# Worked to death...literally **URL:** \ **Category:** NYSpeed Off Topic\ **Created:** [July 9, 2008, 1:45pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/worked-to-death-literally/51262 "2008-07-09T13:45:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![snowracer101](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@snowracer101](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/snowracer101)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2008, 1:45pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/worked-to-death-literally/51262/1 "2008-07-09T13:45:02Z")
[http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080709/ap\_on\_bi\_ge/japan\_overwork\_death](http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080709/ap_on_bi_ge/japan_overwork_death) > TOKYO - A Japanese labor bureau has ruled that one of Toyota’s top car engineers died from working too many hours, the latest in a string of such findings in a nation where extraordinarily long hours for some employees has long been the norm. > > 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. The man’s 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, the man averaged more than 80 hours of overtime per month, according to Mizuno. > > He regularly worked nights and weekends, was frequently sent abroad and was grappling with shipping a model for the pivotal North American International Auto Show in Detroit when he died of ischemic heart disease in January 2006. The man’s 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. > > An officer at the Aichi Labor Bureau on Wednesday confirmed the ruling, but declined to comment on the record. > > In a statement, Toyota Motor Corp. offered its condolences and said it would work to improve monitoring of the health of its workers. > > There is an effort in Japan to cut down on deaths from overwork, known as “karoshi.” Such deaths have steadily increased since the Health Ministry first recognized the phenomenon in 1987. > > Last year, a court in central Japan ordered the government to pay compensation to Hiroko Uchino, the wife of a Toyota employee who collapsed at work and died at age 30 in 2002. She took the case to court after her application to the local labor bureau for compensation was rejected. ---
**Author:** ![camarojoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c67d28/32.png) [@camarojoe](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/camarojoe)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2008, 1:51pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/worked-to-death-literally/51262/2 "2008-07-09T13:51:30Z")
So he worked 60 hour weeks. I’m sure you can find some people that do that all the time. Or people with 2 or 3 jobs. I hope he wasn’t salary. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cavi\_Mike](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/cavi_mike/32/5217_2.png) [@Cavi\_Mike](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Cavi_Mike)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2008, 1:57pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/worked-to-death-literally/51262/3 "2008-07-09T13:57:52Z")
80hrs of OT per month is a lot? Are you kidding me? I did that for a year straight and I worked with a guy that got that much OT in 2 weeks. Sounds like Japan might be following in the footsteps of America with frivolous lawsuits. ---
**Author:** ![newman](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/newman/32/7569_2.png) [@newman](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/newman)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2008, 2:11pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/worked-to-death-literally/51262/4 "2008-07-09T14:11:41Z")
it’s 2.5 years old to boot. ---
**Author:** ![ly555is](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3bc359/32.png) [@ly555is](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/ly555is)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2008, 2:13pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/worked-to-death-literally/51262/5 "2008-07-09T14:13:07Z")
my ex’s father typically does 100hrs, sometimes 120hrs/wk at Goodyear Chemical pussy ---
**Author:** ![newman](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/newman/32/7569_2.png) [@newman](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/newman)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2008, 2:14pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/worked-to-death-literally/51262/6 "2008-07-09T14:14:12Z")
when i started reading 80 hours of overtime a… i was thinking WEEK, and was like… yeah, that’s a lot of fucking work… but month? Meh. ---
**Author:** ![BuickGN](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/buickgn/32/7200_2.png) [@BuickGN](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/BuickGN)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2008, 2:22pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/worked-to-death-literally/51262/7 "2008-07-09T14:22:41Z")
im lucky if i work 40 a week ---
**Author:** ![FightinMike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@FightinMike](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/FightinMike)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2008, 2:27pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/worked-to-death-literally/51262/8 "2008-07-09T14:27:05Z")
I’ve read from Americans over there that the japanese stay at work for the majority of the day. But its smoke breaks every 15 minutes, naps at the desk, so its not like they’re getting more done. Its just a cultural shame thing to be the first one to leave. That being said, wtf? 80hrs of OT? ---
**Author:** ![66impalass](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/66impalass/32/7429_2.png) [@66impalass](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/66impalass)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/worked-to-death-literally/51262/9 "2008-07-09T14:40:43Z")
I wish I only had 20 hours of overtime a week ☹ ---
**Author:** ![LXIFLYBY](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/lxiflyby/32/7399_2.png) [@LXIFLYBY](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/LXIFLYBY)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/worked-to-death-literally/51262/10 "2008-07-09T18:45:02Z")
ive had 115 hr weeks before and ive also worked entire MONTHS of 7 days a week, 12 hours a day work. And this isnt cubicle jockey stuff either ---
**Author:** ![slowtalon](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/slowtalon/32/7205_2.png) [@slowtalon](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/slowtalon)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 5:02am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/worked-to-death-literally/51262/11 "2008-07-11T05:02:57Z")
> [@ly555is](#): > > my ex’s father typically does 100hrs, sometimes 120hrs/wk at Goodyear Chemical > > pussy i worked 2 22hr days once but it was a monday and a wed and we got the rest of the week off, and it was a bitch. to get 120hrs you gotta work 6 20hr days how the fuck would you stay awake by day 3 youd be dead, unless his job didnt include manual labor i dont know how he’d do it. besides isnt it illegal to work more then 16hrs i know NYS mandates 8 hrs between shifts for construction i dont know if other jobs are the same or not but you must get at least 8 hours off in between shifts. ---
**Author:** ![LAFENGAS](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/lafengas/32/7573_2.png) [@LAFENGAS](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/LAFENGAS)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 5:10am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/worked-to-death-literally/51262/12 "2008-07-11T05:10:01Z")
does anybody know how long a work week is there? Is it 40hrs? ---
**Author:** ![slowtalon](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/slowtalon/32/7205_2.png) [@slowtalon](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/slowtalon)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 5:14am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/worked-to-death-literally/51262/13 "2008-07-11T05:14:50Z")
from wikipedia By far, workers in South Korea have the longest work hours in the world. The average South Korean works 2,390 hours each year, according to the OECD. This is over 400 hours longer than the next longest-working country and 34% more hours than the average in the United States. A typical workweek in South Korea is 44 hours or longer. Most people start their day at 8am and end at around 7pm or later, often having dinner before returning to work. Until legislation in 2004 that virtually abolished the six-day workweek in large corporations known as “jaebol”, South Korea was the only country in the OECD that worked Saturdays.[5] Work hours in Japan are decreasing, but many Japanese still work long hours. Recently, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) has issued a draft report recommending major changes to regulations that govern working hours. The centerpiece of the proposal is an exemption from overtime pay for white-collar workers. South Korea and Japan are the only countries where death by work or “karoshi” (과로사) is a recognized phenomenon.[6] ---
**Author:** ![newman](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/newman/32/7569_2.png) [@newman](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/newman)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 5:32am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/worked-to-death-literally/51262/14 "2008-07-11T05:32:37Z")
> [@LAFENGAS](#): > > does anybody know how long a work week is there? Is it 40hrs? good point. ---
**Author:** ![91MR2](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/91mr2/32/7217_2.png) [@91MR2](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/91MR2)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 5:33am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/worked-to-death-literally/51262/15 "2008-07-11T05:33:07Z")
I would venture to guess that it wasn’t the job’s hours that killed him, but rather the certain stress he was put under in trying to fulfill the job he was gven… ---
**Author:** ![Paulo](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/paulo/32/7328_2.png) [@Paulo](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/Paulo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 7:17am UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/worked-to-death-literally/51262/16 "2008-07-11T07:17:59Z")
I would assume that this case is specific to the individual for his own health problems, but people do work alot harder in Asia as compared to here. (from what I’m told) ---
**Author:** ![slowtalon](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/slowtalon/32/7205_2.png) [@slowtalon](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/slowtalon)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 8:45pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/worked-to-death-literally/51262/17 "2008-07-11T20:45:15Z")
> [@Paulo](#): > > I would assume that this case is specific to the individual for his own health problems, but people do work alot harder in Asia as compared to here. (from what I’m told) as stated above from the wiki snippit South Korea and Japan are the only countries where death by work or “karoshi” (과로사) is a recognized phenomenon. i doubt if it was case specific it would be considered a phenomenon, that makes it sound like its something that happens frequently over ther. i also saw something on that same page that said the japanese work week was greatly reduced because this used to happen alot and when they shortened the week that gained praise from alot of asain countrys. thats why korea is number 1 now. ---
**Author:** ![klug](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex034/user_avatar/forums.speedlife.net/klug/32/5222_2.png) [@klug](https://forums.speedlife.net/u/klug)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2008, 9:02pm UTC](https://forums.speedlife.net/t/worked-to-death-literally/51262/18 "2008-07-11T21:02:09Z")
that is one of the things this country has going for it. most of us do work very hard compared to the rest of the world.