Is it possible? Unfortunately yes. Death from overwork, or karoshi, was first recorded in 1969 in Japan. After five years of research, it was concluded that a 29-year-old employee of the largest Japanese newspaper had died of overwork, and therefore his family was paid high compensation.
A statistical Pole works almost 2000 hours a year. In the countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), on average, approx. 1700 hours are worked per year. In countries such as Germany or the Netherlands, the average working time is only about 1400 hours per year. Statistics from Eurofound – the EU’s agenda for the quality of life and work – show that Poles are the nation that works the most on Sundays and Saturdays. We work almost 14 hours a week from home, and we are specialists in working for two or even three jobs.
The term karoshi was adopted in 1982 after three doctors published a book under this title.
Karoshi is not a purely medical term. It is believed to be a socio-medical term that refers to death or serious injury from cardiovascular disease caused by a combination of hypertension, atherosclerosis, and severe work overload.
Incomplete data
It is very difficult to estimate the exact number of karoshi cases in the world. The biggest problem is certainly in Japan, where over 24 percent. of employees work more than 60 hours a week. Despite their great commitment to work, these people do not have a bright future ahead of them. In people who are overloaded with work and constantly work overtime, there is an increased secretion of stress hormones, i.e. adrenaline, norepinephrine and cortisone. If this condition persists for an extended period of time, some disease must develop.
There have been no evident cases of karoshi in the countries of Europe and America, but doctors and psychologists are increasingly talking about the health-threatening effects of overwork. And although there are no hard data, each of us can point out people in their immediate vicinity who are absorbed in their professional duties.
The causes of karoshi
One can risk a statement that in Japan the cases of karoshi are in a sense justified, because they are related to the culture of this region. It is not true that the victims of karoshi are focused on profit, on earning a lot of money. The Japanese receive modest wages for overtime work. It is more about tradition, a generation culture, and the Japanese character. In the country of cherries, there is a term sarariman, derived from the English salary man, meaning a salaried worker. You could say that most of us are wage earners. But the point here is not only to perform professional duties well, but also to fight for the company with full dedication and risking your life. Contemporary samurai fight for their corporations, regardless of their own health. Often, despite the fact that they are well-educated and well-off people, agree to work in conditions resembling feudalism.
The unrestrained and unrestricted desire for profit that the overwhelmed owners of large corporations are leading to the introduction of management systems that over-exploit employees both physically and mentally.
One more thread cannot be skipped. Karoshi victims very often do not realize that they are being abused. This is confirmed by the accounts of colleagues and people who came out unscathed from serious health problems. Everyone was satisfied with the work and very involved in it, and what is very characteristic, they were unaware of the need to rest and ignored the symptoms that signaled a significant deterioration of their health.
Not only adults
The health effects of overwork are more and more common not only to the Japanese. In the countries of Europe and America, they affect a different group of employees. In Japan, workers at lower levels most often die from overwork, people who have no influence on their fate, people who do not get promoted, do not receive raises or annual awards. They usually die as a result of a stroke, heart attack, or commit suicide. According to Polish psychiatrists and psychologists, people aged 30-40 who work in managerial positions are at risk of fatal overwork. The next group are middle-level employees in large corporations. Usually, these are people from small towns or villages, who graduated in a big city and want to stay in it – buy an apartment, car, etc. In short, earn money in a short time to be able to impress family and friends from school years. They work as much as the employer requires, stay overtime, take work home. They agree to any conditions just to keep their place.
It turns out, however, that overburdening with duties is a problem that also affects children in many countries. Excessive ambitions of parents, unrealistic requirements at exams mean that children have to attend additional lessons and supplementary classes. The result is easy to predict – loss of health, nervous breakdowns, depression, disgust with school, and even suicide attempts when it turns out that you are not perfect, outstanding or extremely talented.
American doctor Michael McGannon, author of the bestseller Fit for the Fast Truck, in which he advises on how to survive in a corporation, based on his medical and fitness tests, calculated the physical wear and tear of the organisms of his busy patients. The results are not optimistic. A 30-year-old corporate employee has the heart, brain, lungs and physical capacity of a person over 40.
A carousel of desks
This is how often the employment policy is defined as preferred by corporations operating on the Polish market. In the world, more and more companies are giving up the feudal treatment of their employees. More and more companies make sure that employees do not burn out professionally, that they use their holidays. Unfortunately, on the Polish labor market, the so-called the sieve culture is still in effect. The point is that many applicants are hired each year. The company’s plans, however, foresee a fixed percentage of people who will be promoted and a fixed percentage of those who will be laid off. There is still fresh blood flowing to the corporation. There is a lot to choose from. Those who want to survive, maintain employment, fight for the best possible evaluation in the eyes of their superiors. From month to month, from year to year, they work more and more to satisfy the employer. But sometimes, after 10 years of murderous work, even when they are appreciated, they do not have the strength and health to reach the coveted summit.
In Poland, it is also the case that as part of savings, employers impose new obligations on their employees, for which they do not receive remuneration, because everything is contained in the very broad provisions of the employment contract – other orders of the manager. Many employees misunderstand the imposition of new responsibilities. They gave me a new assignment because I’m good. Nobody thinks, or even when they think, admits that they are being used, forced to work beyond their strength. The lack of vacancies determines the attitudes of many employees. I have to persevere, because I will not find another job.
This does not mean, however, that this is the case in all foreign companies operating on the Polish labor market. There are also those that really care about their employees. They organize courses in coping with stress and occupational overload for employees. They organize gyms, massage parlors that can be used during working hours. There are employers who appreciate that a healthy, satisfied and confident employee is more efficient, does not take advantage of sick leave at every opportunity, which brings the company tangible, measurable benefits.
Tekst: Anna Jarosz