Zhang Yuan, with a slightly smug tone, explained his insights to Zhang Nan in detail, using a “three-step” approach.
First step: Introduce Zhang Nan to the latest theoretical findings developed by Wu Bin from the Human Resources Department.
Second step: Look for commonalities among the department heads who were selected for the suffering journey and those who weren’t, based on the list.
Third step: Comprehensive analysis to find a coping strategy.
If Zhang Yuan hadn’t been completely certain before, now that the list for the second suffering journey had been released, his conjectures had been fully validated.
On one hand, those he had previously confirmed as safe, like Chen Kangtuo from Thriller Inn, remained safe.
On the other hand, those department heads he had previously deemed to be at risk hadn’t escaped.
And he himself had successfully escaped by the skin of his teeth, thanks to his entertaining performances at the offline viewing events during the GOG Global Invitational!
With so much verification from different angles, Zhang Yuan was now extremely confident in his theory—one could even say he believed in it without a doubt.
Mr. Pei’s deeper intention was to guide everyone to break free from the alienated state of labor, to work happily and creatively, thereby unleashing their maximum potential!
Zhang Nan listened in a daze.
At first glance, this theory seemed quite absurd and completely illogical!
But after Zhang Yuan explained the reasoning process behind this theory, especially how every step fit together seamlessly, Zhang Nan felt that this theory was incredibly comprehensive and flawless—absolutely impeccable!
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Nan said, “The way you explain it, it does make a lot of sense!”
“This should be the explanation closest to Mr. Pei’s original idea.”
“But there’s still one thing I don’t quite understand.”
“The earlier logic all flows smoothly, like ‘labor alienation,’ the separation of work and entertainment, and the categorization of department heads—it’s all very clear.”
“But… how are these theories connected to the suffering journey?”
“Why is going to suffer the way to correct ‘labor alienation’?”
Zhang Yuan seemed to have considered this question already and smiled, “This is actually quite easy to understand.”
“At first, I didn’t understand either, but after the second batch list came out, I had another detailed discussion with Wu Bin and learned about his latest theoretical findings.”
“After that, I had a sudden realization—everything is connected!”
“In fact, the suffering journey itself is a standard template for labor alienation.”
Zhang Nan was puzzled, “Why?”
Zhang Yuan patiently explained, “Is traveling itself enjoyable?”
“Of course it is.”
“When people choose to travel on their own initiative, they can choose the time, place, and manner of travel. Under these conditions, traveling is certainly a joyful thing.”
“When you arrive at a new place and see new scenery, even if you’ve traveled a long distance with bumpy roads and exhausting journeys, you still enjoy the process.”
“However, the suffering journey completely changes the nature of travel, turning it from voluntary travel into forced travel, making it a very serious matter.”
“You can’t choose the time, place, or manner of travel yourself—it’s chosen by others. During the journey, there’s a strict itinerary and objectives that must be met. The purpose of travel is no longer enjoyment but completing predetermined tasks…”
“Compare this, doesn’t it share many commonalities with ‘labor alienation’?”
Zhang Nan nodded thoughtfully, “Hmm… indeed.”
“The similarities are quite obvious. Labor and travel were both originally subjective, free, and somewhat creative activities, but after alienation, they both became passive, forced, and painful activities.”
“Both the process of transformation and the result are quite similar.”
Zhang Yuan continued, “This is actually difficult to realize because of long-standing habitual thinking.”
“Most people naturally believe that work and entertainment are separate and clearly distinct, with completely different natures. In our habitual thinking, we consider work to be tiring and painful, while travel is free, relaxing, and entertaining.”
“Therefore, it’s hard to imagine the commonalities between work and travel.”
“But in their most original states, their natures are highly similar.”
“This is actually difficult to comprehend, but once you do, there’s a sense of sudden enlightenment.”
Zhang Nan thought seriously, “So, Mr. Pei arranged the suffering journey to help these department heads understand this principle? To change their mindset?”
“But this seems a bit far-fetched, doesn’t it? After all, although these department heads could be called workaholics, work does bring them some pleasure, while the suffering journey… seems to have no pleasure at all?”
Zhang Yuan shook his head slightly, “There may be pleasure, but the nature is different.”
“The pleasure that workaholics get from work is not the most original pleasure of work.”
“What drives workaholics to work is often a sense of responsibility, habits formed since childhood, goals of promotion and salary increases, and stimulation from various complex factors.”
“The most original pleasure of labor is the joy of creation, the happiness of utilizing one’s intelligence and talent.”
“These two types of pleasure are fundamentally different and shouldn’t be confused.”
“If they are confused, it’s easy to fall into a state where creativity is suppressed without realizing it.”
“It’s precisely because the alienated state of labor has become deeply ingrained and normal that Mr. Pei needs to use ‘travel’ as a medium, making it easier to understand the irrationality of labor alienation.”
Zhang Yuan expanded on his explanation a bit more.
Clearly, the vast majority of the theoretical knowledge came from Wu Bin; Zhang Yuan was just repeating it based on his own understanding.
On the surface, workaholics can also derive pleasure from work, but what they get is not the most original pleasure of labor.
Workaholics feel a sense of satisfaction after completing work, but this satisfaction comes from several aspects:
First, a sense of responsibility. Because work and entertainment are strictly separated, work is viewed as “proper, reasonable, and noble,” while entertainment is seen as “improper, decadent, and time-wasting.”
So in a workaholic’s view, work has strong legitimacy. When spending a lot of time working, although they can’t feel the original pleasure of work, they gain the satisfaction of “I’ve been doing something proper and haven’t wasted time.”
Second, it’s a habit.
Most people are educated from a young age that they can’t play, they must study, they must work seriously, they must strive to earn money, and that learning and working themselves are painful, but they must endure and tolerate this pain because excellent people all do so.
Over time, “enduring pain” becomes a habit, and people even naturally adapt to it, so changing this painful state would actually make them uncomfortable.
Finally, there’s the stimulation of goals.
Many people work with the aim of completing KPIs and performance targets, excelling in assessments, getting promotions and raises, and advancing step by step in their careers.
This kind of goal makes them like donkeys chasing carrots, constantly grinding away with their heads down.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that pursuing promotions and raises or emphasizing serious work and responsibility is wrong.
Working diligently is a professional spirit that should be encouraged.
But from another perspective, emphasizing the pain of work and the legitimacy of work actually splits the joy of labor, making people naturally accept the alienated state of labor.
Zhang Nan was a bit confused, “But… hasn’t this already achieved the ultimate goal?”
If the ultimate goal was for employees to work diligently and get promotions and raises while the company develops rapidly, then Tenda had already achieved this goal.
Why still concern oneself with its nature?
Zhang Yuan shook his head again, “Of course not!”
“These two states are actually fundamentally different.”
“People can endure pain and even ignore it, but this pain will eventually backlash—it’s just a matter of degree.”
“Some people might not feel the consequences at all, but that doesn’t mean the consequences don’t exist.”
“If one believes that work itself is painful, and completing work stems from a sense of responsibility to meet KPIs and predetermined goals, then on the surface, the work might be done well, but in reality, there would be no motivation to strive for higher achievements.”
“Because the spirit of innovation requires immersion, enjoyment, and a state of forgetting oneself and the object.”
“If you believe work is painful, then this pain will continuously accumulate during work; if you believe the goal of work is just to make money, then at a certain point, you’ll grow to despise work.”
“Some people say they’ll enjoy life once they’ve earned enough money, which ultimately stems from setting work and life against each other, treating work as a painful means of livelihood rather than an enjoyable part of life.”
“Only by truly experiencing the joy of labor can one fully unleash imagination and creativity without depleting oneself.”
“What Mr. Pei needs are not human tools who only see KPIs and focus solely on performance, but department heads full of imagination and creativity who can stand on their own.”
Zhang Nan had a sudden realization, “So that’s it!”
“In other words, the suffering journey is actually a microcosm of the alienated state of labor. After experiencing this pain, the department heads can better understand the wrong direction in their work and actively make corrections.”
Zhang Yuan nodded, “Exactly.”
“I’ve already felt this change myself.”
“Earlier, for entertainment purposes, I went on stage and sang two songs, and suddenly found that the effect was quite good!”
“Of course, I’m clear about my own singing abilities, but why did the audience still enjoy it so much? Obviously, it was this attitude of having fun with the fans and the spirit of entertaining the public that won everyone’s approval, invisibly bringing me closer to everyone.”
“This has been very enlightening for my future work!”
“If even the esports division, a department that relatively doesn’t need much creativity, can benefit this much, then for departments like games and films, how much more improvement could the department heads gain from exploring creativity?”