American Karoshi — the Problem with Work Stress
Workers at every level have more job stress, and less job control. Epidemiologists say that adds up to more chronic illness. And death.
In Japan, generations of workers have given their all to the code of Karoshi. It’s a word that literally means, “Work til you die."
Few Americans know the word “Karoshi.” We don’t think it happens here. But the workplace now actually ranks as the fifth leading cause of death in America.
To help us understand work stress better, we’re joined by the co-directors of the Healthy Work Campaign. Marnie Dobson and Peter Schnall. How do we shift from work being something that can make your life miserable, to something that can enhance the quality of your life? It comes down to how much power, control and autonomy you have at work.
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Guests:
- Cate Lindemann, a lawyer in Illinois who suffered a stress-induced heart attack
- Cherri Murphy, a pastor and former Lyft driver in California
- Marnie Dobson and Peter Schnall, co-directors of the
Resources
- , Joel Goh, Jeffrey Pfeffer, Stefanos A. Zenios
- , Pega et al, May 2021
- Burgard & Yin 2013
- , a report of the Joint International Labour Office and World Health Organization Committee on Occupational Health (1985)
- , Paul Spector, 2002 “Evidence is growing that enhanced control at work can be an important element in employees' health and well–being.”
- , Healthy Work Campaign
- Healthy Work Survey, for , , Healthy Work Campaign
- , American Psychological Association
- , ILO, 2016
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