Many in China may aim to be white collar workers, but those that made it might not have it so good. A new report shows that white collar workers in China have little time for vacation, and not even enough free time to have sex.

A survey by Zhilian Recruitment released on December 29 also reveals that white collar workers are more satisfied with their jobs and lives when living in second and third-tier cities. People are most satisfied with their lot in Yantai, Shandong and Changchun, the capital of Jilin. In contrast, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen appear lower on the list

Shenzhen’s white collar workers showed the most satisfaction for their jobs at a rating of 2.60 out of five. Guangzhou followed next at a number seven spot, Beijing in 10th position, and Shanghai at 14th place.

However, white collar workers in Shanghai and Beijing were more satisfied with their lives. Shanghai had a life satisfaction rating of 2.31, cementing its position at the number nine position. Beijing followed at fifteenth place, and then Shenzhen at sixteenth and Guangzhou at number 21.

The only other Pearl River Delta city to appear on the ranking of 32 cities covered by the survey of 9,272 white collar workers is Foshan. However, despite the PRD’s sterling record when it comes to clean air and convenience to pedestrians, white collar workers in Foshan are not satisfied with either their jobs or their lives. Foshan ranked number 30 for job satisfaction, and number 24 for life satisfaction, earning scores of 2.16 and 2.08, respectively.

White collar workers in second and third-tier Chinese cities are thought to be more satisfied with their jobs and lives because competition is lower while standards of living remain high. As eChinacities puts it:

According to experts, small cities have a developed an economic environment in which there are a variety of white collar jobs and adequate space for white collar workers to develop their careers. These small cities, however, are not as competitive as larger cities and thus there is less pressure on workers. Working in a small city in general is not as intense as working in a first tier city. Small cities are also very comfortable to live in making them good environments for white collar workers.

Despite differences in satisfaction, white collar workers in smaller cities shared the same frustrations as their big city counterparts: no time for sex, exercise, reading, or vacation.

Over half of all Chinese white collar workers say they have sex less than once a month, while a quarter say they have sex once a week. White collar workers also tend not to lead active lifestyles, but are generally satisfied with their health, reflected by a satisfaction rating of 2.51. They exercise 1.5 hours a week on average, while 49 percent do not engage in any exercise at all.

Forty percent said they didn’t vacation at all in 2014, while 22.4 percent said they were given five or less vacation days each year by their employer.

[h/t LinkedIn]

Photo: rzw