Latest news with #overwork
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Work you to death': How young people are fighting back against Japan's ‘toxic' work culture
Think your work weeks are long? Try taking a job in Japan. It's the country where the workers refuse to be seen leaving the office. To the point you might see them dropping dead on their desk. That's no metaphor. It's called 'karoshi'. Death by overwork. That this social illness has its own special name shows just how pervasive it is. For decades, Japan has been plagued by people driven to die early from the stress of their never-ending jobs. The issue is even blamed for the country's critically low birth rate and declining productivity. Pressure on home soil and abroad has forced the government to do something about it. But critics say its not enough. And on the ground, we're still hearing the same sinister story. So young workers are taking matters into their own hands. But what's driving the brutal overwork culture? 'So exhausted' Despite government claims of cracking down on exploitative employers, it seems there's still more work to be done. Employers have been taking to social media to lift a lid on just how demanding their hours are. One recently viral video, from user Salaryman Tokyo, charts a gruelling day in the life. From his 7am wake-up to a 11.50pm dinner. That's an 18.5 hour workday. The man claims to work for what's known as a 'black company'. These sweatshop-style employers are notorious for demanding around-the-clock working hours. According to the user, Salaryman Tokyo, black companies 'focus on hiring fresh graduates because they are inexperienced and less likely to resist harsh working conditions'. The man 'finally' leaves work at 8.15pm, writing that he felt 'so exhausted'. By the time he gets home, he can barely squeeze in dinner. 'Working long hours is not productive,' Salaryman concluded. He's not mistaken. Rather than helping profits, overwork hurts them. Employers suffer low productivity, poor retention, absenteeism or unplanned leave, or the TikTok trend of 'quiet quitting'. So why has it taken so long to change?' Corporate loyalty Japan is a big believer in corporate loyalty. Most workers will rarely switch companies or careers once they've scored a position. But that's not enough. Because the real measure of your loyalty is how long your feet spend under your desk. Japan's rapidly-ageing population plays a part. In 2024, the country recorded its ninth straight year of birthrate decline, with the number of babies born falling to a record low of 720,988. For every new baby born, more than two people died. This phenomenon has left many employers grappling with labour shortages. To combat this, 'black companies' use a bait-and-switch approach. They advertise a role with reasonable working hours, then offer a contract with much longer hours to the successful applicant. These hours may run overnight or on weekends, with no overtime pay. It's also frowned upon for workers to go home before their boss. Working overtime for free is the norm. This means many workers clock up 80-hour weeks, year-round To put it in perspective, in Australia full-time employees work an average of 38 hours. Japanese workers also rarely take days off. Japan ranks among the lowest allotted annual leave benefits of any country in the world. As Japanese reporter Himari Semans told ABC News, '[It's a] toxic work culture'. Burnout cycle This burnout cycle takes a corrosive toll. Over sustained periods, overwork can cause high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other conditions contributing to chronic disease. Not to mention poor mental health and exhaustion. That's why it's so common to see salarymen – a term for Japanese businessman devoted to their jobs – dozing on Tokyo's train system. But behind closed doors, the reality is much darker. Grinding themselves to the ground, Japan's workers are suffering stress-induced heart attacks, strokes or starvation. Official figures put cases of karoshi between hundreds and thousands each year. But experts say the real number is much higher. Many of these deaths are by suicide, another tragic side of the story. Breaking point It was the case that finally brought change. In perhaps the highest profile examples of karoshi, a 26-year-old doctor died by suicide in 2022. Shingo Takashima, 26, was later found to have worked 100 days straight and 207 hours of overtime in the month leading up to his death. The hospital where Takashima was employed denied his death was professionally related. But the backlash wouldn't go away. To tackle the problem, the Japanese Government planned sweeping employment law reforms. They recently offered employers a half day off on the last Friday of each month, and started naming and shaming 'black companies' In April, amended laws came into effect requiring companies to offer flexible work options including a four-day work week. But not everyone is convinced. '(I) heard Japan is implementing (a) four-day work week' Salaryman Tokyo says in his video. 'Guess that was just rumours. My work schedule didn't change at all this year.' The government claims more change is coming. But younger workers aren't sitting around waiting for it. Doing less According to a new survey, 45 per cent of full-time employees in Japan now identify as 'quiet quitters'. The trend, which first went viral on TikTok in 2022, is about helping workers avoid burnout by doing the bare minimum. The survey of 3000 Japanese workers by job-matching company Mynavi found the quiet quitting was most common with young workers, with 46.7 per cent of those in their 20s identifying as quiet quitters. This reflects the global trend for Gen Z workers opting for work-life balance. 'As values are becoming more diverse, it's important for companies to accept the diverse values of individuals and offer flexible work styles that fit them,' says researcher Akari Asahina. The rest of the world is watching closely. Because overwork – and even karoshi – are not uniquely Japanese. According to a 2021 study by the World Health Organization and International Labour Organization, approximately 750,000 people who worked more than 55 hours per week died from karoshi globally. In Australia, full-time employees work an average of 6.2 hours on top of the standard 38 hours each week. That's a worse work-life balance than New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. And our numbers are surging. So Japan should be a cautionary tale. Because while many sides of Japanese culture are worth emulating, death from overwork is not one of them.
Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- Health
- Free Malaysia Today
Working long hours could alter brain structure, study finds
A new study reveals structural alterations in the brains of those who work more than 52 hours a week. (Envato Elements pic) PARIS : Like many working people, you may have extended your day at the office, long after your colleagues have left, to answer emails or finish an urgent task. But at what cost? This habit, deeply rooted in many professional cultures, is gradually undermining personal wellbeing – it feeds chronic stress and weakens mental and physical health, to the point of disrupting the very functioning of the brain. These are the findings of researchers from Chung-Ang and Yonsei Universities in South Korea. Analysing the effects of overwork on the human brain, they conducted a study involving 110 professionals, mostly from the healthcare sector. The participants were divided into two groups: the first comprised 32 people working 52 hours or more a week; the second, 78 people with standard working hours. Brain imaging revealed clear differences in grey matter volumes, particularly in areas associated with executive function and emotional regulation. The results are striking: the scientists found a significant increase in grey matter in certain brain regions as a possible physical effect of burnout. The middle frontal gyrus, which plays a role in attention, memory and advanced cognitive functions, showed a 19% increase in volume in the most overworked workers. Other areas were also affected, such as the superior frontal gyrus, involved in planning and decision-making, and the insula, essential for self-awareness, emotional management and interpreting social context. The experts state in a press release that 'the observed changes in brain volume may provide a biological basis for the cognitive and emotional challenges often reported in overworked individuals'. A joint study by the WHO and ILO in 2021 attributed more than 745,000 deaths a year to overwork. (Envato Elements pic) What exactly does this mean? For now, the answer remains unclear. 'While the results should be interpreted cautiously due to the exploratory nature of this pilot study, they represent a meaningful first step in understanding the relationship between overwork and brain health,' the researchers say. For the time being, it is impossible to determine whether these changes are directly caused by overwork, whether they pre-exist it, or whether they are reversible. Although the study sample remains small – consisting exclusively of South Korean healthcare workers – the results form part of a worrying trend. In 2021, a joint study by the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization attributed over 745,000 deaths a year to overwork. The link between long working hours and cognitive decline is now well documented, and at a time when trials of the four-day week are multiplying, these conclusions serve as a wake-up call. 'The results underscore the importance of addressing overwork as an occupational health concern, and highlight the need for workplace policies that mitigate excessive working hours,' the researchers caution. Concrete measures – legislation, public policy, time limits – therefore need to be considered to protect workers in the long term.
South China Morning Post
15-05-2025
- Health
- South China Morning Post
Working long hours can alter brain structure, affecting memory and emotions, study finds
People who work too hard and for too long can end up altering parts of their brains that manage memory and problem solving, new research suggests. A team of South Korean researchers said their findings 'underscore the importance of addressing overwork as an occupational health concern and highlight the need for workplace policies that mitigate excessive working hours'. Published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine, a British Medical Journal publication, the research points to overwork as a potential cause of 'neuroadaptive changes that might affect cognitive and emotional health'. 'Killing it' at work has long been associated with health risks that can literally kill, such as cardiovascular disease and mental health issues, with the International Labour Organization estimating the worldwide annual death toll from overwork at around 800,000. The South Korean researchers say their findings 'highlight the need for workplace policies that mitigate excessive working hours'. Photo: Shutterstock And while the researchers acknowledged that the 'behavioural and psychological consequences of overwork are reasonably well understood', they said they aimed to investigate 'the underlying neurological mechanisms and anatomical changes' stemming from working too hard.
Daily Mail
14-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Scientists discover overworking can cause brain damage
A new study suggests that working 52 hours or more each week harms people's memory, problem solving skills and disrupts their emotions. Experts found that being 'overworked' alters the structure of the brain in areas linked to thinking, social skills, and mental health. The group looked at the impact of overworking on specific brain regions in health workers who regularly clocked up a 52-hour week or more. The researchers drew on data from a long-term study looking at worker health and used MRI scans to examine brain structure. Around 110 workers, mostly clinicians, were included in the final analysis which was published in the journal Occupational And Environmental Medicine. Of these, 32 worked excessive weekly hours, while 78 worked standard hours. Those putting in long working hours every week were significantly younger, had spent less time in work and were more highly educated than those clocking up standard hours. The researchers said: 'Overworked individuals exhibited significant changes in brain regions associated with executive function and emotional regulation.' Analysis showed a 19 per cent increase in left caudal middle frontal gyrus volume in the overworked group compared with the non-overworked group. This part of the brain plays a major role in several cognitive functions, particularly those occurring in the frontal lobe. The area of the brain is involved in attention, working memory, and language-related processing. Other areas involved in attention, planning and decision-making were also changed in those working more hours according to the scans, plus regions involved in emotional processing, self-awareness, and understanding social context. The team concluded: 'This study provides preliminary evidence that overwork is associated with structural brain changes, particularly in regions linked to cognition and emotion. 'These findings provide novel neurobiological evidence linking prolonged working hours to structural brain changes, emphasising the need for further research to understand the long-term cognitive and emotional implications of overwork. 'The results underscore the importance of addressing overwork as an occupational health concern and highlight the need for workplace policies that mitigate excessive working hours.' Ruth Wilkinson, head of policy and public affairs at the charity the Institution Of Occupational Safety And Health, said: 'Global analysis from the World Health Organisation and International Labour Organisation has found that working long hours is on the increase and is responsible for about one-third of the total estimated work-related burden of disease. 'We believe urgent action is needed to tackle an epidemic of long working hours. 'A long hours culture can be experienced in what we've identified as the 'small print' of working life today. 'This captures those hidden or unspoken expectations placed on top of workers' contracts. 'It includes always having to be available/on duty in this digital age, stripped of the right to disconnect from work outside of normal working hours…. 'Our YouGov survey, last year, showed that nearly a quarter of UK workers regularly work more than the legal maximum people should work in the UK (48 hours a week), while 44 per cent said working more than your contracted hours is part of the culture in their organisation. 'More than half said they regularly check work emails and messages outside of working hours. 'We want to see employers strip away the 'small print', identify and tackle psycho-social risks as part of risk assessment processes and become more transparent in how they treat their workers.'
The Guardian
14-05-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
The 52-hour work week: why it could boost your brain – in a bad way
Name: The 52-hour work week. Age: Relatively new – our hunter-gatherer ancestors probably only worked for 15 hours a week. Appearance: Frazzled. How much is a 52-hour week, exactly? It works out to 10.4 hours a day, five days a week. Mad. And stupid. You'd have to be, right? A new study suggests those working more than 52 hours could suffer effects including 'emotional instability or reduced cognitive efficiency in the longer term'. So working too hard is bad for you. I'm shocked. Previous studies have shown that overwork leads to stress, anxiety and reduced cognitive function. But the new study, published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, also shows that working too hard produces physical changes in the brain. What kind of changes? Increased brain volume in specific areas associated with executive function – cognitive skills – and emotional regulation in those working more than 52 hours a week, when compared with a non-overworked group. So the more I work, the smarter and more emotionally regulated I get. That could be happening in the short term, but other studies have shown such increases in grey matter can have a negative impact on executive function. Why have they settled on 52 hours? The study examined the brains of healthcare workers in South Korea, where the Korean Labour Standards Act identifies 52 hours a week as the critical threshold for increased health risk. Other studies have used 55 hours. What about Britain? How much is too much? In the UK it's illegal to make someone work more than 48 hours per week. Not just illegal, but almost impossible – you'd probably have to come in on Fridays! But 48 hours is an average, normally calculated over 17 weeks. And there are exceptions. What kind of exceptions? Those working in the armed forces, emergency services and police, for example. Just the sort of people you'd want to have tip-top cognitive function, ironically. You can also opt out of the 48-hour week and work more hours, as long as you confirm that in writing. I would consider doing that, if I was able to secure my dream job. What is your dream job? Testing mattresses. I think you'll find it's more difficult than it sounds. Do say: 'I worked hard to get where I am today – emotionally unstable and cognitively impaired.' Don't say: 'Do you ever do studies on people who work fewer than 20 hours a week? Because I'd like to sign up.'
