Among more than 2,000 interviewed respondents, 86.5 percent were worried that their overpacked work schedules might undermine their physical health, according to a survey conducted by a research center under China Youth Daily. The survey investigated industries including internet, service, finance, medicine, education, architecture, media and agriculture.

Based on the results, 68.6 percent of respondents work more than eight hours a day. Wang Chen, an editor at a media company, complained that he works overtime nearly every day, and it is normal for him to work from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. On the topic of overtime, 27.6 percent of those interviewed said they usually work overtime, 60.7 percent said they sometimes work overtime, and only 11.7 percent said they don’t work overtime at all. 

With regard to the reason for so much overtime work, 47.4 percent of respondents suggested it was required by their employers, 32.9 percent said they can apply for overtime if they want, and 37.9 percent said they are forced to take unpaid overtime.

Asked why people feel overloaded with work, 50.9 percent said that they don’t have a regular schedule for work or rest, while 52.2 percent attribute it to the fact that they don’t exercise much and spend most of their time sitting in front of a computer. Xu Ning, a programmer, thinks that the pursuit of higher profits by many companies has driven up the workload of employees, and the average intensity of work will only decrease with societal and economic reform.

The respondents called for employees to pay attention to their own health, and indicated that employers should increase benefits and insurance. A total of 80.7 percent of subjects supported the idea that overwork be categorized as an occupational hazard.