Tough job and housing markets have graduates questioning whether the old bargain of hard work bringing progress and stability still applies
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenKen IpDr Ken Ip is an assistant professor specialising in business innovation and entrepreneurship at Saint Francis University, Hong Kong. Published: 5:30am, 6 Sep 2026Hong Kong has always had a simple answer to what young people should do with their lives: study hard, get a job, work harder, buy a flat and eventually complain about the next generation. That formula is becoming harder to sell.A whole lexicon has grown up around Generation Z’s uneasy relationship with work. In mainland China, there are “full-time children”, young adults who stay home and receive an allowance from their parents in return for doing household chores and running errands. Elsewhere, there is the “kangaroo tribe”, an updated version of adults remaining financially dependent on their parents. There are Neets, or young people not in education, employment or training.While the labels differ, the underlying phenomenon is harder to ignore. More young adults are struggling to make the traditional transition to independence.
