Karoshi Syndrome, work oneself to death! Popular disease among Japanese

Many of you may have heard that “Hard work never kills anyone”, in fact, it is quite the opposite. There are many study cases that prove that “hard work can kill” If you are the one who works hard which leads you to be tired, exhausted, out of passion, bad mental and physical health. These symptoms may signal that you are having Karoshi Syndrome. Let’s see if you are having the following syndrome or not, how to prevent it and a solution for it.

What is Karoshi Syndrome?

Karoshi Syndrome or hard working till death is exhaustion or fatigue from long consecutive hard work, insufficient rest, tiredness, and accumulated stress that may lead to serious symptoms such as heart attack.

The term originated in Japanese, with the word “Karoshi” becoming famous after news broke that a famous television station employee died of heart failure due to heavy overtime work. In addition, there is a well-known national agency employee who can’t stand the stress of working and decides to end one’s life. This is why people have become more interested in the ‘effects’ of overwork.

To easily understand, “Karoshi Syndrome” refers to a work-to-death condition, which is not identified as one of the diseases, but to a state of extreme fatigue from overwork that can lead to subsequent deaths.

The causes of Karoshi Syndrome

There are two major causes of death from Karoshi Syndrome:

Death by disease.
Death by accumulated stress

Due to hard work, our body doesn’t get enough rest, sleep and lack of nutrition which happens to people who wait for the work to be done then go eating which is why our body cannot tolerate the disease. In case of stress, can seriously affect our state of mind, pressure us to feel worthless, depressed, and end up committing suicide.

The symptom of Karoshi Syndrome

Thinking about work most of the time, like your brain doesn’t rest, sometimes you may dream about your work.
Work overtime for a long time in a row
It takes a lot of time to work, starts early, and leaves work late for a long time in a row.
Unable to take a leave of absence, no opportunity to take a leave of absence, or barely spend one’s days on sick, vacation, and personal leave.
Get stress from work or work under pressure.
Hardly ever take a day off whether sick leave or vacation leave.
Can’t sleep, can’t sleep tight, exhausted and doesn’t get enough rest
Hardly have time to rest till you can’t remember the last time you took a rest.
Do not have time for yourself or people you love.

How to prevent Karoshi Syndrome

Prioritize a task
Divide one’s working hours and living into clear terms
Relax one’s stress with one’s favorite activities
Scheduling breaks during work, working long hours makes you feel tired.
Take care of yourself regularly by eating healthy foods, exercising, and taking a rest on weekends.
Speak clearly to the supervisor or personnel when there is a problem with the work.

Anyone who is workaholic needs to warn oneself to have time to rest. Working hard or having a passion for work is good, but working too seriously may be at risk of developing Karoshi Syndrome. Therefore, it is better to choose a moderate practice so that working does not pose a health risk.