打工人 went viral in September 2020 when a construction worker posted a series of self-motivating videos on Bilibili with the catchphrase '早安，打工人' (good morning, workers). The phrase resonated because it was simultaneously self-deprecating and empowering. Previous slang like 社畜 (corporate livestock, borrowed from Japanese 社畜) was purely negative. 打工人 said 'yes, we're all just workers — and there's dignity in that.'

The meme spawned an entire genre of 打工人 morning motivation posts: '打工人，打工魂，打工都是人上人' (Worker person, worker soul, all workers are the best of people). These posts were shared ironically but also sincerely — a dual register that made the meme resilient. It connected the traditionally separate categories of 白领 (white collar) and 蓝领 (blue collar) under one umbrella: we're all 打工人. The term pairs naturally with 996 (the schedule), 内卷 (the competition), and 摆烂 (the exit).