In Japan, they have a word that means “death by overwork.” Take a moment and think about that. It means that this was so much of “a thing” that they had to create a word for it. In the same way the Inuit have several words for different types of snow and ice, death by overwork was enough a part of society that the word “karoshi” was created. Sadly, last week, karoshi claimed a victim. A young worker at Dentsu, an advertising company, committed suicide, and it was linked to the excessive overtime she was putting in at work.
In another part of the world – the Scandinavian nations of Sweden, Norway and Denmark, they have a different, unique word: “Arbeidsglaede.” Literally translated, it means “work happiness.” In these nations, people decided it was important enough for people to get joy and satisfaction out of work to create a word for it.
We truly believe that work doesn’t have to suck. We truly believe that there are things that everyone – including you – can do to make work great.
I know that I would rather work in an environment where happiness at work, vs extreme overwork, is the norm.
Can we make 2017 a year to focus on more happiness at work?
Stay tuned to our blog and social media posts to be the first to gain access to our Make Work Awesome program, launching in early 2017!
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