Chinese people more tolerant of flexible working arrangements: survey

BEIJING - The internet has changed the way in which people work, and they are more accepting of "non-traditional" working hours and freelance projects, according to a survey.

Nearly 80 percent of the 2,000 respondents said they approve of young people doing flexible jobs such as home tutors, freelancers or jobs related to the sharing economy such Uber or Airbnb services.

The survey, published on Tuesday by China Youth Daily, said 72.3 percent of respondents were interested in self-managed, flexible jobs.

Wang Jiale was one of these people. He has been a math tutor in Beijing for more than two years. Wang said, initially, the job was only meant to be temporary while he looked for a permanent position following graduation. However, he found he could earn up to 9,000 yuan ($1,384) per month, a wage on par with many stable jobs.

Wang's parents, however, still wanted him to find a stable job, even if it meant he would take a salary cut.

Many people like Wang search for jobs on the internet, the survey showed. The internet has changed the working landscape in China, a country that only began to embrace the market economy some 30 years ago.

In recent years, even the number of people applying for the civil service exam -- a solid, secure, government job -- registered a decline.

Of the respondents, 47.6 percent were from private companies or joint ventures, 19.4 percent from public institutions, 16.4 from state-owned enterprises and 7.4 percent were freelancers.