Death from Overwork
July 21st, 2008 by Cali & Jody
We previously wrote about the Toyota engineer who allegedly died from overwork. (In Japan, the phenomenon is called karoshi.) A Japanese labor bureau has recently ruled that excessive overtime was indeed the cause of his death and that his family is now eligible to collect benefits from his work insurance. This is still an incredibly sad story, but we’re heartened to learn that the engineer’s case was taken seriously.
We could easily see a case like his not being taken seriously, because in many cultures there is a core assumption about work:
WORK = SUFFERING
If work weren’t suffering . . .
why else would we praise people for their “dedication” and their “sacrifice”?
why else would we complain so loudly (and elaborately) about how many hours we put in?
why else would it be socially acceptable for (some of) our bosses to treat us as less than human?
In other words, we assume that part of our pay is compensation for the misery inflicted by work. Even that word “compensation” suggests loss. The loss of freedom. The loss of time. The loss of autonomy. We’re sorry you had to waste 50 hours of your life in this place this week. We know we can never truly pay you back for your time, but we hope this check provides some compensation for your loss.
We also assume that we’ll get credit for the pain. It’s not whoever does the best job wins, but whoever does a decent job while enduring the most pain.
Is this really the best we can do?
What happens if we didn’t assume that work is suffering? What if work wasn’t something to be endured but something to get done in exchange for money? Would people still die from overwork if there was no nobility in killing yourself over your job?
Last year, a new manager took over a department, and had one-on-one calls with each of her new team. She basically asked if they enjoyed the work they did. 16 complained about the workload, and 2 felt they did enjoy the work, that it was the right amount and so on. She got rid of the two, figuring they must not be important enough to be busy, and that their jobs could be eliminated. It may be the last time she gets an honest answer from the remaining members of her team.
And the Japanese have “Karo-jisatsu” meaning “suicide from overwork”.
There’s a list of Demotivators at Despair.com. After reading this article “Retirement” came to mind.
http://www.despair.com/retirement.html
[...] site has given me the ability to be in contact with some great thought leaders. Cali and Jody of Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It, (read the book review here) were kind enough to grant me a [...]
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