Saturday, June 03, 2017

Karoshi

Japan has some of the longest working hours in the world, and some young Japanese workers are literally working themselves to death. 

Nearly a quarter of Japanese companies have employees working more than 80 hours overtime a month, often unpaid, a recent survey found. And 12% have employees breaking the 100 hours a month mark. Those numbers are important; 80 hours overtime a month is regarded as the threshold above which you have an increased chance of dying.

Workers are entitled to 20 days leave a year but currently about 35% don't take any of it.

Earlier this year the government proposed limiting average overtime to 60 hours a month though firms would be allowed to up this to 100 hours during "busy periods" - well into the karoshi red zone. Critics say the government is prioritizing business and economic interests at the expense of the welfare of workers.

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