Free Republic

When it comes to the future of work, Japan is caught in a tug-of-war. Tokyo officials are pushing for a four-day workweek, hoping a shorter schedule will ease the nation’s notoriously punishing work culture and curb “karoshi”—which translates to death from overwork. With birthrates falling and burnout rising, many see the shift not as a perk, but a necessity for Japan’s economic survival. But the country’s new prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, is signaling a very different approach. The 64-year-old drew scrutiny this month for summoning staff to a meeting at 3 a.m.—not for a national security crisis, but simply to...

...There is compelling evidence that some people treat their emotional problems with work as well. This can lead to its own kind of addiction. Many studies have shown a strong association between workaholism and the symptoms of psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety and depression, and it has been common to assume that compulsive work leads to these maladies. But some psychologists have recently argued reverse causation—that people may treat their depression and anxiety with workaholic behavior. As the authors of one widely reported 2016 study in the scientific journal PLOS One wrote, “Workaholism (in some instances) develops as an attempt...

My career has lasted twenty years and will roughly last another 20 more. Although a number of the ‘big’ questions / issues in my life – God, country, family, and home – are settled pretty well for me, work / life balance has not. I find it very difficult to find a position and company that strikes a good balance between work and the rest of life, while still paying reasonable well for my skills. Currently, I’m in an IT consulting company. They are doing well and growing. Although HR says it is trying very hard to have work /...

by Edward Hudgins ehudgins@objectivistcenter.org Governments often get their wealth-destroying, morally depraved ideas from our often misnamed institutes of "higher learning." The latest that's popping up in bulletins, newsletters, and probably soon in legislation is from a 2005 study on "The Economics of Workaholism," co-authored by Joel Slemrod of the University of Michigan and Daniel Hammermesh of the University of Texas in Austin. The study starts by stating that "Economists have recently re-considered whether a range of individual behaviors are self-destructive, and possibly addictive, and have proposed that it may be Pareto-superior to tax them in order to induce people to...