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June 23, 1996
Overtime vs. Overwork
Many articles in the American news media discuss issues related to working
in Japan. One phenomenon that has gotten a lot of press is karou-shi.
I read several articles about it while still in America. I am afraid that
I thought karou-shi was the Japanese term for "overwork."
Only later did I realize my misunderstanding and find its true meaning
was "death from overwork."
During the first semester I taught in Japan, a student apologized for having missed the previous week's lesson. She explained she "had overwork last week." I was very worried since I understood her to be in danger of illness or even death from working too much.
As you can imagine, our ensuing conversation was quite strange. Worriedly, I said "Oh, I am sorry to hear that! Are you okay now?" "Sure - no problem!" she replied. I thought she must be a very hard worker. "Did you see a doctor about it?" I continued in ignorance. "Of course not! Why should I?" she answered. Now we were both getting puzzled.
Luckily another student understood that she had meant "overtime" (zangyo) instead of "overwork" and informed me "She means that she worked past 5:00 last week, that's all."
I was relieved!The confusion cleared for everyone after I explained the difference between overtime and overwork. I'll never forget that lesson!