Died of being overworked.
A young Indonesian copywriter reportedly died of being overworked. Shocking, right? According to an employee from the company where she worked, Mita Diran died “due to a lethal combination of being overworked and excessive consumption of Kratingdaeng – the Thai version of Red Bull, an energy drink consumed by many when required to stay awake during long hours.”
She was continuously working for 30 hours straight and presumably consumed too much of the energy drink to keep her going.
This is a sad reminder to all the young professionals out there who are either working in an office environment or at home… there is more to life than just work! We need to have a balance of work and play. We also need to know our limits. We may not feel it right away but our body gets tired and worn out after eight hours of work. Can you imagine going for 30 hours nonstop and surviving on an energy drink. That’s really pushing it too far.
I once worked for a call center company wherein I was part of the pioneer group. I worked for 14 to 16 hours a day, most of the time six days a week. There were days when I would work for 24 to 36 hours and I would go home feeling like a melted candle, numb and shaking from all the caffeine I consumed. After two years there, I felt relieved being able to wake up, work, function, sleep like a normal person again!
Don’t push yourself too far, please. Work will be there no matter what. It will just change form, deadlines, and all that, but it will still be work. Your body, your health, will deteriorate if you push it to the limit. Don’t let yourself become a victim of overworking. Work hard, yes. But play harder!
Rest in peace, Mita.
