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American Karoshi: Karoshi, or working yourself to death, was thought to be a uniquely Japanese phenomenon. But, as Matthew Reiss explains, Americans are no strangers to it. (Overwork).

Article Excerpt
A THIN, 40-something man with scattered white hair and wan complexion looked up from his notebook in a church basement on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

'Hi, I'm Emerson,' he said, 'and I'm addicted to work.'

'Hi, Emerson,' answered his companions.

Emerson is a lecturer at a major university in the New York area. In addition to his course load, he developed two new classes last semester, submitted a book-length manuscript for publication and served as executive director of a small not-for-profit corporation. 'In my own eyes I'm a lazy sloth,' he declared. He even agonized over coming to this evening's Workaholics Anonymous meeting. He couldn't shake the thought of running home to update his telephone list. 'I just feel compelled to do this,' he said. 'It's insanity.'

Emerson is not alone. His condition is a product of the society that surrounds him. Joan Feldman of the investment firm of Keefe, Bruyette and Woods, barely got out of Tower 2 of the World Trade Center after the first airliner crashed into Tower 1 on 11 September. While hurrying down the stairs from the 88th floor, she heard an announcement over the Center's public-address system ordering employees back to work. 'I would be dead,' said Ms Feldman when asked what would have happened if...