More than 70 percent of office workers encounter "emotional office abuse", three-quarters of which are from the post-80s people, a survey conducted by zhaopin.com says.

"Who hasn't been told stories of workers being deliberately harassed?" said Sun Yifei, a headhunter in his 20s.

He said the most dramatic story he had heard was of a recent graduate, taken on by an accounting firm.

"He ended up throwing his work in his manager's face and shouting, 'Fine, I quit!' after receiving an impossible number of assignments," Sun told METRO.

This so-called "emotional office abuse" is usually dealt out by superiors or peer employees. It generally refers to non-violent forms of aggression, often resulting in depression and the end of a job.

Staff responding to the survey held a fairly unanimous understanding of the concept: "Applied pressure forcing people to quit their job voluntarily."

"I knew they wanted to fire us when they made us sign an agreement to accept a 30 percent cut in pay, only one year after I started," said Shen Chao, a former employee of a Sino-Japan joint venture, in his 20s.

"We had to sign the agreement to avoid being fired," he said. "The chance to train in Japan, which was promised when we joined, was also cancelled."

According to Liu Jiwei, a lawyer from Chunlin Law Firm, the main purpose of emotional office abuse is to compel staff to quit their job voluntarily so the company can save on compensation.

"Companies are much more powerful than their staff members," Liu told METRO. "There are countless ways to force workers to leave without breaking any labor laws."

Liu said it was hard to protect an employee's rights, but advised collecting evidence to prove the company was manipulating the situation.

"Do what you are meant to do, avoid being late or lazy, and never sign agreements with your company," Liu said.

"Usually, within a month, the company will take further action against you, which means a chance to get solid evidence for a trial."

Liu recalled an incident when an employee recorded a conversation between himself and an HR officer.

"The tape was strong enough to protect his rights in court," said Liu.

Wang Wei, a psychologist from Beijing Guo Ao Psychological Hospital, believes the post-80s generation are the main victims of office abuse.

Wang explained that abusive superiors are usually those from the post-60s and post-70s generations, deeply influenced by their parents and who treat others in the same way they were treated as children.

"The post-80s generation people are usually high-profile, self-centered and fragile. As a result, they experience many conflicts at work," Wang said.

In order to solve the problem of office abuse, managerial staff should pay closer attention to the needs of post-80s employees, Wang said. He also suggested employees be active in talking with their seniors and peers.

"Communication is the key," Wang said. "Managers sometimes think they are just doing their job, but employees think they are being emotionally abused."