Overwork? No, Work is Over!

In Japan, it is very common for Japanese employees to be working more than their regular hours that unfortunately lead to stress and eventually that could lead to karoshi (overwork death).

Japanese employees are known for being hardworking people. However, if you are in a situation that your health is being jeopardized, this is something serious. Unlike in Western countries, typical work is eight hours and employees are notified ahead of time when overtime is needed. Japanese have a “self-sacrificing” mentality. They would go as far as exhausting themselves and overdoing things for the betterment of their company. Working for extended hours for Japanese employees means a lot and it speaks of promotion in their jobs. This will determine if they have the opportunity to advance in their career and of course, seniority counts as well.

Karoshi

Karoshi means death from exhaustion due to stress or in layman’s term, “overworked.” This phenomenon started in the early 20th century wherein mill workers in Nagano Prefecture, worked in harsh conditions for 12 to 14 hours each day, desperate to escape, they committed suicide by jumping into nearby lake. This horrible story led to drafting a new act by the government about Labor Standards Act after World War II. They’ve established new occupational regulations, including the adoption of the eight-hour work day.

However, Japanese corporate world did not fully embrace this Labor Standards Act. Their reason is, it will slow down the country’s rapid growth and transformation into an economic superpower all over the world.

Work practices

At para maiwasan ang restrictions ng Labor Standard Act, ang mga kumpanya ay gumawa ng dalawang klase ng working hours na syempre, pabor sa kanila. First, nagtatrabaho ng off the clock, ang mga empleyado. Meaning, kapag natapos na ang regular na eight hours mo sa opisina, mag-sign out ka na, pero after that, babalik ka pa rin sa trabaho mo na babayaran ka pa rin naman pero hindi considered na overtime. Makikita sa time sheet na nagtrabaho ka lamang ng walong oras.

Second, nakasaad sa Article 36 agreement, kung saan ang isang portion ng Labor Standards Act, pinapayagan ang mga kumpanya na magkaroon ng agreement sa pagitan ng kumpanya at employees na maaari silang magtrabaho ng higit sa walong oras. May overtime pay ito pero ang mabigat dito ay pwedeng mag-demand ang employers kung hangggang ilang oras ka dapat magtrabaho.

The infamous suicide of a young employee of an advertising agency, took her life in December 2015, spreads loud noise across the nation. The Labor Ministry recognized the case as karoshi in September 2016, that led them to create a white paper on the risks of death from overwork and their preventative measures.

Group of experts in their own fields (lawyers, doctors, and other experts) held hands to establish “Karoshi Hotline.” This has become widespread and numerous requests from family members came in for consultation.

Major medical causes of death and symptoms in Karoshi

In medical terms, death by karoshi can be associated to several symptoms and most noted is acute heart failure and subarachnoid hemorrhage. Karoshi is a silent killer with little to no symptoms at all when the danger is present before death. Workers may not show these kind of symptoms or signs of heart or brain problems but can be present when they feel depressed or burnt out. The stiffness of joints and neck, frequent headaches, changes in weight, lack of concentration, insomnia, fatigue or chronic depression. The two major causes of stress and extended working hours could be credited to two factors, cultural and psychological.

• Cultural – culture plays a major role in aiding stress and long working hours leading to karoshi and karo-jisatsu in Japan. They take their job seriously as loyalty to the company and bosses they are serving. Their loyalty is often seen in and out of the office when they see their bosses working after office hours or till late night hours, they would stay to merely impress their superiors.
• Psychological – Japanese are very conscious of themselves. They would want to know what people think about them, of course, they don’t want to be outcasted from the group. In this highly cultured society where everyone is expected to excel, especially if you are a salary man, you want to show your superiors that you are a hardworking employee. This mentality exposed you to karoshi dangers where you tend to work harder than anybody else, competing with each other not realizing the dangers around the corner just waiting for you to deteriorate and succumb to karoshi.

Death by karoshi has increased in Japan. Work-related suicides rose to 45% among middle aged and younger employees. When it comes to working hours, Japan has no legal “limits.”  However, Japan’s Ministry of Labor recognizes the two types of karoshi, death from cardiovascular illness linked to overfatigue in work and suicide due to exhaustion caused by work related to mental stress. Heart or cardiovascular death is considered as karoshi if an employee works 100 hours of overtime in the month before his death, or 80 hours of overtime work in two or more months consecutively. A suicide is considered if an employee works 160 hours or more of overtime in a month or more than 100 hours of overtime for 3 months consecutively.

Preventing karoshi

Concerned citizens’ groups comprising families of karoshi victims have been instrumental in drawing social awareness of what is going on. The efforts made by the group led the Japanese Diet in 2014 to pass a law addressing death by overwork. It specified that the government’s duty to establish preventive measures, which was a part of this obligation that the Labor Ministry released in October 2016.

The three steps fundamental in eradicating the culture of overwork and to reduce karoshi toll:

1. Managers at Japanese firms must be discouraged in their beliefs that extended hours of working is necessary in doing business. European and Western countries eliminate working long hours, instead, their mindset is spending less time in the office boost productivity.
2. The government has to be serious in addressing the issue that includes revising labor laws and helping into overlooked issues.
3. Citizens, especially workers, should involve themselves in changing their work culture by standing up for their rights by having talks with the corporations and the government, share their views and addressing and hitting the unfair labor practices.

A concrete action should be agreed upon by both parties concerned to prevent karoshi and it requires the society to help one another to address the issue head on.

Being overworked is not new in this fast-changing world we live in. But if we continue to brutally make our bodies, mind and spirit suffer, there are consequences awaiting. We only have one life to live. Fame and fortune is not bad but our wellbeing is more important so we have to learn how to do things in a moderate way.