The Daily BuzzYoung Indonesian copywriter dies after 30-hour work day
Is work to blame for yet another death this year?
On Saturday, Mita Diran, a 24-year-old Young & Rubicam (Y&R) Indonesia copywriter, tweeted about her impressive work streak.
30 hours of working and still going strooong.
— Mita Diran (@mitdoq) December 14, 2013
It was her last tweet.
Shortly after posting, Diran collapsed. She died the next day.
News of her death spread around the world. Condolences — and criticisms of demanding industries — poured in on Twitter.
"My creative friends, tell your boss you're too young to die," tweeted Hendri Cahyana.
"No campaign is worth this. Were not curing cancer, it's just advertising," tweeted Nagham.
Y&R Indonesia closed the office for Diran's funeral.
It is a great loss and we wish Mita's family the faith and strength in each other in going through this extremely difficult time. — Y&R Indonesia (@yrindonesia) December 15, 2013
While cause of death has not been released, local reports blamed her death on long work hours, lack of sleep, and the heavy consumption of energy drinks.
A Path post, attributed to Diran's father by multiple sites, confirms that Diran had been working overtime for three days at the time of her collapse.
A comment on that post, assumed to be from Diran's father's co-worker, added that Diran's energy-drink intake was too hard on her heart.
In November, Diran tweeted about another long week at the office.
Alright, one full week of going home past 2am from the office. Ladies and gentlemen, I believe we just broke a record.
— Mita Diran (@mitdoq) November 8, 2013
And in October, she was working hard, too:
Weekend? What weekend? #AgencyLife — Mita Diran (@mitdoq) October 18, 2013
In fact, according to a Tumblr post, Diran has been working overtime for years.
"Tonight, I carry the keys to the office for the eighth day running. I’m still here. I have no life. Someone please take me out for drinks, kicks and giggles," she wrote in June 2011.
Diran's death comes just months after 21-year-old Bank of America intern Moritz Erhardt suffered a fatal epileptic seizure in London after reportedly working through the night three consecutive times.
"It is possible that fatigue brought about his fatal seizure, but it is also possible that it is something that just happens," the coroner told Erhardt's parents.
And in May, Gabriel Li, a 24-year-old Ogilvy PR staffer, suffered a heart attack and died at his desk in Beijing. Again, reports blamed overwork for his demise, citing unnamed sources who believed Li worked overtime for one month straight.
