White-collar workers more satisfied in Beijing

Beijing white-collar workers were more satisfied with their work and life than their counterparts in other large Chinese cities in 2016, despite facing limited promotion opportunities, intense competition and choking smog, according to a new report.

The 2016 year-end report, published by the Chinese human resources website Zhaopin.com, said the average score for job satisfaction given by 2,247 white-collar workers in the capital was 2.45 out of 5 - higher than the national average.

Though it's less than half the possible full score, the score for Beijing's workers was higher than those given by their counterparts in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Guangzhou workers gave a score of 2.16, the lowest of the four cities.

The satisfaction with promotions in Beijing, at an average of 1.98, rated the lowest in the five surveyed categories but was slightly higher than last year. The other categories were salary, welfare, training and learning opportunities, and interpersonal relationships.

Beijing workers said they were most satisfied with their interpersonal relationships, which scored 3.05, the report said.

Three-fifths of the surveyed workers said they had no promotion opportunities in 2016.More than 37 percent thought the management system in their companies was the most important factor for promotion, while 11.6 percent thought their own efforts mattered more.

The report said dissatisfaction with promotional opportunities was an important factor that triggered many to quit their job.

"Statistics show that many white-collar workers tend to change their jobs if they hardly have any chances to be promoted or to have their pay increase after working for one to two years," it said.

Dou Xue, who now works in a law office, quit her job at an insurance company in June.

"I had a very good relationship with my colleagues in the insurance company, but I didn't get any promotion and I didn't even see a chance for that after working hard there for three years," the 29-year-old said.

She said she chose the law office even though it didn't offer much of a salary increase or a much better position. "I just wanted to change the work environment."

The report also found that Beijing white-collar workers were the most satisfied with their life, with a score of 2.47 - 0.13 higher than the national average. However, the workers were most dissatisfied with their sex life, with a score of only 1.89-far less than the average scores in the other survey categories for life satisfaction, including vacation and mental and physical health.

While more than 37 percent of the workers who were surveyed were single, half reported having sex less than once a month, it said.

White-collar workers with higher salaries were more satisfied with their work and life, the report concluded.

An earlier report published by Zhaopin found that the capital city had the highest starting salaries and the most intense competition for work opportunities among 34 major cities in China.

The average monthly salary in Beijing was 9,835 yuan ($1,415), followed by Shanghai, with 9,720 yuan, it said.

houliqiang@chinadaily.com.cn