I hope you are not a candidate for “KAROSHI.”
There isn’t even a translatable word in English; closest we can come is to call it “death by overwork.”
“KAROSHI”, according to The International Labor Association, is Japanese and refers to actual death… or work disability… because of one kind of cardiovascular attack or another, like strokes and heart attacks.
Just because the word originated in Japan, Americans aren’t immune.
Nobody is calling “KAROSHI” a medical diagnosis… rather it is usually called a “socio-medical phenomena which kills.”
Dying is serious, so it got my attention.
In Japan, there’s even been a disturbing increase of “KAROJISATSU”… suicide… resulting from too heavy work-loads, lack of control on the job, inadequate pay , bullying and failure to meet impossible goals set by the company.
Author, Dan Miller, warns Americans, in his book, “48 Days to the Work you Love,” to pay attention to signs that you are stressed out beyond that which is healthy.
THINK ABOUT THIS:
Miller writes about a LA Times report of a 33% increase in heart attacks on Monday mornings. More people, it seems, die at 9 o’clock Monday morning than at any other time of day or any other day of the week.
He isn’t the only author or psychologist to write about the idea that “death” BY “KAROSHI ”can also mean loss of lots of other things.
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Surely, you need to protect your body… but it becomes just as important, I think, to honor and protect your spirit and your relationships.
Without making it possible for you to enjoy the comfort and structure of having a real life, your boss won’t get the best of you anyway… even if you do manage to stay alive.
The twenty-four hours we have each day are not expandable. Some companies ignore that it is not to be in their best interest either, to require unreasonable time on the job.
For some who are self-employed, unreasonable effort may be self-inflicted.
This week, in the paper, for example, I saw an article by a woman… a writer… who quoted her little daughter…
“Mommy, do you love your laptop more than you love me?” she asked. The writer was stunned into action. Apparently the child felt she wasn’t getting enough attention. Maybe she wasn’t.
NOW, THINK ABOUT THIS:
In the name of LOVE for yourself… and others… if you’ve got your priorities screwed up a bit or If you are agreeing to do that which you know should be otherwise delegated… re-think.
Of course, continue to say, “Yes” to reasonable commitments at work as well as at home.
But recognize that sometimes saying “No” can create space to do the things which you are best at doing… which will ultimately be to everyone’s advantage anyway.
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