Made in China : American Dreams

When Beijing Review first met Jeremy Su, he was surrounded by youthful vitality at a salsa dance night in a Chaoyang bar. Su, a former hotshot executive, was apparently a newcomer to the salsa scene, and it showed. Inclined to talk rather than shake his booty, Su was amicable but details he offered suggested he wasn't just new to Latin dancing, he was new to life--real living that is. Hell bent on achieving some version of the American Dream in China , he long neglected that reality wasn't feeling so hot. In our fourth of five articles in this series, which began in the No. 38 issue, Beijing Review examines the dark side of achieving the American Dream.

A Costly Dream

The pursuit of happiness isn't down the money trail, one former executive shows

By LIU YUNYUN

Jeremy Su's resume glows: President, Hypercom Corporation Asia-Pacific; General Manager, Sun Microsystems China; President, Bull Information Systems Greater China Operation, et cetera, et cetera.

But thanks to being laid off from Hypercom because of cost cutting, his heart, formerly crippled by his juggernaut career, is learning to beat again to the cadence of a balanced life and to the rhythm of romance.

When he's not learning to salsa dance, Su is furnishing his new house in Beijing and considering re-marrying.

Su regrets what happened to his marriage the first time around, a matter so apparent when we met at an elegant restaurant below his hotel apartment.

Basking in the pleasant atmosphere of bonsai and the most luxurious Beijing element--quiet--I asked Su what the happiest moment of his life was.

Jeremy smiled ephemerally, and answered, “The most miserable experience in life was getting divorced with my ex-wife.”

His demeanor quickly changed from being portly barrel of self-effacing humor to that of a deep well full of sadness.

“She is my first girlfriend, and we once led a happy life with our two children,” Su recalled.

But due to a mounting workload and his desire for success, Su scuttled his family for his version of the American Dream.

It's a phenomenon that happens far too often, revealing a darker, perverted side of this fantasy that could lead China 's hardworking nouveau riche--foreigners included--to the depths of misery if they're not careful.

Winning or losing?

Born of Chinese father and American mother, Su was raised in China but educated in the United States . One day in 1980, Su observed his two passports in hand when he had to decide his nationality for good.

He chose the U.S. passport because “it was convenient to travel with a U.S. passport, and that was when I decided my nationality.”

But traveling convenience later helped dig a grave for his family ties.

While working for Sun as general manager and later as corporate director, Jeremy seldom had a week that was marked “travel free.”

“When I worked as president and corporate director of Taiwan operations of Sun from 1992 to 1994, I had to go to the United States headquarters every three months with the rest of the time flying from this country to that country.”

During that period of time, in the region Su helped to turn Sun around, boosting revenues from $24 million to $80 million per year from the combined operations of Sun and its partner business.

But his family suffered.

Su's experience correlates with the results of a landmark study published in the November 2003 issue of Psychological Science . The first of its kind, it assessed the importance of financial success to more 12,000 college freshmen. About 19 years later, it probed their goal attainment and subjective well-being.

“The negative consequences [of the goal of financial success] were particularly severe for the domain of family life,” wrote lead author, Dr. Carol Nickerson, a psychologist with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. “The stronger the goal for financial success, the lower the satisfaction with family life, regardless of household income. Aspiring to and achieving the American Dream of financial success may have a dark side.”

Tim Kasser, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Psychology, Knox College in the United States , and author of The High Price of Materialism , outlined that dark side more broadly.

“Research shows that when people place a relatively high value on the acquisition of money, possessions, image, and status--some common elements of the American Dream--there are three kinds of problems that are likely to occur,” Kasser said.

First, he said, people who are more materialistic are less satisfied with their lives, report more depression and anxiety, experience more unpleasant emotions like anger and sadness and fewer pleasant emotions like contentment. Second, they are less likely to engage in positive and pro-social behaviors. Hence, they are more competitive, less empathic and more likely to cheat. Third, they live their lives in more ecologically damaging ways, using more resources and recycling less.

Still, Nickerson's study found that for those whose household incomes were in fact higher (regardless of their financial goals), overall life satisfaction was higher also.

“On average, wealthy individuals are somewhat happier than less wealthy individuals,” said Christopher Hsee, the Theodore O. Yntema chair professor at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. “Furthermore, what business success brings is not just financial benefits, but more important, it brings a sense of achievement.”

However, Hsee suggested desiring business success is different from being materialistic, and has different consequences.

“Various studies, including one we conducted in China , show that controlling for income, the more you believe in materialism…the less happy you are,” Hsee said. “Thus, if you are wealthy and you are not materialistic, you will be quite happy; if you are materialist but don't have much money, you will be quite unhappy. Our data [also from China ] suggest that the more you care about 'face,' the less happy you are.”

In the Chinese culture, the problem of “losing face” is a kind of embarrassment and often associated with a failure in either career or life.

Indeed, Su might have suffered from that homegrown China complex.

“The questions constantly going through your mind are: Is your boss satisfied with you? Is the working pressure heavy? Have you done a good job? Do the company and your colleagues recognize your work and are they pleased?” Su said.

Su noted the work pressure in listed companies was even heavier and performance was nearly everything that mattered.

“You just didn't have time to think whether you were happy or not,” Su said.

Back on track

Today, Su's life appears to be improving, and thankfully, not financially.

Su currently isn't working--taking a break for a while after he was laid off. Although headhunters are apparently after him, he has rebuffed them to date, pursuing writing a book on management in China .

A man like Jeremy certainly needn't worry about bread and butter. He's one of the major shareholders of a real estate company in Beijing founded by several Taiwanese.

“I only need to attend the shareholders' meetings and there is nearly nothing else,” said Jeremy, sounding relaxed for a change.

But Su isn't a money-making machine anymore, and his humanity is certainly beginning to shine through.

Su joked with me, remarking that he's “57th” ethnic group of China because of his mixed Chinese-foreign blood. China is known to have 56 ethnic groups.

“Sometimes people ask me which country I come from. When I say I come from China , they will examine my face and find hard to believe and ask me further if I was a minority like a Uygur or a Mongolian,” Su said. “Knowing they are getting confused, I will always tell them that I am the 57th ethnicity.”

Still, the cynicism of yore seems to still have a grasp, like some psychological scar of posttraumatic financial stress.

Because he still flies from Beijing to Hong Kong regularly, I asked him which one he considers home.

“Home?” Jeremy laughed, “I guess you are very young. What is home? I had many houses like in the Untied States , Hong Kong, Beijing , et cetera. Home is just like one of your clothes.”

In staging his comeback, whatever business form that eventually takes, Su might remember at least that family is not just like one of your clothes. Neither is happiness.

Wang Yanjuan and Chen Wen contributed to the article from New York

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“Made in China: American Dreams” is a five-part series that will appear biweekly and reveal how and why entrepreneurs and executives are increasingly realizing their American Dreams in, or because of, China.

Box

Pros and cons of the American Dream in China

Pros

· The American dream in China keeps many people hopeful, motivated and happy. At the societal level, it enhances cultural and business exchanges between the two great nations.

· On average, wealthy individuals are somewhat happier than less wealthy individuals.

· What business success brings is not just financial benefits, but more important, it brings a sense of achievement.

Cons

· Not everyone shares the same dream. If you are ambitious and are excited about your opportunities in China , but your spouse is not, then you have a problem. This is the same as if you are an archeologist and dream to find another pyramid in Egypt , yet your spouse prefers that you stay home and spend weekends mowing the lawn. That's why when you choose your spouse, it's important to find someone who shares your dream.

· The more you believe in materialism, the less happy you are.

· The more you care about 'face,' the less happy you are.

Beijing Review, Oct 2006 issue.