Sample Answer
Which Country Is the Most Overworked in Health Care?
Introduction
The healthcare sector is one of the most demanding fields in the world. It involves long hours, emotional stress, and an unrelenting workload that directly affects workers’ well-being and patient care quality. While overwork is a global problem, some countries have gained particular attention for the extreme pressures placed on their healthcare professionals. This essay examines which country can be considered the most overworked in healthcare by comparing Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. It analyses how cultural expectations, labour structures, and globalisation have shaped healthcare work cultures, and explores the social and professional implications of overwork in this field.
Healthcare Work Culture and the Concept of Overwork
Overwork is often measured through average working hours, burnout rates, and work-life balance indicators. In healthcare, overwork extends beyond time spent on duty; it involves emotional exhaustion, moral distress, and constant exposure to life-and-death decisions. The World Health Organization (WHO, 2021) identified overwork as a growing occupational health crisis, linking it to a rise in cardiovascular diseases and mental health disorders among medical staff. In many countries, this problem is tied to cultural and structural expectations that glorify self-sacrifice in healthcare work.
Japan: A Culture of Dedication and Exhaustion
Japan’s healthcare system is highly respected for its efficiency, but the workforce behind it pays a high price. The Japanese term karōshi, meaning “death by overwork,” highlights the nation’s deep-rooted struggle with excessive working hours. Doctors and nurses often work 60 to 80 hours per week, with some reporting over 100 hours of overtime a month (Matsuo et al., 2022).
Culturally, Japan’s collectivist values and strong sense of duty encourage employees to put the organisation and patients before themselves. This work ethic is reinforced by hierarchical hospital structures, where junior staff feel pressured to match senior doctors’ long hours. Despite government reforms aimed at capping overtime, enforcement remains weak in hospitals due to chronic staff shortages. Consequently, burnout rates among Japanese physicians are among the highest in the world (Odagiri et al., 2020).
South Korea: Competition and the Burden of Perfection
South Korea shares many cultural and structural similarities with Japan but has its own distinctive pressures. The nation’s healthcare system is technologically advanced and extremely fast-paced, yet it operates with one of the lowest doctor-to-patient ratios among OECD countries. According to the Korean Medical Association (2022), doctors in Seoul often work 80-hour weeks, while nurses face 12-hour night shifts with minimal rest.
Korean culture’s emphasis on perfectionism and social hierarchy fuels this overwork. Professionals feel compelled to meet high patient expectations while maintaining social harmony, often at the cost of personal health. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified these conditions, revealing deep systemic weaknesses and lack of government support. Burnout and mental distress among healthcare workers soared, but cultural stigma around mental health continues to prevent open discussion or intervention (Kim & Lee, 2021).
The United Kingdom: Bureaucracy and Systemic Overload
Although Western countries like the UK tend to value work-life balance more than East Asian nations, the National Health Service (NHS) presents its own form of overwork. Chronic understaffing, austerity measures, and increasing patient demands have created unsustainable working conditions. A 2023 NHS staff survey found that over 50% of doctors and 40% of nurses considered leaving due to stress and exhaustion (NHS England, 2023).
Unlike Japan or South Korea, the UK’s overwork is not primarily cultural but structural. Healthcare professionals are trapped in a bureaucratic system with limited funding and growing public pressure. Long waiting lists and administrative inefficiency increase workloads, while budget cuts restrict staff hiring. Despite shorter formal working hours compared to Asian nations, the intensity of work in the NHS often leads to similar levels of burnout (West et al., 2020).
Comparative Analysis: Cultural and Structural Factors
While all three countries face overwork in healthcare, Japan stands out as the most overworked due to its unique combination of cultural expectations and systemic conditions. Japanese work culture’s glorification of endurance, combined with minimal regulatory enforcement, creates an environment where rest is often viewed as weakness. South Korea follows closely, with similar societal values but a slightly more open discussion around reform. The UK’s overwork issues are primarily bureaucratic and financial rather than cultural, making them more likely to be addressed through policy reform.
Globalisation has amplified these challenges by increasing patient expectations and competitiveness within healthcare systems. Countries strive to adopt international best practices, but this often means more performance tracking, more reporting, and less personal time. Technology, while improving medical efficiency, has also blurred work-life boundaries by keeping doctors connected to their duties outside working hours.
