karoshi

[kuh-roh-shee]

noun

1. (in Japan) death, as from a heart attack or suicide, due to overwork or work-related stress and exhaustion.

karoshi

/ kaˈrəʊʃɪ /

noun

1. (in Japan) death caused by overwork

Word History and Origins

Origin of karoshi¹

First recorded in 1985–90; from Japanese karōshi, literally, “overwork death,” equivalent to ka- “excess” + rō “work” + shi “death”

Word History and Origins

Origin of karoshi¹

from Japanese ka excess + ro labour + shi death

Example Sentences

She mentions the Japanese word karoshi, a term that means death from overwork.

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In Japan, where long work hours are also commonplace, there’s a word for dying from the stress of overwork: karoshi.

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“We have widespread karoshi. We simply don’t call it that. We basically are in denial about the work environment,” said Peter Schnall, emeritus professor of medicine at the University of California, Irvine, who has studied work stress for decades.

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Brigid Schulte has a new podcast series titled “American Karoshi: Moving From a Work Culture of Burnout, Precarity & Stress to a Future of Worker Health & Well-Being in the 21st Century.”

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The government received 2,835 complaints of deaths from overwork, or “karoshi,” in 2020.

Read more on Seattle Times