Karoshi: The Japanese Word for Death from Overwork

The whole world is an open office

In Japanese, there is a phrase that describes dying from work. Karoshi

Although the Japanese are known for their tendency to overwork, the Chinese and South Koreans have also incorporated this concept into their culture with the words guolaosi and gwarosa.

The first case of karoshi was reported in 1969, with the stroke-related death of a 29-year-old male worker in Japan's largest newspaper company's shipping department.

Dying from too much work happens in two different ways. The first is diseases such as stroke or heart attack caused by excessive work in the human body. The second is that the overworker commits suicide as a result of pressure and depression. There is even a name for the person who committed suicide from working hard: karōjisatsu.

Overwork is no longer unique to the Japanese. After the COVID-19 pandemic, the "no physical limits of work" brought about by not having to work in offices anymore makes us work whenever we are not sleeping. Our life has become an entire only-work-life. For this reason, karoshi is now a worldwide phenomenon.

Working 55 or more hours per week is associated with a 35% increased risk of stroke and a 17% increased risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, according to the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization, when compared to working 35-40 hours per week.

I used to believe that overworking, being a workaholic was a very positive thing, I was even a workaholic for a while. I now understand that this situation is the result of a world system that evaluates people based on the sacrifices they have made to themselves, making them feel valuable if they are large, or worthless if they are small, and attempting to enslave the entire world in order to enrich a small percentage.

Working is very, very important. But everything is should have a balance. The most precious capital of our lives is time and it is more valuable than anything else.