Results of an Investigation into China’s Work Ennui Index completed by the China Human Resources Development Web show that the universal problem of work ennui (or “occupational exhaustion”) has finally hit China.

“Work ennui is an inevitable social phenomenon that occurs when a country has passed a certain stage of development,” explains Xu Yan, professor of psychology at Beijing Normal University. “At this, China’s transitional stage, a high occurrence of working ennui is inevitable.”

The investigation indicates that 35 percent of employed people suffer serious emotional exhaustion, but that 38.8 percent have mild symptoms or none at all. About half (45.2 percent) of those investigated have a cynical attitude towards life, and 42.3 percent lack a sense of achievement.