If going to work feels more like torture, and fatigue, depression and irritation are daily aspects of your life, job burnout may be to blame.

Too much office stress is putting a major strain on many professionals, according to Clare Chen, an analyst at Hudson Recruitment, a Nasdaq-listed headhunting firm.

Along with booming business expansion and fast social transition, job burnout is pervasive in the Chinese mainland.

Survey proof

In April, Hudson Recruitment surveyed 705 multinational companies in China - mostly based in Shanghai - about their hiring plans and employees.

The survey showed that 33 per cent of survey participants believe job burnout is getting more and more serious in the mainland. Last year, about 27 per cent of respondents complained of being overworled.

About 55 per cent of respondents suggested they are working more hours than they were two years ago. Of those, 13 per cent say their hours are significantly longer.

About 42 per cent of office workers surveyed said they worked more than 50 hours a week, compared with the country's 40-hour-a-week standard. The number is about one percentage point higher than in last year's survey, Hudson reports.

The survey also indicates that practitioners in media, public relations, advertising, medical and biotechnology sectors are among the biggest sufferers of job burnout, as they not only work long hours but face pressures of stiffening job competition and constantly staying abreast of changes in their sectors.

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