Economists say the way we work has become so stressful it’s now the fifth leading cause of death. Our mission is to find a better way. Explore the art and science of living a full and healthy life with behavioral and social science researchers who can help us better understand what drives our human experiences, and how to change. Better Life Lab is a co-production from New America and Slate.
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Economists say the way we work has become so stressful it’s now the fifth leading cause of death. Our mission is to find a better way. Explore the art and science of living a full and healthy life with behavioral and social science researchers who can help us better understand what drives our human experiences, and how to change. Better Life Lab is a co-production from New America and Slate.
In Japan, generations of workers have given their all to the code of Karoshi. It’s a word that literally means, “Work til you die."
Few Americans know the word “Karoshi.” We don’t think it happens here. But the workplace now actually ranks as the fifth leading cause of death in America.
To help us understand work stress better, we’re joined by the co-directors of the Healthy Work Campaign. Marnie Dobson and Peter Schnall. How do we shift from work being something that can make your life miserable, to something that can enhance the quality of your life? It comes down to how much power, control and autonomy you have at work.
Guests:
Cate Lindemann, a lawyer in Illinois who suffered a stress-induced heart attack
Cherri Murphy, a pastor and former Lyft driver in California
Marnie Dobson and Peter Schnall, co-directors of the Healthy Work Campaign
Resources:
The Relationship Between Workplace Stressors and Mortality and Health Costs in the United States, Joel Goh, Jeffrey Pfeffer, Stefanos A. Zenios
Global, regional, and national burdens of ischemic heart disease and stroke attributable to exposure to long working hours for 194 countries, 2000–2016: A systematic analysis from the WHO/ILO Joint Estimates of the Work-related Burden of Disease and Injury, Pega et al, May 2021
Bad Jobs, Bad Health? How Work and Working Conditions Contribute to Health Disparities Burgard & Yin 2013
Psychosocial Factors at Work: Recognition and Control, a report of the Joint International Labour Office and World Health Organization Committee on Occupational Health (1985)
Employee Control and Occupational Stress, Paul Spector, 2002 “Evidence is growing that enhanced control at work can be an important element in employees' health and well–being.”
Healthy Work Campaign fact sheet
Work, Stress and Health and Socio-Economic Status, American Psychological Association
Workplace Stress, ILO, 2016
Better Life Lab
Economists say the way we work has become so stressful it’s now the fifth leading cause of death. Our mission is to find a better way. Explore the art and science of living a full and healthy life with behavioral and social science researchers who can help us better understand what drives our human experiences, and how to change. Better Life Lab is a co-production from New America and Slate.
