Overworking can cause death

Work and mental health are related, since working provides many benefits for people: it gives meaning to our lives, provides economic stability... Although it is a source of well-being, overwork can be detrimental to our body as many say studies. It can cause, among many phenomena, what is known as burnout or burn syndrome.

Now, overwork can cause death. Today we will talk about a recent case in which a person died from working long hours.

• Related article: “I don't have a job: 7 expert tips to find it”

The negative consequences of working

Work is health, because in the world we live in it is necessary to earn a minimum amount 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 detrimental 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 appear due to overwork. This does not mean that this phenomenon cannot appear due to other organizational phenomena that do not have to do with the job (for example, poor relationship with colleagues), however, the overload of tasks and excessive work can cause a worker to end up suffering stress.

• If you want to know more: "8 essential tips to reduce work stress”

2. Burnout

When stress becomes chronic, what is known as burnout or burnout syndrome appears, since the stressors do not disappear, the person ends up melting down.

• You can go deeper into this topic in our article: “Burnout (Burn Syndrome): how to detect it and take action”

3. Depression

Being overworked 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 distances us 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. sleeping difficulties

Overwork and the stress derived from it can cause difficulties sleeping, not only because of the quantity but also because of the quality. Sleep 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 derived from overwork we can also find substance abuse. Well, when a person is on the edge, it is possible that he decides to escape from reality by consuming drugs such as alcohol and other drugs.

Overworking can cause death

Overworking not only causes these consequences, but can also lead to death. Just a few days ago we learned about the case of a Japanese woman who died due to the amount of overtime she worked. After her death in 2013, the company where she worked confirmed that her death was caused by long work hours and lack of rest.

The deceased was a 31-year-old journalist, who was an employee of the Japanese television channel NHK This is a new case of death from overwork in Japan, so it is not the first.

Miwa Sado, that was the name of the journalist, she worked 159 overtime hours and only had two days off in the month before her death. This caused her congestive heart failure, as revealed by the results of her autopsy, and as expressed by the Japanese public chain.

The situation in Japan needs to be reviewed

The employment situation has become more precarious in some countries such as Spain, but the Japanese society model is even more extreme. During this critical period of work, the one that led to her death, the journalist covered the elections of the Government of Tokyo and those of the Upper House of Parliament.

NHK has regretted what happened and for this reason has decided to change the company's policies. With this, he intends that what happened does not happen again.

However, excessive overtime is not unusual in Japan, which in 2016 drew up a report that stated that practically a quarter of the active population worked over 80 hours overtime a month.

Just a few months ago, the government of this country approved a package of emergency measures whose purpose was to prevent new cases like that of Miwa Sado. In this country, in 2015, at least 2,159 people committed suicide. Of which 675 of them decided to end their lives due to 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. Overwork is very common in the Japanese country, but so is the demand in most areas of Japanese life, for example studies (even at an early age).

One of the disorders that has been talked about the most in recent years is Hikikomori. If you want to know what it is about, you can read our article: “Hikikomori: young people permanently locked in their room”.