A firm in Japan will use drones to force employees to leave the office in an effort to tackle overworking to death.
Overworking to death, AKA ‘karoshi‘ accounts for around 100 suicides per year according to Business Standard. Last year, a government survey suggested one in five employees risked death from overworking.
Past efforts to curb the problem of karoshi include taking special work naps known as ‘inemuri’ and firms participating in ‘premium Fridays’, where employees leave early. Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike even ordered workers to leave their desks by 8pm.
Now, a technology-based strategy to tackle the problem will be implemented. Created by office security and cleaning firm Taisei and telecom giant NTT, a drone system will patrol the office. The drone will hover above employees and will blast loud music to drive them out of the office.
Equipped with a camera, the drone will identify employees who remain in the office after work hours.
