27 percent of single employees may leave first tier cities to find soul mates

chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2017-11-13 08:44

Around 27 percent of single employees will probably leave China’s first tier cities to find their soul mates, according to a report released Tuesday.

Twenty-seven percent of the respondents say they will move back to their hometowns if they remain single by a certain age, while 23 percent are convinced that they will find their other halves in big cities. However, 5 percent say they are willing to give up the pursuit of love to stay in big cities, while 45 percent say they have not thought about it yet and will let nature take its course, according to the report on Working Singles’ Demand for Marriage and Relationships jointly issued by a dating website and an online recruitment platform.

According to the report, among all professions, the highest proportion of singles work as programmers, followed by technicians, financial workers, salespeople, designers and administrators.

When it comes to the reason for being single, most people say they didn’t choose to be single. Twenty-three percent stay single for “not having met the ideal one” and 18 percent say they “know few people and don’t socialize enough”.

The survey reveals that most single employees feel lonely and stressed. Over 60 percent of male respondents say they are stressed for “not having enough financial strength to attract females”. Working singles feel most lonely “when they have no companion at home after work”.

The report also finds that the main ways for single people to ease their loneliness are playing video games and watching TV series. Some female singles do housework to feel less lonely, an unexpected response.

Over 80 percent of employees have been asked about their relationship status during job interviews, and 63.92 percent think relationship status has an impact on their job applications. Questions about “when to get engaged or married”, “reasons for being single” and “the spouse’s situation” are most often asked during interviews.

To retain single employees with the potential leave their jobs, some companies provide these people with preferential treatment. Thirty percent of companies think social gatherings the best incentive, while 28 percent think having one day off on Single’s Day, which falls on Nov 11, is more attractive.