I had to learn this the hard way.
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Japanese reporter died after clocking 159 hours of overtime
- Thread starter badboy78660
- Start date
I had to learn this the hard way.
bigbaldwolf86
Banned
I work to live not live to work
I don't do overtime and don't really socialise with work mates. I see them more than my kids as it is and that time with my kids is the most important time for me.
I don't do overtime and don't really socialise with work mates. I see them more than my kids as it is and that time with my kids is the most important time for me.
Chie Satonaka
Member
I have done a 13 hour day once. Just once.
For my original eight, I didn't have a lunch, so they asked me to stay. I said I'd do it if they bought me dinner and gave me an hour to eat and refresh myself.
We weren't even busy when I did it. It was five hours of talking with coworkers and surfing the web.
I'll never do it again. Eight hour workdays are already long enough.
I can't imagine what it's like to be in Japan where massive overtime is a normal thing. They need to start getting really fucking serious about changing their work culture. Quickly. It's insane.
For my original eight, I didn't have a lunch, so they asked me to stay. I said I'd do it if they bought me dinner and gave me an hour to eat and refresh myself.
We weren't even busy when I did it. It was five hours of talking with coworkers and surfing the web.
I'll never do it again. Eight hour workdays are already long enough.
I can't imagine what it's like to be in Japan where massive overtime is a normal thing. They need to start getting really fucking serious about changing their work culture. Quickly. It's insane.
Pretty sure they'd rather go extinct..
Agent_ShortBus
Member
I'm all for overtime if you're getting paid for it. No way am I working for free. I remember working a month straight and in the end it wasn't even worth the overtime at that point because my check got taxed to shit. Never again. I don't mind working an extra 10 hours every two weeks as long as I get paid.
Was thinking, "Wow, 159 hours is a long time" in regards of OT, but I thought it was in a week, and not a month.
Now, that's still way too many hours, but in my youth, I definitely beat that, for mutliple months straight, for a couple of years. 7 days a week, 12-15 hour days.
Haven't done anything like that in over a decade (working that nice and normal 40-45 hour weeks), but maybe that's why my memory isn't what it used to be.
Nice way to build up a nest egg, but it's rough.
Is OT as widespread a thing now-a-days? Seems like it's gone away in lead up to the recession (and continued on)
Now, that's still way too many hours, but in my youth, I definitely beat that, for mutliple months straight, for a couple of years. 7 days a week, 12-15 hour days.
Haven't done anything like that in over a decade (working that nice and normal 40-45 hour weeks), but maybe that's why my memory isn't what it used to be.
Nice way to build up a nest egg, but it's rough.
Is OT as widespread a thing now-a-days? Seems like it's gone away in lead up to the recession (and continued on)
I wouldn't say fuck overtime specially if im getting paid double time, but mandatory OT can suck and unpaid OT for m will never happen and is trash.
Vigilant Walrus
Member
Overworking makes you less efficient. You need to be well rested, you need to work efficently, not hard for the sake of working hard.
If you look at a country like Germany, you can see that they have a high level of productivity despite not working as many hours as the Japanese.
Nobody can take away from Japan that they are amazing at many things. Their perfectonism has given the world some of the most amazing creations and they do pioneer in so many areas. But they have to begin to get this counter-culture that seeks to make it okay to rest. Okay to enjoy life in a non-working capacity. What they are doing in countries like Japan are not healthy.
You'll be more happy with more vacations and free time. Don't live to work. Don't put your value or the values on other on their work ethic. Do the job in the most efficient manner. Then go home and come back after you've recharged. Rarely do good ideas, complex solution, innovative ways of thinking come from overwork. Overworking can be useful for factory jobs that doesn't require complex thinking. For everything else; Pay your workers well, have them work less, get their productivity up by being efficent when they do work.
If you look at a country like Germany, you can see that they have a high level of productivity despite not working as many hours as the Japanese.
Nobody can take away from Japan that they are amazing at many things. Their perfectonism has given the world some of the most amazing creations and they do pioneer in so many areas. But they have to begin to get this counter-culture that seeks to make it okay to rest. Okay to enjoy life in a non-working capacity. What they are doing in countries like Japan are not healthy.
You'll be more happy with more vacations and free time. Don't live to work. Don't put your value or the values on other on their work ethic. Do the job in the most efficient manner. Then go home and come back after you've recharged. Rarely do good ideas, complex solution, innovative ways of thinking come from overwork. Overworking can be useful for factory jobs that doesn't require complex thinking. For everything else; Pay your workers well, have them work less, get their productivity up by being efficent when they do work.
Mattlikewhoa
Member
This is terrible...and the coverup?!
Japan needs to really get serious about changing their work culture.
Fuck others trying to make you feel guilty (or a type of way) for leaving on time.
Japan needs to really get serious about changing their work culture.
Fuck others trying to make you feel guilty (or a type of way) for leaving on time.
I might be dumb but how would that be possible? A week has 168 hours total.
Film/games writer.
teruterubozu
Member
It's not just working in Japan, it's also after work drinking that also affects the hours spent with work related activity. If your boss decides to go have drinks after work, you are REQUIRED to go and get drunk with him until 1-2 am or whatever. Then get up at 6 and go to work the next day.
I hope this wasn't meant to be a dick measuring contest. Not everyone has the capabilities of working that long, and you don't know what kind of mental stress she was going through.
teruterubozu
Member
nvm
ZeezbruhTV
Member
Don't think I've ever worked more than 11 1/2 hours in a day. Plan on never beating it, unless its something I genuinely enjoy.
djplaeskool
Member
Japan needs to expand the size of its workforce before we see tangible changes in work culture.
Unfortunately for Japan, that's way, way easier said than done.
Unfortunately for Japan, that's way, way easier said than done.
hydragonwarrior
Member
That's basically 80 hours a week right?
That's ridiculous - I know I'm doing crazy hours due to crunch time but even my brain tells me enough is enough after the 10 hour mark and i do something random/unrelated for a good few hours.
That's ridiculous - I know I'm doing crazy hours due to crunch time but even my brain tells me enough is enough after the 10 hour mark and i do something random/unrelated for a good few hours.
Memento_Mori15
Member
Yup...
There are some companies that pay for overtime and some give you a set amount of money per month. For example, they pay up front per month for 20 hours of overtime. This is great if you dont do overtime. However, if you do and if its over 20 hours, you will not get anymore money. Usually this is a sign you will be doing more than 20 hours of overtime lol. One job offered a position but it was usually 40-80 hours of overtime per month, which isnt bad.
I once did 60 days in a row in the Persian Gulf working 14+ hours each day. Environmental oversight and protection on a major offshore construction project. It was physically exhausting work, and in absurdly hot conditions (120-140 degrees). 80+ hours are pretty easy to come by in environmental consulting, depending on the industry you service. I was like that the first two years, but have slowly moved away from that. Every now and then it pops up, I don't mind doing it for a week or two.
My main comment would be that, in some regards, sustained physical work outdoors is easier than office work, especially over a long period of time. With proper sleep and nutrition (they feed you well offshore, they know they need to do it), you can handle it. Scrambling in the office to meet deadlines in front of a computer screen can be mentally exhausting between the work and mental stress you impose on yourself, and there's little you can do for that besides giving yourself a proper amount of time off every now and then. If he died because of it, I'd wager he wasn't eating well or sleeping well at night (worrying about deadlines).
My main comment would be that, in some regards, sustained physical work outdoors is easier than office work, especially over a long period of time. With proper sleep and nutrition (they feed you well offshore, they know they need to do it), you can handle it. Scrambling in the office to meet deadlines in front of a computer screen can be mentally exhausting between the work and mental stress you impose on yourself, and there's little you can do for that besides giving yourself a proper amount of time off every now and then. If he died because of it, I'd wager he wasn't eating well or sleeping well at night (worrying about deadlines).
No, not meant as one, I agree, I don't think anyone has that ability. Working that long probably effected me long term, and seeing what happened to her (and apparently other people with similar work situations), makes me realize how dumb I was to let myself go through that for months and years.
I wouldnt think it'd be possible. That's like 1 hour a day for sleep. But I think I originally thought the topic was something in the same vein as those kids that'd play videogames for days straight and end up dying.
Geno Breaker
Banned
Lol they're not going to go extinct.
Every time I see people post stuff like this I get the feeling that the people saying this reallyyyyyyy want to go and live in Japan for some reason.
Captain Tuttle
Member
I've got guys who work for me that work 70 hours/week and when it slows down in the winter they start screaming for overtime.
They get time and a half after 10 hours/day though so if they work 12 hours on Monday the get 2 hours of overtime. Saturday is always overtime and Sunday is double time.
On topic, this poor woman
They get time and a half after 10 hours/day though so if they work 12 hours on Monday the get 2 hours of overtime. Saturday is always overtime and Sunday is double time.
On topic, this poor woman
Vigilant Walrus
Member
Made the post several hours ago while on the subway and I only skimmed through the text and totally missed it was a woman. Apologies.
Regulus Tera
Romanes Eunt Domus
Japan needs to become more lax on immigration I it wants to counteract the dwindling population.
Jzero
Member
For reals these dumb fucks expect us to not have lives. I'm out the fucking door once I've worked my 8 hours
Chmpocalypse
Blizzard
This isn't a fucking joke.
therealist
Member
At least half of that time they aren't doing any actual work or they are doing mundane stuff that requires no thought. While it still sucks overall, it is not really as taxing on the body as it seems on the surface.
That reminds me of this guy at work who wanted us to form a weekly snooker club. I told him "I already see you 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, why would I want to spend my free time with you as well?". He never mentioned it again.
If you're salary instead of hourly, you're getting completely screwed.
Work life balance is a thing.
I'm willing to come in early, or stay late, when needed, but I also come in late or leave early on other days. So long as the job gets done and people are kept up-to-date, it's all good.
I could never work for a company that demanded 80 hour weeks (280/7 is 40) unless I was pulling down a healthy seven figure salary.
All that overtime is going to have an effect on your body since you are pulling 16 hour days (longer when you figure in meal breaks). You're not even leaving yourself enough time to get a full night's sleep each night.
It is also going to have an impact on your work. You are not productive (more likely to make mistakes, taking a lot longer to get simple tasks done, etc.) when you are working crazy hours like that and exhausting yourself.
therealist
Member
No offense but you come across as an asshole and that's probably why the guy who was just being nice never mentioned it to you again.
Spyder_Monkey
Banned
Everything I've seen and read about Japan's working culture makes me wonder how they've not imploded as a country.
Go_Ly_Dow
Member
This starts in Junior high school, from around age 11/12. Most of my kids get around 5-7 hours hours sleep a night.
It's deep rooted as fuck.
The sad thing is that they think it's needed to maintain the success that Japan had in the recent past. They have no clue.
Foreign terrorism and crime also seems to give them added confirmation bias that Japan is definitely doing the right thing.
It's deep rooted as fuck.
The sad thing is that they think it's needed to maintain the success that Japan had in the recent past. They have no clue.
Foreign terrorism and crime also seems to give them added confirmation bias that Japan is definitely doing the right thing.
Subpar Scrub
Banned
Give it a minute.
Skyr
Member
That mindset is so fucked up..
I can somewhat understand to put in crazy working hours if you are self employed.
But working for the "man" and putting your health at risk is just beyond me.
I feel bad for japanese workers having this collective mindset.
Efficiency is key guys and I'm happy that this mindset is embraced by unions and most companies here in germany.
I can somewhat understand to put in crazy working hours if you are self employed.
But working for the "man" and putting your health at risk is just beyond me.
I feel bad for japanese workers having this collective mindset.
Efficiency is key guys and I'm happy that this mindset is embraced by unions and most companies here in germany.
Forerunner
Member
I dont mind doing OT once in a while, but when it becomes a regular occurrence then it gets bad. If Im lucky, I just have a regular 40/h workweek. However, due to our manning its generally +50/h. The worst have been +70/h, I always feel like a zombie after those. Sure, I get time and a half and everything, but after a while I dont even care about the money. Id rather just have a good night sleep and my life back.
I couldnt even imagine 160 hours in a month. Fuck that.
I couldnt even imagine 160 hours in a month. Fuck that.
ImaLemming
Member
I could be talking out of my ass here, but I think it's a cultural thing stemming from feudal times where a samurai that fell out of favor with his master was expected to commit seppuku because nobody else wanted anything to do with him (in fact, don't they call a salaryman that's between jobs a "ronin"?)