The Cost Of Burnout

It has happened again...

Another person has literally died...

From burnout.

Let me first take you back to 2021...

China had a workplace norm known as 996.

People were not only expected...

But required...

To work 9 am to 9 pm, 6 days a week.

72 hours...

And many people worked more than this because livable wages was directly tied to unreasonable goals.

Either you worked unreasonable hours...

Or struggle in life.

Headlines are made based on 3 incidents from one company...

Pinduoduo.

First...

A 22-Year old is walking home after extreme hours...

Collapses...

And dies from burnout.

Second...

A second employee in their 20's commits suicide from the psychological pressure of the 996 schedule...

Third...

A former employee of the company notified the world of an incident the company attempted to cover up...

An employee was taken away in an ambulance due to the workplace.

Outrage and debate sparks over the 996 culture...

And China's Supreme People's Court rules that the 996 schedule is illegal.

But here is the thing...

Rules only work if they are enforced...

And only if conditions are changed that allow for it to become practical.

But those did not happen.

Companies no longer mandate the 996...

But it is still expected in how the workplace runs.

Same pay rates that dictate the ability to live...

The only way to make livable wages is to attain unreasonable goals...

Or promotions...

And worse...

Many workforces cut employees...

Meaning there is no one for employees to rely on.

Multiple individuals...

Both before and since...

Have died from Burnout...

Many in their 20's.

And now...

A 32-Year old manager...

Gao Guanghui...

Died of cardiac arrest...

With his final words on the way to the hospital being...

"Remember to bring my laptop."

And the entire time he is fighting for his life...

His team messaged him with work tasks and questions throughout the day and into the evening...

Unaware of his passing...

Without questioning why their messages were not being answered...

All in their own desperate struggles to survive in a work culture that expects them...

Even if not said aloud...

To literally give their lives to their work.

This is the cost of burnout...

Which has been growing at a horrible rate around the globe.

Over 80% of the workforce is in burnout...

And it is expected to continue to get worse.

In China, it is even worse...

Where the tech industry is known to have 98.8% of workers who have health problems...

Which are a consequence of their bodies literally breaking down...

From burnout.

In China...

This is what is expected in the work culture...

And in return...

These deaths are the expected consequences.

As humans...

Our bodies need to recover.

It is not a "nice to have".

It is a requirement for us to function.

When we fail to be able to recover...

Whether it is in quality, quantity, or both...

Our bodies begin to decay from the inside...

Literally.

This happens because there are no opportunities for the body to repair itself properly...

And so...

More and more damage occurs...

Which become minor health problems...

That grows into major health problems...

And if they are not brought to a resolution, where true recovery can happen...

Then the eventual result is simple...

Death.

The body can only handle so much decay until it happens.

Simple biology...

And as sad as it is to say...

It has become the norm in China...

And in much of today's world...

To work ourselves to death.

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