Too much work can cause death
Work and mental health are related, since working brings many benefits for people: it gives meaning to our lives, it provides economic stability ... While it is a source of well-being, overwork can be harmful to our body, as many studies claim . It can cause, among many phenomena, what is known as burnout or burning syndrome.
Now, overwork can cause death . Today we will talk about a recent case in which a person died for working many hours.
- Related article: "I have no job: 7 expert tips to find it"
The negative consequences of working
Work is health, because in the world in which we live, it is necessary to earn a minimum of money in order to survive. Also, if we dedicate ourselves to what we like, work can be a source of happiness.
However, overwork has harmful consequences for people's health. But how does it affect us? Work can cause both psychological and physical problems . The most important are the following.
1. Stress
Stress is one of the most frequent problems that can arise from overwork. That does not mean that this phenomenon can not appear by other organizations phenomena that have nothing to do with the workplace (for example, the bad relationship with colleagues), however, the overload of tasks and excessive work can cause A worker ends up suffering stress.
- If you want to know more: "8 essential tips to reduce work stress"
2. Burnout
When stress is chronic, what is known as burnout or burn syndrome appears, because the stressors do not disappear, the person ends up fused.
- You can go deeper into this topic in our article: "Burnout (Burning Syndrome): how to detect it and take action"
3. Depression
Excessive work can also bring sadness and depression , because we spend a lot of time doing work tasks and not being able to enjoy time for ourselves. It also takes us away from social relationships and, at the same time, causes us to have fewer moments to enjoy life. If we do not enjoy our life we are not happy.
4. Difficulties sleeping
Excessive work and the stress derived from it can cause sleep difficulties, not only for quantity but also for quality. The dream is health, so we advise you to follow the advice that appears in this article: "10 basic principles for good sleep hygiene".
5. Substance abuse
Among the problems arising from overwork we can also find substance abuse . For when a person is at the limit, he may decide to escape from reality by using drugs such as alcohol and other drugs.
Too much work can cause death
To work too much not only causes these consequences, but it can also cause death. Only a few days ago we were able to see the case of a Japanese woman who died due to the amount of extra hours she worked. After his death in 2013, the company where he worked confirmed that his death was the cause of long hours of work and lack of rest.
The deceased was a journalist of 31 years, who was an employee of the Japanese television network NHK This is a new case of death from overwork in Japan, so it is not the first.
Miwa Sado, that's the name of the journalist, he worked 159 extra hours and only left two days in the month before his death . This caused a congestive heart failure, according to revealed the results of his autopsy, and according to the Japanese public broadcaster.
The situation in Japan must be reviewed
The labor situation has been precarious in some countries such as Spain, but Japan's model of society is even more extreme. During this critical period of work, which led to her death, the journalist covered the elections of the Tokyo Government and those of the Upper House of Parliament.
NHK has regretted what happened and for that reason has decided to change the policies of the company. With this, it pretends that the happened thing does not happen again.
However, the excess of extra hours is not unusual in Japan, which in 2016 produced a report that stated that almost a quarter of the active population exceeded 80 extra hours per month.
Just one month ago, the government of this country approved a package of emergency measures that were intended to prevent new cases such as Miwa Sado. In this country, in 2015, at least 2,159 people committed suicide.Of which 675 of them decided to end their lives because of exhaustion , according to data from the Ministry of Labor of Japan.
- Recommended article: "Suicides: data, statistics and associated mental disorders"
Hikikomori, a characteristic disorder of the Japanese country
The Japanese culture is very demanding, and the psychological problems of the inhabitants of this country are very frequent. Excessive work is very common in the Japanese country, but so is the requirement in most areas of Japanese life, for example studies (even at early ages).
One of the disorders that has been talked about most in recent years is the Hikikomori. If you want to know what it is about, you can read our article: "Hikikomori: young people permanently locked in their room".
