Abstract
The relationship between overwork and health-related issues among systems engineers (SEs) and programmers (PGs) has been recently gaining attention, as the working environment continues to change rapidly due to the information technology revolution. This study elucidated the actual conditions and characteristics of SEs and PGs who were approved for industrial accident compensation insurance for overwork-related disorders and shed light on how to prevent Karoshi and other Overwork-related Health Disorders. We analyzed 51 cases of cerebrovascular/cardiovascular diseases (CCVD) and 85 cases of mental disorders due to overwork between 2010 and 2015 in the information and communications technology industry. Among the participants studied, more than 90% of the CCVD cases involved people under the age of 50 years, and 90% of the death cases were caused due to heart diseases; in addition, it was observed that the onset of a disorder occurred after a period of three months wherein the number of overtime hours exceeded 80 hours. Among cases of mental disorders, the suicide rate exceeded 30%, about 75% were under the age of 50 years, and more than 75% experienced episodes of depression. In the events with psychological load, the ratio of long working hours was high. Particularly suicide cases that included interpersonal relationships and changes in roles and positions were higher than survival cases. From these findings, implementing appropriate work time management, improving work efficiency, and reducing workload due to long working hours for young and middle-aged employees might contribute to the prevention of overwork-related disorders.
