A majority of Shanghai office workers, especially young men, say they aren't happy with their jobs, mainly because of heavy pressure at the office, a recent survey suggests.

51job.com, a Nasdaq-listed headhunting company, conducted the online survey of 5,005 white-collar workers throughout the country, including 1,151 in the city, about their attitudes toward happiness and thoughts on the ideal job.

More than 90 percent of respondents said that they haven't been happy for many years or were never happy after work, while only 9 percent said they are happy every day.

About 55 percent of respondents, mostly men, said work is not a source of any happiness for them, but is just a way to earn a living. Less than 10 percent of local white-collar workers said that their current job brings them a sense of success and helps them realize their own value, the survey suggested.

"Everybody knows that work should make life better and help people become happier, but the problem is high work pressure in the modern world deviates from the original aim," said Xiao Nan, an analyst at 51job.com.

Young employees with one or two years' work experience lack the sense of happiness most as 70 percent of them consider their job a way to make money and nothing else.

The report also indicated that local office workers are less happy than their peers in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Alex Chen, a product developer at a local IT company, said that a busy work schedule leaves him both physically and mentally exhausted every day.

"Happiness will never come to me after a day of strict office hours and undesirable working environment and tiring projects," he said.

Chen is not alone. The survey suggested that more than 41 percent of people surveyed say they would be happier with flexible working hours and a relaxing lunch break in which they can take a nap, listen to music or go shopping.

Respondents also said the keys to happiness are a well-facilitated office environment and good relationships with colleagues.

Besides, about 52 percent employees said that the more money they earned or the larger their bank account was, the happier they felt. Most of them are males.

About one-quarter of those surveyed, however, said money has no relationship with happiness, the survey reported.

(easyday.com May 20, 2005)