“過勞死”：從疲勞開始

Cars that work for excessive time will finally collapse， which seems common sense. However， people tend to neglect a familiar fact -- if people continue to work for long time， it will lead to the collapse of their bodies. Behind the scary cases， we can see the shadow of “karoshi”.

持續工作過久的汽車，其動力系統最終會崩潰，這似乎是人盡皆知的常識。然而，人們卻往往忽視一個與之類似的事實——如果人們連軸轉地工作，勢必會導致其身體機能的罷工。在一樁樁令人不寒而栗的死亡事件背后，不乏“過勞死”的身影。

Bad habits

不良習慣

CCTV conducted a survey on the reasons for “karoshi”. Among 932 interviewees， 219 people never had body examinations； only 96 people had regular time for exercise； 68% of people chose “barely work out”； Nearly half of them buy their own medicines for indispositions， and 1/3 of people pay no attention to their “small illness”； only 219 people have breakfast regularly and properly； over 41% of people working in office barely communicate with families， even when their families offer to help， and 32% of people treat it with a perfunctory attitude； at workplaces， over 70% of people almost stay in air-conditioned rooms all the time except for running errands； 542 people’s working habit is to keep seated except for going to toilets； over 6% of people cannot guarantee regular 8-hour sleep， and another 7% have frequent insomnia； 31% of people use computers over 8 hours every day； over 1/3 of people cannot have three meals regularly， and less than half of them can make sure every meal is timely and appropriate.

對于可能引起“過勞死”的原因，中國央視網開展了一項調查。在932名被調查者中，219人從來不體檢；只有96人每周留有固定時間鍛煉，68%的人選擇了“幾乎不鍛煉”；將近一半的人患病時自己買藥解決，1/3的人則根本不理會任何表面的“小毛病”；只有219人是有規律、按照營養要求吃早餐；超過41%的辦公室人群很少和家人交流，即使家人主動關心，32%的人也常抱以應付的態度；在上班時，超過7成的人一年四季除了外出辦事外，幾乎常年窩在空調房中； 542人的工作習慣是一旦坐下來，除非上廁所，就輕易不站起來；有超過6成的人經常不能保證8小時睡眠時間，另有7%的人經常失眠；31%的人經常每天使用電腦超過8小時；超過1/3的人不能保證按時進食三餐，確保三餐定時定量的人不滿半數。

However， medical research shows that people who lack exercises feel exhausted and dizzy easily， which then leads to obesity and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases； because of insufficient attention， some indispositions have hidden until they develop into serious diseases and have missed the best time for treatment； under the circumstances of insufficient communication， guidance and catharsis， office workers have increasingly psychological pressures； staying in the air-conditioned room all the year round make the self-adjusting function of the body and disease resistance reduced； sedentariness is also harmful to blood circulation， which will lead to metabolism problems and angiocardiopathy； keeping a seated position for a long time also contributes to cervical spondylopathy and lumbar spondylosis； over use and over reliance on computers brings radiation， and makes oculopathy and mental illness common in office.

然而，醫學研究表明，缺乏鍛煉極易造成人們出現疲勞、昏眩等現象，進而引發肥胖和心腦血管疾病；由于未被充分重視，一些疾病被藥物表面緩解作用掩蓋而積累成大病，而且常常導致錯過了最佳治療時間；在缺乏交流、疏導和宣泄的情況下，辦公室人群的精神壓力與日俱增；由于常年窩在空調房里，“溫室人”自身肌體調節和抗病能力下降；久坐不利于血液循環，會引發很多新陳代謝和心血管疾病；坐姿長久固定，也是頸椎、腰椎發病的重要因素；過度使用和依賴電腦，除了輻射外，還使眼病、腰頸椎病、精神性疾病在辦公室群體中十分普遍。

Working extra hours

超時加班

Apart from bad habits， working extra hours is also considered as the most important culprit for “karoshi”. The reporter found that， nowadays， working extra hours is a very common phenomenon in Chinese enterprises. Especially in some manufacture-developed areas， some enterprises even treat working extra hours as part of the corporate culture. Working extra hours is considered as an important standard to assess the professional dedication and working performance of employees.

We are always warned by the caring people： Work is not what life is all about. However， the indisputable fact is that work can bring the foundation of life. Teacher of National School of Administration Hu Yinglian pointed out that every morning when we open our eyes， many people have to face the burdens of mortgages， rents， living expenses， providing for the aged， and education for children. We can say that only by saving our jobs， can we get the money to pay for everything. Even when the body is under the weather， how many people choose to ask for a leave？ If the employer requires working extra hours， how many people dare to refuse？ In terms of the choice between health and money or positions， the “2013 Well-being of Chinese Lives Survey” conducted by Insight China magazine and Tsinghua University Media Research Lab shows that 17.2% of people would sacrifice health to get money and positions， and they’ve done so all the way； 42.1% of people choose “it’s not right to sacrifice health for money or positions， but we have to”.

除了不良習慣，超時加班也被視為引發“過勞死”重要元兇之一。記者調查發現，如今，超時加班在中國企業中并不少見。尤其在制造業發達的地區，一些企業甚至將“加班文化”視為企業文化，加班被認為是衡量員工敬業精神乃至工作業績的一個重要標準。

總是被關心自己的人語重心長地告誡：工作不是生活的全部。然而，不爭的事實卻是工作能帶來生活的基礎。國家行政學院公共管理學院教師胡穎廉指出，每天早晨一睜眼，很多人就不得不面對房貸房租、生活支出、父母養老、子女教育等等問題。可以說，保住工作，才能有資金支付各項支出。即便身體不適，又有多少人會選擇請假？如果單位要求加班，又有幾個人敢說不？對于在健康和金錢或者職位之間的選擇問題，中國《小康》雜志聯合清華大學媒介調查實驗室發布的“2013中國生命小康指數調查”結果顯示，17.2%的人地表示認可用健康換取金錢或職位，而且一直是這么做；還有42.1%的人“選擇了不認可用健康換取金錢或職位，但又必須要這么做。

Labor Law of the People's Republic of China regulates that laborers should not work over 8 hours every day， and not over 44 hours every week. If the production and operation situations require， employers may extend working hours after negotiating with the labor union and laborers， but usually not over 1 hour a day； if it is needed to prolong the working time for special reasons， with the premise of guaranteeing the health of laborers， it should not be over 3 hours a day and not over 36 hours a week. However， although the law has relatively comprehensive regulations for working extra hours， behaviors violating the right of rest of laborers are everywhere. According to a random survey conducted among 100 “post-80 employees” from 20 industries： 60% of the people “often work extra hours” and 10% of people “work extra hours from time to time”； 65% of people’s extra hours every month in average are over 20 hours.

中國《勞動法》規定，勞動者每日工作時間不得超過8小時，平均每周工作時間不得超過44小時。如果由于生產經營的需要，用人單位在與工會和勞動者協商后，可以延長工作時間，但一般每日不得超過1小時；因特殊原因需要延長工作時間時，在保障勞動者身體健康的條件下，每日不得超過3小時，每月不得超過36小時。然而，盡管法律對加班問題有相對完善的規定，現實生活中侵犯勞動者休息權的情況還是屢見不鮮。根據一個隨機對100名分屬于20個行業的“80后上班族”進行的調查顯示：60%的人“經常加班”，10%的人“偶爾加班”；加班者中月平均加班超過20個小時的多達65%。

The lack of legislation， slack law enforcement and ineffective punishment

立法缺失，執法不嚴，處罰過輕

Although the cases of “karoshi” happen frequently to young people， staff of Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of China said that compared to other countries， there is no concept of “karoshi” in the scope of current Labor and Social Security in China， so there is not guarantee for the relevant rights.

As the lawyer of the first “karoshi” case in China -- Wu Hualiang still remembers it quite clearly. That was a hot summer day in 1988， the employee of the Sixth Grain and Oil Company of Shanghai Jingan District Tang Yingcai died suddenly and quietly. In the first and second interrogations， the judges believed there was no solid proof that Tang Yingcai’s death was caused by the employer， and the compensation of 22， 000yuan required by the demandant was rejected. He then realized that， in China， karoshi was not only a medical issue， but also involved social issues such as labor intensity， labor time， and labor guarantee. In the future， it would be the focal point of labor disputes， and need the attention of related departments. “At present， there are still huge loopholes in the regulations regarding ‘karoshi’ and labor injuries and it is not good for lawsuits.”

盡管，“過勞死”事件頻發，而且正在逐漸年輕化。但是中國人力資源和社會保障局有關工作人員表示，相較其它國家，目前中國的勞動保障范疇內尚不存在“過勞死”的概念，所以相關權益無法獲得保障。

作為中國首例“過勞死”案件的辯護律師——鄔華良對其當年所作的辯護經歷記憶猶新。那是1998年一個炎熱的夏天，上海市靜安區第六糧油食品公司的員工唐英才悄無聲息地猝死在工作單位。在一審、二審中，法院都因原告沒有確切的證據證明唐英才的死亡是工作單位造成的，判定原告要求的共計22萬人民幣的賠償予以駁回。他這才開始意識到，在中國，過勞死不僅僅是一個醫學問題，它涉及勞動強度、勞動時間、勞動保障等社會學的范疇，在未來將是勞動糾紛的重點，必須得到相關部門的高度重視。“目前，中國法律在‘過勞死’以及工傷的相關規定上存在很大的問題，不利于訴訟。”

In the opinion of Luo Juan， a lawyer of the Beijing Lawyers Association， the content of the Labor Law is very broad， but as the industry chain of China is relatively lagged behind， most people cannot handle the pace of work， and many enterprises cannot operate exactly according to the Labor Law.

Zheng Shangyuan， the Director of the Labor and Social Security Research Institution of China University of Political Science and Law， pointed out that an important factor contributing to the frequent occurrence of “karoshi” was the lack of labor law enforcement. “If the law is strictly enforced by the labor department and the labor intensity is controlled properly， how can this happen？”

In addition， Zhu Lieyu， member of the NPC and National First-Class Lawyer， believed that the current low cost of breaking the law is not powerful enough to regulate the enterprises. According to the relevant articles of Labor Security Supervision and Regulation， for an employer who violates the rules and extend working hours， the labor department can “warn the employer and mandate him to modify in a limited period”， and the fines for the enterprise is “100-500 yuan for each violated laborer”.

在北京律師聯盟的羅娟律師看來，中國的《勞動法》內容非常廣泛，但由于中國的產業鏈相對落后，大部分人都無法掌握工作節奏，很多企業也做不到完全按照勞動法的規定運轉。

對此，中國政法大學勞動和社會保障研究所所長鄭尚元曾公開指出，中國頻發過勞死事件的一個重要原因，在于勞動執法的缺失。“如果勞動部門嚴格執法，勞動強度控制好，哪會發生過勞死？”

此外，全國人大代表、國家一級律師朱列玉認為，目前企業的違法成本低使法律不足以對違法企業起到震懾作用。根據《勞動保障監察條例》的相關規定，用人單位違反規定延長勞動者工作時間的，勞動保障行政部門“給予警告，責令限期改正”，對企業的罰款“按照受侵害的勞動者每人100元以上500元以下的標準計算”。