This country boy has had just about enough frappucinos and prosciutto sandwiches, thank you very much. My week-long trip has been abbreviated to two days and I'm heading back to the countryside (just to relax and enjoy the rest of my vacation, I don't have a 4x4). The train rolls in and the workers you see here are about to board, turn the seats around for the return journey, and do a little cleaning up. This may seem like a low-stress job and it probably is. But other kinds of employment in Japan may be a bit more of a killer. The life of the famed salaryman, the underpinning of the Japanese economy, is no picnic. Long hours, loads of work, and a traditional annual shuffle of personnel take their toll. In the transfer of these corporate workers from office to office many are required to move at a moment's notice, leaving their families behind for a year or two, and take a new apartment in a new town and live the single life. A recent survey showed that the majority of the workers affected by this practice didn't enjoy the process--surprisingly enough. This and many other factors are contributing to what the Japanese call karoshi, or death by overwork. This phenomena is becoming more and more widespread in Japan, where those who suffer from exhaustion and stress are the most virtuous, and is driving a new economy built around relaxation products and services. However, sometimes even an $11,000 virtual aquarium won't do the trick. So when your staunch sense of duty just won't let up, when life gets you down, those pick-me-up potions just don't seem to work anymore or you're burned out on the speed, you may feel the desire to end it all. But worry not, toiler of the ages. A recent court decision recognized death by overwork and suicide by overwork as work-related injuries, and your family will be entitled to all benefits and a little settlement money. And viewers, worry not about your favorite lone cameraman. I have had nothing to drink on this day, and there is no danger of my falling on the tracks. See you in the next gallery! |
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Copyright © 1999 by Ed Kaspar |