A recent health survey showed that more than 30 percent of those polled work more than nine hours a day.

The survey — which mainly targeted corporate health management and employees' health status — was led by Ciming Checkup Group, the Chinese Medical Doctor Association, and the Chinese Hospital Association, as well as the Beijing Health Maintenance Organization.

It was carried out among 220,000 participants across 11 cities last year.

The report showed that 36.3 percent of respondents work nine to 10 hours a day, longer than the statutory working hours. However, more than 60 percent of those polled regard long working hours as normal, and only 10 percent think that their workload is light.

The report showed that high pressure at work is the top reason causing employees' health problems. Sixty percent of survey participants said that employers should establish effective pressure release channels.

Professor Yu Shibei, chief statistics expert of China's city health status survey organizing committee, was quoted by the Shanghai Morning Post as saying that long working hours and irregular diets can cause chronic fatigue syndrome, for example, memory loss, mental fatigue, lack of creativity, metabolic disorders, immunity dysfunctions, and can lead to high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases.