More than half of the 51 workers recognized as having committed suicide due to work-related stress between fiscal 1999 and fiscal 2002 had been doing at least 100 hours of overtime a month, according to a report by a government research team.
"Long periods of overtime work may be linked to mental illnesses," said Nobuo Kuroki, assistant professor at Toho University's Sakura hospital, who heads the team formed by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
"Companies should give consideration to the mental health of employees."
The 51 workers are those whose suicides were officially identified as attributable to work-related mental illnesses.
Twenty-seven of the 51 people had been working at least 100 hours of overtime a month before their suicides, six had done 80 to 99 hours, 11 had done 45 to 79 hours, and seven had done 44 hours or less, it says.