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Karoshi (overwork)

April 5, 2001

"Workaholics don't hurt just themselves, their families, and their friends by their joyless addiction to checking the next task off their list.  In the long run, they hurt the organizations to which they are so committed.  By not taking time for refreshment and play, they get stale, lose perspective, and set themselves up for stress-induced illnesses.  The 10,000 Japanese businessmen who die each year of karoshi (overwork) certainly haven't done their former employers any favor.

Even though workaholics spend more time working than their peers who take time to play, studies show that they do not get significantly more accomplished.  And because they are always in the task mode, they are not as imaginative or innovative.  Dick Munro, former co-chairman of Time-Warner, is one business leader who declares himself 'dead set' against workaholics.  Working like that causes you to lose enthusiasm and vitality and inhibits creativity.'  Munro says that throughout his long career at Time he rarely took a train home later than 6 P.M. (Morreall, 1997, p.254)."

Reference:  Morreall, J. (1997).  Humor works.  Amherst, MA: HRD Press.

Are you suffering from karoshi?

Humor Works is available on loan at the OSU Leadership Center.  A listing of all the Leadership Center's resources is available on our website http://leadershipcenter.osu.edu/

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Created: 2009-01-02, Updated: 2009-01-15