Monday, December 10, 2007

Working To Death... Sadly It's True

According to the Associated Press (AP), last week a court in Japan ordered the Toyota Motor Corporation to pay compensation to a woman who argued that her husband died from overwork.

According to woman's lawyer, Kenichi Uchino (the departed) had been working overtime as a middle manager at a Toyota factory when he suddenly collapsed and died in February of 2002.
He was just 30 years old. Before dying, Mr. Uchino had logged 80 hours of overtime a month for a sustained period of six months, and had logged 114 extra hours the month he died.
Sadly, Mr. Uchino is anything but an isolated case. In fact, the Japanese even have a word for punching the clock until you drop.
Working yourself to death is known in Japanese as karōshi (過労死), which directly translates to "death from overwork." Known in medical circles as occupational sudden death, the major medical causes of karōshi are believed to be stress-induced heart attack and stroke.


http://www.gadling.com/2007/12/06/big-in-japan-man-works-himself-to-death-company-compensates-wi/

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