A piece of video produced by Tencent News portrays the root of workplace anxiety in China, namely, financial worries, interpersonal relationship, and endless overwork. This video contains the fact and data of workplace stress in China, but focuses on individual’s story: a 26-year-old young man who thinks he cannot afford a house, and a subordinate white-collar who has dreams. China is increasingly taking its anxiety and dream as an individual matter, not a collective one.
This paper believes that as the growth slows, national rejuvenation, officially named Chinese dream conflicts with the public’s hope and fear, which will lead to further cognitive dissonance. The state media and government agencies keep focusing on official’s achievements, economic development and other positive news, while most Chinese people pay more attention to food safety, goods quality and medical safety and so on.