Are you a working adult? Do you find yourself wandering home exhausted and blurry at 3 am each day, and then trudging out of bed at 7am the next day to work? Has your office become your first home instead of your nice cosy apartment? Do you feel like the initial bite of the work bug is causing you to be in a zombie-like-state almost all the time? Are you suffering from headaches, continuous irritability, fatigue, and on the verge of a mental or physical breakdown? The good news is, you are not alone, and it is relatively simple to bounce back to good health. The bad news is, if you continue to be in that state, it would cause serious health problems, even leading to death.
If you find the situation above to be applicable to you, you are most probably a victim to excessive working or simply known as overworking. Work overload induces stress, and when continuously raged through a normal human causes heart attack and stroke. Over the recent years, deaths from overwork have increased significantly, making it a major occupational hazard to look out for. Defined by Tetsunojo Uehata, the medical authority who coined the word, karoshi is a "condition in which physiologically unsound work processes are allowed to continue in a way that disrupts the worker's normal work and life rhythms, leading to a build-up of fatigue in the body and a chronic condition of overwork accompanied by a worsening of pre-existent high blood pressure and a hardening of the arteries, finally resulting in a fatal breakdown."
The first case of ‘karoshi’ was reported in 1969, with a death from stroke of a 29 year-old male worker in one of the largest newspaper company in Japan. Subsequently, during the Bubble Economy in the 1980s, many high ranking business executives in their prime years die without any previous signs of illness, leading the media to pick this matter up as a new phenomenon. Most of those who die of karoshi are in their 40s (29%) or 50s (42%), but some of the victims in Japan have been in their 20s, so youth does not necessarily offer any protection.
Although a phenomenon well known in Japan, it happens to every highly stressed profession around the world. Take the auditing line for example.
Raluca Stroescu, a 32 years old woman working as audit manager for the Romanian branch of one of the Big Four was found dead at home at the end of last week after not showing up at work. Colleagues say she worked herself to death. Coroners do not exclude the possibility, saying the most probable cause for death being stress combined with lack of sleep and exhaustion.
Enduring long hours is a pre requisite which employers look for while recruiting employees especially in the big 4, where hours range from 40 in some countries to 70 or 80 weeks in others, which is a norm. A general survey of the hours worked in each country yield the following results:
The Danes and Germans encourage a balanced approach to work, where statutory leave requirements are up to 50 days per year. In contrast, Asian countries such as Singapore and the Philippines are likely to work significantly longer hours, usually from 7.30am till 11pm at night. The worst is undoubtedly Japan, Voluntary unpaid overtime is so over the top in Japan that workers have been known to drop dead on the job after repeatedly working more than 80 hours a week. 'Working hours in Japan are far too long,' says Akiko Taguchi, the deputy director of the ILO (International Labour Organisation) office in Tokyo. 'This contributes to stress levels among employees that are among the highest in the world.' New York is as bad, as between January and April, which are peak periods, 18 hour days are necessary, says Ian James, a business manager with Think Global Recruitment.
However, situations are improving to date. Most companies are taking an ethical stance in view of this matter. Ernst & Young have already been awarded for its efforts towards retaining a healthy balance of life and work, obtaining the Work Life Balance award. 'It is imperative that employers provide employees with the means to attain a healthy work/life balance,' says Sharon L Allen, chairman of the Board at Deloitte & Touche in the US.
Maintaining a healthy life balance is very important in making sound decisions while at work. Employees are more efficient and effective, while staying motivated with the ability to think rationally. Work satisfaction and building a healthy working environment can only be inculcated by a strong emphasis on an equality of work and play. This can be achieved by mutual understanding and collaboration between the employer and the employees.
