Buzz off
Overworking is a common
issue in Japan, where one in five people typically work up to 50
hours a week. In fact, death caused by the stresses of working too
long and hard even has its own word in Japanese: Karoshi. To help
encourage workers to leave at a sensible hour, office security
company Taisei will, next year, trial the use of drones which hover
of the heads of stressed workers, blaring Auld Lang Syne.
Typically played in
Japanese shopping centres to announce closure, it is hoped that the
overworked person will be unable to continue working and actually
leave to go home. Taisei will begin offering the drone service to
companies from April of 2018, but we're not exactly sure how
effective it will be. Surely a buzzing drone blasting New Year's Eve
music over your head will stress you out more, and encourage people
to leave the office and continue working at home.
If deaths caused by
work stress are a big problem in Japan, surely you DON'T want to
start zooming drones with whirling blades over people's heads when
they're trying to reach a deadline? Anyway, maybe these workers wouldn't be so stressed if their bosses would hire more staff - you know, such as office managers to remind people not to work too much.
Jus' a thought, yo.