David Blecken
Oct 8, 2016

Excessive overtime blamed for suicide of Dentsu employee

A recent graduate reportedly clocked up to 130 hours of overtime in a month.

Dentsu's Tokyo headquarters
Dentsu's Tokyo headquarters

A labour standards inspection office has acknowledged that workplace pressure contributed to the suicide of a female Dentsu staff member last December, according to reports in the Japanese media.

The employee, Matsuri Takahashi, a graduate of Tokyo University,  was reportedly 24 years old and had joined the company in April 2015. It is understood that her overtime hours ranged from 70 to 130 per month, and that she sometimes slept no more then 10 hours in a week.

The Asahi Shimbun has reported that Takahashi worked for Dentsu's Digital Account division, which was recently implicated in the overbilling of clients

The employee’s mother has called for improvements to be made to Japan’s labour management system to prevent similar incidents happening in the future. Dentsu said it is taking the matter seriously but did not provide further comment.

Japan is notorious for its culture of long working hours. A recent government report into karoshi (death from overwork) found employees at nearly a quarter of companies in Japan log more than 80 hours of overtime per month. Almost 12 percent of companies reported staff working more than 100 extra monthly hours. But while advertising and public relations are undoubtedly high pressure industries, IT companies were found to have the highest rates of overtime.

This case involving Dentsu is far from unique. The advertising and marketing industry is regularly criticised globally for putting unreasonable demands on its workers. In 2013, young employees at Y&R in Indonesia and Ogilvy Public Relations in Beijing both collapsed and died apparently as a result of an unmanageable workload. 

 

Source:
Campaign Japan

Related Articles

Just Published

1 day ago

Generation Greytt: The trillion-dollar market that ...

Armed with unprecedented pocket power and digital savvy, the over-50s are redefining what it means to age. Yet businesses remain fixated on youth, overlooking a demographic that's more adventurous, connected and ready to spend than ever before. Rajeev Lochan opines.

1 day ago

TBWA dominates in Japan/Korea AOY 2024 awards

Accenture Song and TBWA walked home with multiple metals at the 2024 Campaign Asia-Pacific Agency of the Year awards for Japan and Korea. Check out the highlights here.

1 day ago

Hong Kong's unique spirit: A 'Never Normal' love ...

Forget dim sums and skyscrapers, over 40 brands and influencers from Hong Kong join forces to embrace the city's chaotic charm, eclectic character, and resilient spirit in an unconventional campaign.

1 day ago

Global ad spend to hit $1.08 trillion in 2024 as ...

WARC's latest study also reveals tech giants' intensifying dominance of global ad spend and social media leading unprecedented growth—but regulatory headwinds still threaten to reshape this burgeoning landscape.