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死ぬなんてもったいない!
死ぬなんてもったいない!
筆者が初めて日本に来たころ
日本では「過労死」が問題になっていた。
ビジネスマンが働きすぎて死ぬというケースは
最近は少ないようだが、別の形での
「ビジネスマンの死」が増えている。
It'S Not Worth It!
By DAVID ZOPPETTI
Life can be quite ironic. I remember that during my first years in Japan, in
the mid '80s, one of the most dramatic problems the country faced was that of
karoshi, or people dying from overwork. Since then, almost 15 years have
passed, and Japan is by no means the booming economy it used to be. If there
is any positive aspect to this slump, let us hope it will be that karoshi
has become an obsolete word.
But now something just as saddening is happening. According to the
latest Population Survey Report released by the Welfare Ministry in June,
the number of people who committed suicide last year reached a
unprecedented level of more than 30,000. That's more than three times the
number of people who died in traffic accidents during the same period. There
is one category of people where one especially notices an important increase
in suicides: men in their mid-50s.
Although it is difficult to pinpoint the reasons behind these acts of despair, in most cases sudden layoffs or a general state of anxiety
related to feelings of professional insecurity seems to be the main factor.
Moreover, the almost perfect symmetry between the graphs of unemployment
and of suicides in Japan for these past 10 years indicates that there is a
strong correlation between the two.
So you get my point. We emerged from a situation where people were
killing themselves working too much, to enter one where people are killing
themselves because they cannot work.
Of all countries, workers in Japan are probably among the most badly
prepared to deal emotionally with the hardships of recession. After
enjoying lifetime employment and a payroll system where wages increased
in relation to seniority rather than productivity for decades, they find
things are suddenly changing.
I once was on the dole myself for quite some time in Switzerland and
although I didn't have a family to support, it still was a very distressing situation. So I certainly do not underestimate what these people are going
through. But I say it's not worth it. Life doesn't end because you are
temporarily out of a job or forced to retire early.
If you feel symptoms of depression (loss of confidence, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, unexplained
headaches, digestion problems, whatever!) go and talk to a doctor. There is
nothing wrong or embarrassing about feeling distressed. The next step might
be to realize that it is not your value as a human being that is at stake
here, but that you are one of the many victims of the present state of the
economy.
Why not use this time to think about what your dreams were before you got
swept into the frenzy of professional life? This might be a great
opportunity to realize them. Or else travel, discover new horizons. You are
receiving an unemployment allowance, after all.
And to the younger people I say, this is a time to think about what the
real values in life are! Don't put all your eggs in the same basket. Try to
balance your professional and private lives better than your elders did.
Spending more time with family and friends, and having hobbies other than
work may not lead to promotion or a higher salary, but they are great
sources of moral support both in times of happiness and of difficulty.
Life can be quite ironic. I remember that during my first years in Japan, in
the mid '80s, one of the most dramatic problems the country faced was that of
karoshi, or people dying from overwork. Since then, almost 15 years have
passed, and Japan is by no means the booming economy it used to be. If there
is any positive aspect to this slump, let us hope it will be that karoshi
has become an obsolete word.
But now something just as saddening is happening. According to the
latest Population Survey Report released by the Welfare Ministry in June,
the number of people who committed suicide last year reached a
unprecedented level of more than 30,000. That's more than three times the
number of people who died in traffic accidents during the same period. There
is one category of people where one especially notices an important increase
in suicides: men in their mid-50s.
Although it is difficult to pinpoint the reasons behind these acts of despair, in most cases sudden layoffs or a general state of anxiety
related to feelings of professional insecurity seems to be the main factor.
Moreover, the almost perfect symmetry between the graphs of unemployment
and of suicides in Japan for these past 10 years indicates that there is a
strong correlation between the two.
So you get my point. We emerged from a situation where people were
killing themselves working too much, to enter one where people are killing
themselves because they cannot work.
Of all countries, workers in Japan are probably among the most badly
prepared to deal emotionally with the hardships of recession. After
enjoying lifetime employment and a payroll system where wages increased
in relation to seniority rather than productivity for decades, they find
things are suddenly changing.
I once was on the dole myself for quite some time in Switzerland and
although I didn't have a family to support, it still was a very distressing situation. So I certainly do not underestimate what these people are going
through. But I say it's not worth it. Life doesn't end because you are
temporarily out of a job or forced to retire early.
If you feel symptoms of depression (loss of confidence, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, unexplained
headaches, digestion problems, whatever!) go and talk to a doctor. There is
nothing wrong or embarrassing about feeling distressed. The next step might
be to realize that it is not your value as a human being that is at stake
here, but that you are one of the many victims of the present state of the
economy.
Why not use this time to think about what your dreams were before you got
swept into the frenzy of professional life? This might be a great
opportunity to realize them. Or else travel, discover new horizons. You are
receiving an unemployment allowance, after all.
And to the younger people I say, this is a time to think about what the
real values in life are! Don't put all your eggs in the same basket. Try to
balance your professional and private lives better than your elders did.
Spending more time with family and friends, and having hobbies other than
work may not lead to promotion or a higher salary, but they are great
sources of moral support both in times of happiness and of difficulty.
Shukan ST: Oct. 8, 1999
(C) All rights reserved
- ironic
- 皮肉な
- overwork
- 過労
- is by no means 〜
- 決して 〜 ではない
- positive aspect
- 良い部分
- slump
- 不況
- obsolete
- 時代遅れの
- saddening
- 悲しくさせるような
- the latest
- 最新の
- Population Survey Report
- 人口動態統計
- Welfare Ministry
- 厚生省
- committed suicide
- 自殺した
- unprecedented
- 今までにない
- traffic accidents
- 交通事故
- in their mid-50s
- 50代半ばの
- pinpoint
- 正確に指摘する
- acts of despair
- 絶望の末の行為
- layoffs
- 解雇
- general state of anxiety
- すべてが不安な状態
- professional insecurity
- 雇用不安
- factor
- 要因
- symmetry
- 対称(グラフの図形が同じで、失業率が増えると自殺も増える)
- unemployment
- 失業
- correlation
- 相互関係
- So you get my point.
- もう僕の言いたいことが分かっただろう
- emerged from 〜
- 〜 から脱した
- deal(with 〜 )
- 〜 に対処する
- hardships
- 苦しみ
- recession
- 不況
- lifetime employment
- 終身雇用
- payroll system
- 給与体系
- wages
- 給料
- seniority
- 年功
- for decades
- 何十年もの間
- was on the dole
- 失業手当を受けていた
- distressing
- つらい
- underestimate
- 軽く見る
- what these people are going through
- 彼らがどんな苦難を経験しているか
- temporarily
- 一時的に
- retire
- 退職する
- symptoms
- 症状
- depression
- 落ち込み、うつ病
- sleeplessness
- 不眠
- loss of appetite
- 食欲不振
- unexplained headaches
- 原因不明の頭痛
- digestion problems
- 消化不良
- embarrassing
- ばつの悪い
- is at stake
- 危うくなっている
- victims
- 犠牲者
- present state of 〜
- 〜 の現状
- got swept into 〜
- 〜 にのまれた
- frenzy
- 大忙しの状態
- discover new horizons
- 視野を広げる
- unemployment allowance
- 失業手当
- after all
- どちらにしても
- Don't put all your eggs in the same basket.
- 全部の卵を一つのかごに入れるな(一つのことにすべてをかけるな)
- elders
- 年上の人たち
- promotion
- 昇進
- sources
- よりどころ
- moral support
- 心の支え