guolaosi

English

Etymology

From Mandarin 過勞死／过劳死 (guòláosǐ), from Japanese 過労死 (karōshi).

Noun

guolaosi (uncountable)

1. Death from overwork.
   • 2005, Melissa Rossi, What Every American Should Know About Who's Really Running the World, →ISBN:

     They say that Chinese workers in factories supplying Wal-Mart are dying from guolaosi—“overwork death”—from working upwards of fifteen hours a day, seven days a week, for months on end in a frenzy to quickly and cheaply fill demand ...

   • 2007, Anne Elizabeth Moore, Unmarketable:

     Asia estimated that by June 2006 the number of deaths attributed to guolaosi in China had reached six hundred thousand per year.

   • 2011, Eric Clark, The Real Toy Story: Inside the Ruthless Battle for Britain's Youngest Consumers, →ISBN:

     Her parents were told it was 'unknown death' and received a small sum in compensation. But the villagers said it was the new disease, guolaosi. Overwork death.

   • 2015, Steven McShane, ‎Mara Olekalns, ‎& Alex Newman, Organisational Behaviour 5e; Emerging Knowledge, →ISBN:

     Although difficult to calculate, one prominent newspaper estimates that guolaosi claims the lives of 600 000 people in China each year.

Synonyms

• karoshi