Pressure of work takes its toll

Nearly 90 percent of Chinese staff in foreign companies suffer from work-related illnesses, according to a recent survey by the Horizon Research Consultancy Group.

Landing a well-paid job in a foreign company is something millions of China's jobseekers dream of, but the findings of a recent survey may change their minds.

Nearly 90 percent of Chinese staff in foreign companies suffer fromwork-related illnesses, according to a recent survey by the Horizon Research Consultancy Group.

Of the 1,521 respondents working for foreign companies, 91 percent reported symptoms such asburnout, stress, frustration, lack of sleep or numbness in the neck and shoulders after work, said Horizon. Those interviewed cited a total of 27 work-related symptoms.

Interviews were carried out over the telephone, via e-mail or fax or face to face in four cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Wuhan.

And 15.4 percent of those surveyed said they suffered from at least seven symptoms, which could lead to abreakdownor serious illness according to Horizon analysts.

Another 5 percent said they suffered from at least 10 symptoms, which indicated they were extremely overworked, said Horizon.

Half of the respondents said they did little physical exercise, while many complained about working more than 10 hours a day, returning home late at night and having to work over weekends.

Of the most common symptoms of interviewees, 30 percent said they suffered from poor memory, as well as stress, mood swings and accelerated aging.

Middle-aged, highly paid employees were more vulnerable to work-related illnesses, according to the survey.

About 15.8 percent of the middle-aged respondents said they showed at least seven symptoms.

Of the group earning more than 8,000 yuan ($1,025) a month, 19 percent said they suffered at least seven symptoms of being overworked.

A lack of regular health checks and an unhealthy lifestyle, including drinking, smoking and skipping breakfast also made matters worse, according to the survey.

能在外企謀得一份高收入的工作是數百萬中國求職者的夢想，然而，最近的一個調查可能會改變他們的想法。

零點研究咨詢集團最近開展的一項調查顯示，外企中近90%的中國員工患有職業病。

據零點研究咨詢集團介紹，在1521名外企受訪員工中，91%的人說下班后會出現疲勞、壓力大、情緒低落、睡眠不足以及頸部和肩膀發麻等癥狀。這些受訪者共列舉了27種職業病癥狀。

此次調查主要通過電話、電子郵件、傳真以及面對面的形式進行，調查地點包括北京、上海、廣州和武漢四個城市。

調查顯示，15.4%的受訪者說他們至少有七種職業病癥狀，而這些癥狀則會導致精神衰弱或嚴重疾病。

另有5%的受訪者稱自己至少有十種癥狀，這說明他們的工作已極度超負荷。

有一半的受訪者說他們很少鍛煉身體，還有很多人抱怨他們每天要工作十小時以上，晚上很晚才能回家，而且周末還得加班。

30%的受訪者說他們記憶力減退、壓力大、情緒不穩定，而且衰老加快，這些是職業病最為普遍的幾種癥狀。

調查顯示，中年雇員和高薪雇員更容易患上職業病。

約15.8%的中年受訪者說他們至少有七種癥狀。

月薪在8000元（1025美元）以上的受訪群體中，19%的人說由于過度工作，他們至少出現了七種職業病癥狀。

調查表明，缺乏定期體檢，以及抽煙、喝酒和不吃早餐等不健康的生活方式也是問題加劇的主要原因。

Vocabulary:
work-related illness : 職業病
burnout : physical or emotional exhaustion（精疲力盡）
breakdown : 衰弱