A year after Chinese youths turned to tree-hugging for stress relief, a new trend has emerged: cultivating bananas in the office. Yes, you read that right. This quirky practice, dubbed "stop banana green" ("ting zhi jiao lu" in Mandarin), has gained traction on Xiaohongshu, China's equivalent of Instagram, according to the South China Morning Post. So how does this work? Employees buy the "anxiety-busters" bananas when they are green. The bananas are then transferred to vases, the report stated. And, after some time - probably a week of nurturing - the bananas are ready to eat. This entire process is said to be a fun distraction from work tension in offices. "From lush green to golden yellow, every moment is filled with endless hope and surprises... Eat away the anxiety and let your troubles vanish," read a post shared on Xiaohongshu, the report said.
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Beyond that, it is also considered a way to foster better relationships at work by sharing these bananas with your colleagues. An online observer told the outlet that these "desktop bananas naturally generate conversation". In a few photographs going viral on the social media platform, one can also see bananas with names written on their skin before they are handed out to colleagues. Meanwhile, some believe that this trend is a mere marketing stunt by banana farmers to tackle the slump in sales.
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"Are bananas not selling well this year? I've seen this type of banana being advertised more than once, and they are more expensive than buying them directly," read a post by a Xiaohongshu user. Besides bananas, some young office workers are even growing pineapples in vases. Speaking about this latest trend, psychologist Yu Guangrui told Shanghai's Youth Newspaper, "Customising workstations according to personal preferences allows young people to create a sense of belonging and security in their own little space, helping them feel happier at work."
In order to alleviate stress, youngsters in China, where the average working week exceeds 49 hours, often look for various ways to tackle the problem.