Sixty-four percent of 7,000 polled Chinese office workers have complained that they are sinking under work pressures.

A survey conducted by the portal website Sohu.com showed that two-thirds of office workers were frequently forced to work overtime to tackle their excessive workloads.

Up to 78 percent of the respondents said their average amount of overtime exceeded two hours.

An article bemoaning the four modern inventions which are ruining the life of a white-collar worker, written by a popular Chinese blogger Li Guangdou, has received thousands of hits from dissatisfied office slaves.

Guangdou singled out clocking-in machines, instant noodles, folding mattresses and mobile phones as having the most negative impact.

Chinese white collars in many leading companies are not allowed to turn off their cell phones outside normal working hours so their boss can contact them at any time.

A member of staff with Ernst and Young told the Beijing Morning News that 40 out of 120 people in his group quit their jobs last year due to heavy work burdens.

(Xinhua News Agency January 20, 2007)