Most Chinese employees overworked: survey

More than 80 percent of Chinese employees are overworked and under mental and physical stress at an average or higher level, according to a survey by a team at Wuhan University of Science and Technology.

Zhang Zhiyong, director of the Institute of Labor Economics at the university, and his team recently released the survey on workplace behavior and fatigue.

About 12.9 % of employees work more than 10 hours of overtime a week, and often work 47.56 hours a week, higher than the national standard working hours of 40 hours a week, according to the data.

About 53 % of employees say they often work late at night while 71.9 % have to comply to irregular working time.

A salesman surnamed Jin, who works at a safety technology company, said he often works between 8 and 16 hours a day and business trips are common.

Zheng Yan, a primary school teacher in Ordos City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region said she teaches four classes and has to correct all kinds of homework, leaving her almost no chance to take a break at school.

Pressure from her boss and parents often leads to a loss of temper or inactivity back home, she said.

With the popularization of mobile Internet, the workplace is no longer at the office, which increasingly blurs the boundary between work and life.

The survey also shows that nearly four-fifths of employees exercise less than five hours a week, and more than half exercise less than one hour a day on average.

The grim employment situation discouraged my plan to quit my job, Zheng said.