓冲; we talked about side hustle. 副业.

And also passive income.

被动收入. A lot of people also call this “睡后收入”.

Yeah.

Not in税后tax, but sleep. Like when you're sleeping, this is still making you money.

Well, yeah. It's the money that comes in without active work. So you might own a property and get rental.

Or you might, if you're really good, you might get royalties from the books or the works you've written.

Yeah, and then you get multiple income streams.

I love this, 就是多收入流.

That's something I’ve always tried to have. I think ever since the age of about 20, I always try to have about three income streams.

We are the same.

Yeah.

We really are the same. At my peak I had five different income streams.

Yeah.

I'm not one to save money, I'm more to explore more income streams.

Well, yeah. But then you also have gig economy income.

零工经济. A gig economy is a big word nowadays.

Well, yeah. It's the project based or freelance work which I still do nowadays as well.

And there are websites of platforms that allow you to do that like, whatchamacallit, Skillshare and Fiverr, these kinds of websites they're popping up where you can just put your credentials and your portfolio online. And if people need someone with your skill, they can just hire you for a gig work.

Well, yeah. Exactly.

But then, let's switch to skills, you talked about upskilling, 这个叫技能提升. Learning new skills for career development, advancement.

Or skill stacking.

Literally技能堆叠, combining multiple skills to create unique value.

Yeah.

I think I do this, skill stacking.

Yeah.

You combine a few things.

Yeah. And once you do all of this, then it's important to have strategic visibility.

What does that mean?

So this means to be seen as valuable within your own network, your own professional network,

就是你的职场人脉, and you need to stay visible.

Yeah.

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文稿校对：梅薇薇 & Jenny

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