Recently, the government of Ningbo, a city in Zhejiang province, announced a change in working hours for civil servants. The new work schedule will be from 9:00 to 12:00 in the morning and from 2:00 to 5:30 in the afternoon, giving them a six and a half hour working day.

That total is 30 minutes shorter than before the new rules. Officials say the move is aimed at easing rush hour traffic. The cut in working hours mimics other provinces such as Guangdong, Fujian, and Hebei.

A survey by information website, infzm.com carried out a poll asking people their opinion on the shorter work hours for these public servants. Seventy-six per cent of the respondents said shortening the working day shows the current workload of public servants is not enough, and so there should be staff reductions.