Chronic overwork is an unseen threat that has taken more lives than we care to acknowledge. The dangers we picture in a workplace—like unstable scaffolds, hazardous equipment, or toxic fumes—don’t come close to the silent office killer whispering ‘chronic overwork’ in workplaces globally. Karoshi, which translates to “death from overwork,” is something I came across during a late-night research session while I was working overtime. It is a concept that many people on the internet refuse to believe is real and serves as an eye-opener as to how extreme today’s work culture has become.
What is karoshi?
Karoshi is a social issue in Japan that has been recognized for decades and is a cycle that has been ongoing since the 1970s. The vast majority still get it wrong by assuming karoshi is simply being too tired after the workday, as it literally kills people through stroke, heart attack, or even suicide. In 2013, Miwa Sado, an NHK reporter, was found dead in her apartment after working excessive hours. During the final months of her life, she was working to the tune of 159 hours of overtime every month. Not only did she work herself to death, but Joey Tocnang, a 27-year-old trainee, also managed to work himself sick. After suffering from heart failure due to lack of sleep and excessive work to the tune of 122 overtime hours, he was dead in weeks. Slowly but surely, these stories are not just becoming more common but revealing a serious underlying risk with modern work culture. These figures are not arbitrary numbers—they signify the countless individuals who are overexerting themselves to the point of complete exhaustion.
The Science Behind Work-Related Death
While researchers continue to study the effects of stress on the body, growing evidence suggests that chronic stress indeed has detrimental effects. Long-term exposure to stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline can set one’s cardiovascular system on a deleterious path to hypertension, heart disease, and even strokes. There’s also an indirect path: chronic stress pushing someone towards smoking more, drinking more, exercising less, and sleeping less. These behaviors, when sustained consistently, lead to an array of serious health problems. Over the years, I have learned to brush aside many symptoms that people around me, including my colleagues, display. The never-ending exhaustion, the dependence on caffeine, and a strong lack of motivation—these are not just annoyances. They are crucial indicators of a serious health condition.
Why Japan Became Ground Zero
Japan didn’t wake up one day and face a shocking epidemic. Here’s the perfect set of reasons:
- Fewer workers managing the same workload resulted in a labor shortage after the economic bubble burst in the 1990s. Companies began downsizing, and the remaining workforce had to take on more work.
- Inflexible cultural norms surrounding dinnertime ‘dedication’ made leaving for the day early seem foolish.
- There’s even a term in Japan, “inemuri,” that refers to dozing off in public because someone is so busy or tired. It shows dedication to a job and is viewed positively.
- Due to a specific type of management style that relies on face-time, hours worked became the main metric of value in the workplace. As one Japanese professor pointed out, many superiors fail to evaluate employees based on anything other than the time they spend in the office.
Here’s the scariest part—karoshi, or death from overworking, is not just a problem in Japan anymore. A new report by the World Health Organization indicates there are 488 million people—approximately 9% of the global population—working dangerously long hours. The study also found that working over 55 hours in a week greatly increases the risk of suffering from stroke and heart disease. Almost 750,000 people died due to overworking in 2016, which is a 29% increase since the year 2000. Despite Controlio work hours being reduced across the world, that trend has stalled or reversed in several countries. The gig economy, unstable job markets, and remote work with fuzzy boundaries all contributed to this reversal.
What Happens When There Is an Imbalance Between Causes and Solutions?
That is the issue at hand with karoshi. With Japan’s attempted solutions to control it each having limited success, it raises the question of what strategies work for other nations. Without proper implementation, “Premium Friday,” which grants half days off every month, quickly became a joke, just like publishing “black companies” lists for those who breached labor regulations. The 2018 Work Style Reform Law seems to enforce more productivity and had some positive effects by restricting overtime to 45 hours a month and 360 hours a year. Unfortunately, the law still had its gaps, such as allowing up to 100 hours of overtime during busier schedules. This is still well over the WHO’s danger threshold. Even with the changes from the law, nearly 3,000 claims of karoshi—death from overwork—were recorded in 2019, showing a rise from previous years.
Modern technology can address some of these issues. With the Controlio app, companies can monitor work distribution, making it easier to spot employees already nearing burnout and assist before it becomes too late. It’s not about watching every move someone makes but rather efficiently managing resources and understanding when aid is necessary.
Any individual can take the first step and lead the initiative towards addressing the crisis to carve change, which lies in
- Organizations have to stop linking output with in-person hours worked and instead recognize quality, targeted effort put towards work as a proper metric. Productivity should not be correlated with the number of hours worked, as proven by numerous studies that have demonstrated a drop in productivity past a certain number of hours.
- Governments should also take into consideration psychosocial issues as real health threats and impose strong preventive measures with actual penalties.
- People should learn to recognize symptoms of overwork and seek assistance when required.
Taking time off, keeping in touch, and taking care of your brain are not extravagances—they are essentials.
Conclusion
The karoshi crisis is not only a problem for Japan; it serves as a warning about the direction in which the rest of the world is heading in terms of work culture. We have designed systems that, shockingly, work people to death, and then we are puzzled by rising healthcare costs and stagnant productivity. The answer does not lie in simply reducing work hours. We need to work smarter by creating healthier environments and balanced systems and recognizing that sustainable productivity needs sustainable people. There is no overstating the importance of this; our lives depend on getting it right.
