Abstract: At present, it’s imperative to solve the complex problem of students’ academic workload in Chinese educational context. In addition to the gradual reform of the examination evaluation and admission system, empirical studies on students’ workload should be carried out to explore the connotations of workload scientifically. In order to clarify the characteristics and conceptual elements of workload, the article, based on literature review and questionnaire, analyzes the perception of workload among students, parents and teachers, including its causes, components, consequences, and other problems. The questionnaire surveys were conducted among 7,524 students (including primary and junior high school students), 3,836 parents and 3,766 teachers from nine provinces and cities. The analysis revealed three perceptional elements of the workload. First, workload is the result of the interaction of various factors, among which, examination competition and performance requirements are the main factors. Second, from the perspective of students, parents and teachers, workload is the trouble for most students, which involves three concepts: academic tasks, performance pressure and energy consumption. Third, heavy workload can have negative impact on most students, which is different for different individuals. The article seeks to construct the operational definition of workload: namely, students’ experienced pressure caused by examination evaluation and academic tasks as well as time and energy spent on them. This definition can guide the shift of workload study from concept to operation, which can divide characteristics of workload into several observable and evaluable key points so as to establish necessary conceptual foundations for quantitative workload study. However, due to the complexity of the workload problem, this operational definition of workload needs to be improved. To explain different subject-related workload in different cultures, it is necessary to refine the observation point and evaluation factors of workload. Similarly, this operational definition of workload is far from the synonym of the connotations of workload, and it can only be used as a reference in workload study. In future studies, it’s essential to have a better understanding of the connotation of workload through experimental researches and case studies based on this operational definition. On the other hand, it is necessary to use different research methods for cross validation of the existing assumptions and conclusions.