Thai media worker dies of ‘overworking’: Explained how exhaustion can kill you

Overworking is often confused with working hard. They are not the same. The former is injurious to your health, so much so that it can kill you. In Thailand, a media organisation is under the scanner of the labour ministry after an employee died. The cause of his death? He was allegedly overworked. Working seven days a week Sarawut Srisawat, 44, collapsed at his desk after suffering a heart attack at the Thai News Network (TNN) office in Bangkok on Monday. According to reports in local media, the senior manager in charge of programme schedules regularly worked overtime, often seven days a week. He also suffered underlying conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure. Srisawat was forced to work without leave as there was no one in the organisation to stand in for him. He was recently asked to report to the office when he was on sick leave to complete the work, according to a report in the Independent. As a social media post on the Srisawat went viral, people called for action against the news organisation. A probe has been ordered by Thailand’s labour minister Suchart Chomklin amid suspicion that overworking and stress caused the heart attack and claimed Srisawat’s life. Thailand’s laws Thailand has strict labour codes which restrict working hours. Employees are expected to work not more than 48 hours a week. If an employee chooses to work overtime, it should not be more than 36 hours a week, the law says. The probe is expected to investigate if Srisawat was forced to work overtime and if sick leaves were granted to him. If the news organisation is found guilty, his family will receive 70 per cent of his salary for 10 years along with a pension from Thailand’s Social Security Office. However, no compensation can match a life lost. [caption id=“attachment_12132282” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] According to Thailand’s labour codes, employees are expected to work not more than 48 hours a week. AFP[/caption] Overwork killed 7,45,000 in a year Srisawat’s death is not an isolated case. Overworking is a big killer at a time when nine-hour work days have almost become a thing of the past. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), working long hours kill hundreds of thousands of people every year. In 2016, 488 million people were exposed to the risks of working long hours. More than 7,45,000 people died that year from overwork that resulted in a stroke and heart disease, a global study published in March 2021 in the journal Environment International pointed out. “Between 2000 and 2016, the number of deaths from heart disease due to working long hours increased by 42 per cent, and from stroke by 19 per cent,” the WHO said. [caption id=“attachment_12132182” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] In 2021, workers around the world are putting in an average of 9.2 hours of unpaid overtime per week. Representational picture/Pixabay[/caption] People working 55 or more hours each week face an estimated 35 per cent higher risk of a stroke and a 17 per cent higher risk of dying from heart disease, compared to people following the widely accepted standard of working 35 to 40 hours in a week, according to the study. In 2021, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged governments and businesses to focus on protecting people’s health. He also correctly pointed out how teleworking which has become a norm blurs boundaries between work and home. Researchers said that a recession is commonly followed by a rise in working hours. According to the study, overwork poses the highest health risk to men and workers who are middle-aged or older. Also, people in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific region had the most exposure to the risk and those in Europe had the lowest exposure, reports NPR. In the United States, less than five per cent of the population is exposed to long work hours. The proportion is similar to Brazil and Canada. A 2021 report by the International Labour Organization revealed that Indians are among the most overworked workers globally while earning the lowest minimum statutory wage in the Asia-Pacific region. The only exception is Bangladesh. India ranks fifth in the world among countries with long working hours, often stretching up to 48 hours a week, if not more, according to the Global Wage Report 2020-21: Wages and Minimum Wages in the Time of COVID-19. It reveals that an average worker in China works 46 hours a week, 36 hours in the United Kingdom, 37 hours in the United States and 36 hours in Israel. Japan even has a term for death by overwork – karoshi . In the country, people dropping dead because of overworking have been making headlines for years. The issue is so common that like Thailand it has compensation in place. The family receives around $20,000 per year and company payouts of up to $1.6 million. [caption id=“attachment_12132212” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Japan is known for notoriously long working hours, which led to a health crisis known as karoshi, or death from overwork. AFP[/caption] How overworking affects the body Working long hours leads to ischaemic heart disease and stroke. Ischaemic heart disease, also known as coronary heart disease, involves narrowed arteries. There are two ways in which overwork impacts health and reduces longevity. One is the biological toll of chronic stress, with an uptick in stress hormones leading to elevated blood pressure and cholesterol. Then there are the changes in behaviour. Those logging long hours may be sleeping little, barely exercising, eating unhealthy foods and smoking and drinking to cope, according to a BBC report. Death because of overworking does not happen overnight. But lack of sleep over some time can kill you indirectly. It increases the risk of heart attacks, immune system disorders, diabetes and some forms of cancer. Chronic overwork leads to burnout. The WHO classifies burnout as an occupational phenomenon characterised by chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. Employee burnout manifests in low energy or exhaustion, feeling mentally distant, negative, or cynical regarding their job and experiencing reduced professional efficacy. It can also have a significant impact on employees’ physical and mental health. [caption id=“attachment_12132232” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The onus of fighting the culture of overwork lies both on the employer and the employee. AFP[/caption] Fighting overwork We live in a time where overwork is glorified. In 2021, workers around the work were putting in an average of 9.2 hours of unpaid overtime per week up from 7.3 hours just a year ago, according to a report by the BBC. This needs to change and the responsibility falls on employers and the employee. Frank Pega, a WHO technical officer and the lead author of the paper on deaths by overwork, told the publication that workplaces need to embrace flexible hours, job shares, and other ways of improving balance in work schedules. They need to take occupational health services seriously. Changing our working lives is essential. “People have put in place limits on the maximum number of hours we should be working,” she insists. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus could not have been more correct when he said in 2021: No job is worth the risk of stroke or heart disease. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.