Worked to death

Workers exposed to stress for at least half their working lives are 25 percent more likely to die from heart attack and are 50 percent more likely to suffer fatal stroke.
That’s according to research in the UK which appears on recently launched website that gives global support to the campaign for work/life balance.
Established by the Trade Union backed Hazards mag-azine, www.hazards.orgworked
todeath cites growing body of evidence that prompts it to describe stress as Britain’s number one workplace hazard.
Its “modern workers health check” notes that blue collar workers are more prone to stress-induced illness, that working for unreasonable and unfair bosses leads to dangerously high blood pressure, that workers are smoking, drinking and “slobbing out” to cope with workplace stress, and that longer-term, work-related stress is worse for the heart than aging 30 years or gaining 18 kilograms (40lbs) in weight.
The website initiative is backed by the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions whose president Ross Wilson says it shows the dire consequences of overwork – including, in extreme cases, death.
“All over the world, the challenge is to balance secure work with time for family and healthy lifestyle.”
The Hazards website includes reports of two work-related suicide cases from New Zealand – that of ANZ Bank employee Michael Smith in 2000 and that of former OSH employee Ronald Ward in 2001.