Causes and Effects
While workaholics receive praise for the quality of their work and the hours they commit to their jobs, the price they pay can be steep. A combination of a person’s personality, work culture, and job demands can all lead to workaholism and its negative consequences.
In Japan, workaholism is so pervasive that there is a word in the Japanese language that describes work’s worst consequence–karoshi, which translates to “death by overwork.” Employees in Japan face pressure to work hundreds of hours of “free overtime” in order to succeed. As a result, some Japanese workers work so much that they die as a result of heart attacks or stroke because of stress or starvation diets. The government now recognizes karoshi as a cause of death and families of the deceased can receive compensation from both the company and government.