A year after Chinese youth embraced trees for stress relief, a new trend has emerged: growing bananas in the office. Yes, you read that right. According to the South China Morning Post, the bizarre practice, called “Stop Banana Green” (“Ting Zi Jiao Lu” in Mandarin), has gained popularity on Xiaohongshu, China’s equivalent of Instagram. So how does it work? Employees buy the “anxiety-relieving” bananas when they’re green. The bananas are then placed in vases, the report says. And, after some time – perhaps after a week of caring – the bananas are ready to eat. The whole process is described as a fun way to distract from the stress of work in offices. “From lush green to golden yellow, every moment is filled with endless expectation and wonder… Banish anxiety and wash your troubles away,” the report says.
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Furthermore, sharing these bananas with your colleagues is also considered a way to build better relationships at work. An online observer told the outlet that these “desktop bananas naturally promote conversation”. In some pictures going viral on social media platforms, names can also be seen written on the banana skin before being handed over to colleagues. Meanwhile, some people believe that this trend is a mere marketing stunt by farmers to deal with the decline in banana sales.
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“Are bananas not selling well this year? I’ve seen this kind of banana advertisement more than once, and they’re more expensive than buying directly,” one Xiaohongshu user wrote in a post. Apart from bananas, some young office workers are also growing pineapples in vases. Talking about this latest trend, psychologist Yu Guangrui told Shanghai’s Youth Newspaper, “Customizing workstations according to personal preferences helps young people create a sense of belonging and security in their small space, making them feel happier at work.”
In China, where the average work week exceeds 49 hours, young people often seek different ways to cope in order to reduce stress.
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