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How Japanese people cope with stress/depression due to overwork?

Werfay

後輩
4 Aug 2013
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I want to know how Japanese people cope with stress/depression due to overwork? The average Russian or European works 40 hours a week (8 hours a day). I work 10-11 hours a day. Sometimes I work up to 16 hours a day. I know that a lot of Japanese people often overwork too. I am interested, is there the set of norms, behaviors, beliefs, and customs in your culture which helps you to cope with stress/depression due to overwork?
 
Look up 'karoshi' to see how it's handled... Not quite an 'only in Japan' thing, but pretty damn Japanese.
 
I am interested, is there the set of norms, behaviors, beliefs, and customs in your culture which helps you to cope with stress/depression due to overwork?

Critical thinking. Dispense with it, and you will be amazed how much stress you can tolerate. This is truly the Japanese secret. But for me, personally, I could do without a great lot of the wealth of this nation that comes from overwork and happily trade it for a bit of critical thinking.

The norm is go with the flow. Don't ask questions. Don't try to fix anything. You get your orders and you just go, go, go. You don't ask why. You don't consider how it ruined your personal plans. You just shut your mouth and move in the general direction you have been ordered. The flip side is that management is pretty forgiving of screw-ups.

But the cracks are starting to show. Japan's leaders no longer have a clear and meaningful direction to aim the workers at, and so the workers are just spinning their wheels. The flow of cash is slowing down because of it, and that will invite critical thinking as the standard of living drops. If that critical thinking comes to improvement or not remains to be seen however. For as much as Japan has done away with critical thinking and turned their backs on those who do it and done so for so very long, I am afraid they are not up to the task of reversing course.

On the other hand, their minds are well set for enduring hardship even if not for fixing it. They are going to rebuild affected areas in Fukushima and try to pretend it never happened or will happen again and just endure the consequences for example. They won't actually fix the base problems because to even figure out what they are would be stressful.
 
that is a good question, i was wondering the same thing myself. especially when they are in college and have to work.
 
Shall we get back to the topic? If you want to continue your thing together please do it in PM's or get LINE or something.
 
Totally agree with Davey, let's please stay civil, even in disagreement. Thanks!
 
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