Survey shows Chinese workers stressed out_美文

Survey shows Chinese workers stressed out

A recent survey by Insight China, a State-run magazine that looks into Chinese people's welfare, showed that nearly 70 percent of Chinese are overworked and more than 40 percent spend less than 10 hours a week on leisure.

Wei Xiang, an expert in leisure economy at Beijing International Studies University, said China's current economic development stage as a labor-intensive economy has made most Chinese people want to earn money instead of take leisure time.

Xia Xueluan, a sociologist at Peking University, said Chinese people, especially young workers, always consider how to acquire material resources as quickly as possible as the country rapidly develops.

"A booming desire for material wealth easily transfers into stress," he said.

At a young age, Chinese are educated by teachers and parents to strive to do better than others in academic study or work, he said: "Pressure is unavoidable if one lives in such an environment," he said.

The per capita income of Chinese people is still comparatively low, and the country's social security system is yet to efficiently cover all citizens, Xia said.

Li Juan, an expert at the institute of psychology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said stress can lead to both physical and psychological problems such as sleeplessness, anorexia and depression.