Amid tough economic times, the problem of overwork takes toll on a lot of Japanese employees. A study shows about 53% of them have experienced more stress with the ongoing global financial crisis.

Experts say that thousands of workers in Japan are overworking well beyond their limits to the point of death literally. In their language, Japanese call it “Karoshi” or death due to overwork. The financial crisis even worsens the everyday picture of a hectic work life where almost everyone works late into the night.

Going home or going out with friends is also not a relief since chats will focus on the everyday stresses at work and problems with their superiors.

Overwork may be annoying to some but to a great number of employees, the busy work situation leads to poor blood circulation, arteriosclerosis, and even stroke.

In 2007, around 2200 Japanese committed hara-kiri or suicide. During the same year, as much as 10000 workers had heart problems, strokes, and other problems due to stress.

Only 105 of these problem cases were reported and addressed properly. Majority did not report to the authorities or employers because of the time involved to certify the case which highly likely will just be a hopeless case.

Around 58% of family compensation claims for karoshi were rejected in 2007. The figure is a big leap from the 95% rejection in the 1990’s.

Suicide remains a taboo and businesses in Japan share a common sentiment that an employee’s mental health is a personal concern that the employee should address.