The workaholic nation of Japan has been crowned the most unhealthy country in the world to be an employee.
Japan is home to the highest rates of employees suffering from work-related health problems, according to a new global survey.
As many as three in five Japanese workers complain that they have become ill or unhealthy as a result of workplace grievances.
This was significantly higher than the 19 per cent of workers globally who have suffered from work-related ill health, according to the study by recruitment firm Kelly Services.
Overworking has emerged as an acute problem in modern day Japan, which even has a word – karoshi – for death from overworking. Japan also has a high rate of work-related fatalities.
While Japan topped the poll in terms of the nation of workers with the most work-related health problems, following closely behind was Canada, according to the poll.
Both Japan and Canada are among the nations with the lowest minimum annual holiday leave ? only ten days a year – which is significantly lower than most other countries
The healthiest places to work emerged as New Zealand, India and Australia, home to the fewest complaints of work-related ill health.
“In economies everywhere, people are spending more time at work, sometimes at the expense of personal health and wellbeing,” said the Kelly Global Workforce Survey.
“A significant number of people also believe that the state of their health is at risk because of workplace conditions. Not only do employees see their health being affected, but they expect employers to actively address the issue.”
The survey, which polled more than 115,000 in 33 countries, found that one in ten employee found it difficult to sleep at night due to work-related stress.
The study also found that as many as one in three workers internationally had taken three or more days sick leave in the previous year with more than a third saying they were made to feel guilty about taking time off.
“Employers can play a pivotal role in improving the health and fitness of their workers by introducing incentives and programs to keep staff encouraged, motivated and productive,” the survey said.
