And we complain when we think we’re working too much …
According to the Associated Press, a Japanese labor bureau has ruled that a top engineer for Toyota Motor Corp. in Japan died from working too many hours.
From the AP:
The man who died was aged 45 and had been under severe pressure as the lead engineer in developing a hybrid version of Toyota’s blockbuster Camry line, said Mikio Mizuno, the lawyer representing his wife. His identity is being withheld at the request of his family, who continue to live in Toyota City where the company is based.
In the two months up to his death, he averaged more than 80 hours of overtime per month, the criteria for overwork, according to Mizuno.He regularly worked nights and weekends, was frequently sent abroad and was grappling with shipping a model for the influential North American International Auto Show in Detroit when he died of ischemic heart disease in January 2006. His daughter found his body at their home the day before he was to leave for the United States.
The ruling was handed down June 30 and will allow his family to collect benefits from his work insurance, Mizuno said.In a statement, Toyota offered its condolences and said it would work to improve monitoring of the health of its workers.
The ruling is the most recent in a string of decisions against long working hours in Japan, which is struggling to cut down on deaths from overworking, known as “karoshi.” Such deaths have steadily increased since the Health Ministry first recognized the phenomenon in 1987.
Eighty hours per month of overtime – let’s see, that’s about 20 hours a week, making it a 60-hour week.
Hey, I’ve been in retail, and 60 hour weeks were nothing. Ask a restaurant owner what his or her hours are, too.
Not saying that the man’s death wasn’t tragic, but I know people who have worked more hours than that.
One of the big reasons I left NYC was because of the 60-hour work week. It sucks, but everyone does it. And many people log more hours than that.
I’m with you, Dennis. The death was tragic, but plenty of business owners I know in NeMiss easily log 60 hours each week.
People get their priorities mixed up. If you are working to provide for your family, what good will it be if they have material goods, but no relationship with you?
If you are single and enjoy working more than anything else, you need therapy!
Currently I worry about my own situation, as I work approximately 16 to 20 hours a day, including most weekends, as I run a business. So in terms of hours per week, probably around 110 to 120 hours per week, often under intense pressure. But to tell you the truth, I get bored if I am not working as I enjoy my job a lot. I sleep when I can and take micro sleeps at odd times throughout the day. This is only temporary for a few months until I get through the workload I have assigned at the moment, some aspects of the business are taking a backseat and I will not be pursuing them.
Twenty hour a day? Gosh, that’s not fun.
And, Jamie, I see your link sends us to a Brisbane-based company. Are you joining us from Australia?