Japanese man dies from overwork
- Thread starter swampthing
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Sion
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yah Karoshi scary.
how many hours does an average white collar worker works in a month here?
blue collar?
:sweat:
how many hours does an average white collar worker works in a month here?
blue collar?
:sweat:
Therefore we should look into a few alternate sources of income, instead of just rely on our job to pay us.
Del_CtrlnoAlt is absolutely correct! Overwork, underpaid!
Del_CtrlnoAlt is absolutely correct! Overwork, underpaid!
Cheesecake
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Cheesecake
Senior Member
what???! you mean locals here actually died from overwork? Is that verified? :bigeyes:
I can't even get some of my junior colleague to stay till 6.30pm once in a blue moon and that is after getting paid extra and hours to claim off. In singapore I have yet to hear or come across knowing anyone working that hard like those Japanese we hear about and I am not even talking about those that died doing so.
Kiasu and Kiasi Singaporean dying from overwork in these modern age? There have been times I have known of locals working that long hours but that is not because they are task with many things to do but reason being...slow at what they do. Slackers don't die from overwork. The Japanese stories we hear like this death news or more commonly of those having nervous breakdown due to over work are not only due to company pressure but culturally the pressure the workers put on themselve to complete them due to pride and loyalty to the company they work for..among other reasons for doing so. Most would rank company over family and other interest too. It's a historical culture and something I think we can see is already happening in Korea too.
There are already some changes taking place with the younger Jap generation but like this guy who is 46 who died. Well he is of the old guard that still believe in the old school values of corporation loyalty. ( I can relate with this guy since I am his age and I too am a workaholic) Well that is what I feel lah. But to think Singaporean would ever come to that stage...I doubt it really. Okay maybe extremely rare. I could be wrong but really.....But then again I think this not too bad a thing right? Not over working till you also give life and blood to the company just to pick up a pay check.
The only time I have heard stories of people overworking till they get really sick and one had an accident. It's not due to pressure to do more at their job. Problem was they were holding second jobs. Some have money problems to upkeep the family (or lifestyle) or have debt to pay. Makes you think about dying from the BBB bug and the consequence of living large as oppose to dying on the job due to corporate pressure to do more and working as late as you can. heheheh....
anyway..that is just me lah. :sticktong
bousozoku
Senior Member
I'm not sure that I want to comment on this or not. I have strong feelings about Japanese family obligation and the reason these things happen.
The worry about being a failure and bringing dishonour to your family, including all your ancestors presents a unique problem. Students who don't pass their exams for entrance into university sometimes kill themselves and many people overwork themselves just to avoid family shame. I'm not sure society agrees now that family shame is so terrible. Things have relaxed a lot but it must be on people's minds for them to do these things.
When I was last in Japan and staying with a friend, her father came home around 22.00 and he was drunk. He and his colleagues had finished work some time ago, but they were obligated to spend time together "relaxing" and "socialising". Of course, this put burdens on the family life but everyone was supposed to understand because it was good for the company.
I can't finish this right now. It's too painful, but I hope the best for his family and every family out there whose loved one dies because of this.
The worry about being a failure and bringing dishonour to your family, including all your ancestors presents a unique problem. Students who don't pass their exams for entrance into university sometimes kill themselves and many people overwork themselves just to avoid family shame. I'm not sure society agrees now that family shame is so terrible. Things have relaxed a lot but it must be on people's minds for them to do these things.
When I was last in Japan and staying with a friend, her father came home around 22.00 and he was drunk. He and his colleagues had finished work some time ago, but they were obligated to spend time together "relaxing" and "socialising". Of course, this put burdens on the family life but everyone was supposed to understand because it was good for the company.
I can't finish this right now. It's too painful, but I hope the best for his family and every family out there whose loved one dies because of this.
Think it was in the papers last year.... just google for "singapore hp overwork"
Apparently this was her last blog entry before she passed away
http://pinkmayflower.multiply.com/journal/item/140
Cheesecake
Senior Member
Ah I recall that now. I admit it is sad and significant it happened to this individual but I can't say it means that it's prevalent in Singapore. And I hope this is not repeated.
Thank you for sharing and this reaffirm my post earlier that we need to look into other sources of income and not just relying on 1 job for our income. A lot of people can't leave their job because their job is their only source of income. No matter how hard their work life is, they have to endure because they need that paycheck just to make ends meet.
Whenever I walk pass OCBC and saw the advertisement that says, "9 to 5 till the age of 95!", it really scares me.
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