Chapter 1315 The Relationship Between Work State and Suffering Travel

With a touch of smugness, Zhang Yuan explained his心得 (xinde, insights) to Zhang Nan in detail, using a "three-step" approach.

First, he introduced Zhang Nan to the latest theoretical achievements researched by Wu Bin from the Human Resources Department.

Second, combining the list of suffering travel participants, he looked for commonalities among the heads of departments who were selected to go and those who were not.

Third, he conducted a comprehensive analysis to find a solution.

If he wasn't particularly sure before, now that the second round of suffering travel participants was out, Zhang Yuan's conjecture had been fully validated.

On one hand, those he had previously identified as safe, such as Chen Kangtuo of Jingji Lushe (Thriller Hostel), remained safe.

On the other hand, the department heads he previously thought were in danger were all caught.

As for himself, he successfully escaped this calamity by putting on a show during the Gog Global Invitational Tournament's offline viewing event!

With so much verification, Zhang Yuan was extremely confident in his theory, even to the point of being deeply convinced.

President Pei's deeper intention was to guide everyone to break free from the alienation of labor, to work happily and creatively, so as to unleash their greatest potential!

Zhang Nan was stunned.

At first glance, the theory sounded quite outrageous, completely unreasonable!

But after Zhang Yuan explained the reasoning process of the theory, especially after each step aligned perfectly, Zhang Nan felt that this theory was so comprehensive and complete that it was simply unassailable!

After considering for a moment, Zhang Nan said, "Listening to you, it does make a lot of sense!"

"This should be the closest explanation to President Pei's original thinking."

"But I still have something I don't quite understand."

"The logic in the front is very smooth, such as 'alienation of labor,' the separation of work and entertainment, and the division of the department heads, all are very clear."

"But… how are these theories related to suffering travel?"

"Why is suffering travel the way to correct 'alienation of labor'?"

Zhang Yuan seemed to have considered this question long ago, and smiled, "This is actually very easy to understand."

"I didn't understand it at first, but after the second batch of names came out, I discussed it with Wu Bin again and learned about his latest theoretical achievements."

"Only then did I suddenly realize that everything is connected!"

"In fact, suffering travel itself is a standard template for the alienation of labor."

Zhang Nan asked in surprise, "Why?"

Zhang Yuan patiently explained, "Travel itself, isn't it happy?"

"Of course, it's happy."

"When people take the initiative to travel, they can choose their own time, place, and way of traveling. In this state, traveling is of course a happy thing."

"When you arrive in a new place and see new scenery, even if you've traveled a long distance, with all the bumps and exhaustion along the way, you still enjoy it."

"But suffering travel completely changes the nature of travel, from voluntary travel to forced travel, becoming a very serious matter."

"You can't choose your own time, place, or way of traveling, but others choose for you; the travel process is planned with strict itineraries and goals that must be achieved; the purpose of travel is no longer happiness, but to complete the established tasks…"

"If you compare it, aren't there many similarities with the 'alienation of labor'?"

Zhang Nan nodded thoughtfully, "Hmm… indeed."

"The commonalities are still very obvious. Labor and travel were originally subjective, free, and somewhat creative activities, but after alienation, they have become passive, forced, and painful activities."

"The process of this transformation, and the results of the transformation, are quite similar."

Zhang Yuan continued, "This is actually difficult to detect because of long-standing ingrained thinking."

"Most people naturally believe that work and entertainment are separate, distinct, and completely different in nature. In ingrained thinking, we believe that work is tiring and painful, while travel is free, relaxing, and entertaining."

"Therefore, it is difficult to think of the commonalities between work and travel."

"But in fact, in their most original state, the two are highly similar in nature."

"This is actually difficult to understand, but once you understand it, you will have a feeling of sudden enlightenment."

Zhang Nan thought carefully, "So, President Pei arranged suffering travel to make these department heads understand this principle? To change their mindset?"

"But this seems a bit far-fetched, after all, although these department heads can be said to be workaholics, work does bring them some fun, and suffering travel… has no fun at all?"

Zhang Yuan shook his head slightly, "There is fun, but the nature is different."

"The fun that workaholics get from their work is not the original fun of work."

"What drives workaholics to work is often a sense of responsibility, a habit developed from childhood, the goal of promotion and salary increase, and the stimulation of various complex factors."

"The most original fun of labor is the joy of creation, the joy of having one's intelligence displayed."

"These two kinds of fun are essentially different and should not be confused."

"If confused, it is easy to fall into a state of suppressed creativity without realizing it."

"It is precisely because the alienated state of labor has taken root and become commonplace that President Pei has to change to a carrier like 'travel,' so that it is easier to understand the irrationality of the alienation of labor."

Zhang Yuan elaborated a little more.

Obviously, most of this theoretical knowledge came from Wu Bin, and Zhang Yuan was just restating it in his own understanding.

On the surface, workaholics can also get pleasure from work, but what they get is not the most original pleasure of labor.

Workaholics also have a sense of accomplishment after completing their work, but this sense of accomplishment comes from the following aspects:

First of all, a sense of responsibility, because work and entertainment are strictly separated, so work is regarded as "just, reasonable, and noble," while entertainment is regarded as "unjust, decadent, and time-wasting."

Therefore, in the eyes of workaholics, work has a strong legitimacy. When spending a lot of time working, although they cannot feel the original joy of work, they will gain a sense of satisfaction that "I have been doing serious things and have not wasted time."

Secondly, it's a habit.

Most people are taught from childhood that you can't play, you have to study, you have to work hard, and you have to work hard to earn money. Studying and working are painful, but you have to endure and tolerate this pain, because that's what excellent people do.

Over time, "enduring pain" becomes a habit, and even becomes naturally adapted to it. Changing this painful state makes people uncomfortable.

Finally, there is the stimulus of goals.

The goal of many people's work is to complete KPIs, complete performance appraisals, get excellent grades in assessments, get promoted and get salary increases, and gradually get promoted in the workplace.

And this goal makes them like donkeys with carrots dangling in front of them, constantly pulling the mill with their heads down.

Of course, it is not to say that pursuing promotion and salary increases or emphasizing hard work and emphasizing a sense of responsibility is wrong.

Working hard is a professional spirit that should be encouraged.

But from another perspective, emphasizing the pain of work and emphasizing the legitimacy of work actually separates the joy of labor, allowing people to naturally accept the alienated state of labor.

Zhang Nan was a little puzzled: "But… doesn't this achieve the ultimate goal?"

If the ultimate goal is for employees to work hard, get promoted and get salary increases, and for the company to develop rapidly, then this goal has already been achieved by Tengda.

Why bother with its nature?

Zhang Yuan shook his head again, "Of course not!"

"These two states are actually essentially different."

"People can endure pain, and even ignore pain, but these pains will sooner or later backfire, but it's just a matter of more or less."

"Some people may not even feel the consequences at all, but that doesn't mean the consequences don't exist."

"If you think that work itself is a painful thing, and completing work comes from a sense of responsibility, and is to complete KPIs and established goals, then on the surface, you are indeed doing a good job, but in fact, you will not have the motivation to move to a higher level at all."

"Because the spirit of innovation requires immersion, joy, and a state of forgetting oneself and external things."

"If you think work is painful, then in the workplace, this pain will continue to accumulate; if you think the goal of work is to make money, then after a certain level, you will hate work."

"Some people say that when they have made enough money, they will enjoy life. In the final analysis, it is because they have set work and life against each other, and regard work as a painful means of making a living, rather than a fun part of life."

"Only by truly feeling the joy of labor can you fully unleash your imagination and creativity without damaging yourself."

"What President Pei needs is not a tool person who only has KPIs in his eyes and is focused on performance, but a responsible person who is full of imagination and creativity and can stand alone."

Zhang Nan suddenly understood, "I see!"

"In other words, suffering travel is actually a microcosm of the alienated state of labor. After the department heads feel this pain, they can better understand the wrong direction in their work and actively correct it."

Zhang Yuan nodded, "That's right."

"In fact, I have already felt this change."

"Before, in order to put on a show, I sang two songs on stage, and suddenly found that the effect was actually good!"

"Of course, I know my own singing level, but why are the audience so happy to see it? Obviously, this attitude of having fun with netizens and the spirit of entertaining the public has been affirmed by everyone, and has invisibly narrowed the distance between me and everyone."

"This is very inspiring for my next work!"

"If this is the case for the esports department, which is a relatively less creative department, then how much improvement will the creative exploration bring to the heads of departments such as games and movies?"