Young Woman Dies After Tweeting That She Worked 30 Hours Straight

[KamaAina]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/young-woman-dies-tweeting-she-162556504.html

Mita Duran, a 24-year-old woman who worked as a copywriter in Indonesia, slipped into a coma on Sunday after tweeting that she had worked for 30 hours straight. She died not long after.

Duran often kept herself awake by drinking Kratingdaeng, better known as Thai Red Bull, writes Lee Moran at the New York Daily News, while working late into the night at Young & Rubicam, an ad agency owned by multinational advertising and public relations company WPP.

Duran's Twitter feed shows that she often tweeted about her heavy workload:

"Haven’t slept since Saturday and I have 30 more copy lines to go and a plane to catch tomorrow afternoon," she said on July 8.

A white-collar sweatshop.

[Phlem]

1. We have that here.

It's called the Tech Industry.

It had some exposure about 8 years ago with an EA wife complaining about her husbands hours. It's been completely swept under the rug and never heard of since. Nothing has changed.



In a way it's age discrimination because the young can handle it but as you age, your body can't physically keep up.

-p

[loudsue]

2. In the telecommunications industry, I used to go 2 & 3 days with 1 to 2 hrs. of sleep

It can be beyond brutal right here in the good ole USA. And THAT is why so many people now have PTSD in this country.

[Phlem]

3. I had it before I got into the industry, PTSD.

I'm completely burnt now and I'm 48. I don't know what else to do and still make enough to raise a family on.



It's even worse now that off shoring in full swing. Leaves a glut here to fight over what's left.

-p

[Aerows]

7. I think I have a share of PTSD, too

You can only work so many hours straight, be expected to account for it, and go into environments where it is anything but safe.

[Phlem]

9. I'm sorry.

I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

There is an ear here for ya if you ever need.

-p

[Aerows]

6. Probably

I worked 50 hours straight on a mail server.

I think I had enough when the fucking boxes and Christmas tree fell on me.

[Phlem]

8. Ouch. Yes the last straw, I feel ya.

-p

[KamaAina]

31. You're a techie?

I love women in tech! I know a couple out here in $iliValley.

[Aerows]

34. I am

And as the other poster said, it's 24/7 in telecom, but I like to add it's 24/8 in keeping a network going on the backend.

[Drew Richards]

21. Same here and being on call 24/7 in telcom is a nightmare there is no such thing as REM sleep

[Recursion]

41. I once -- once -- got a sysadmin job that was... wait for it... hourly and non-exempt

I had never heard of such a thing. It was amazing...

[Aerows]

4. I don't want to discuss how long I've been awake

flying out to fix a server, rebuild the damn thing and test it when people come back in the next day and I'm about to drop.

"I fought with a Christmas tree that fell out on me, knocked me down and nearly broke my laptop when I opened the server closet to fix a router" pretty much describes some of the bullshit I've endured.

[Phlem]

13. My sister's in the same boat.

She's unemployed right now and trying to figure linux servers. I could never do what you do, I'd just collapse.

This shit's Fucked up.



-p

[Aerows]

15. If someone finds out you know UNIX

You will never get a night's rest, pretty much ever.

[Phlem]

18. That's insane.

I'll learn some java before I get into UNIX. How prevalent is that these days, I didn't think anyone was still building UNIX boxes?

-p

[Aerows]

22. Grep

$ Unix -nosleep.txt

[Phlem]

23. Nice Aerows! I'll pass this along.

Do you remember when Unix boxes used to cost 20K, the down payment on a house. After windows I was able to use a dual cpu server board on a box with full scsi for my work, it friking rocked and was actually affordable. I think at most I spent between 3 and 4 thousand. I was recently taking specs on another server board running Xeons with dual video cards and came up with a system. We are now officially back to a small down payment on a house.



-p

[Aerows]

24. I'm barely over 40

and remember being amazed by an Alpha that was 500mhz. I've been around for quite some time

Heck, I remember when the computer science lab at my university got a box that had 5, count it 5 MBs of RAM and we could tie into the VAX system via modem at 2400 baud.

ETA: Don't ask me about hardware. You really, really don't want to know how my system(s) at home are built. Though, now, I just tote around a smart phone that I can use to VPN to my system and ssh to my heart's content if I'm not there.

I love hardware, always have, and always will .

[Phlem]

26. That's awesome!

5 megs of ram! Whoa!

I'm 48 and I still can't stop with the video games and the 3D modeling, getting to some Java too. A constant learning experience.

I make it a point now to smell the roses, get a big wiff off the top of my little girl's 2nd grade head ( man that stuff is like mana from the heavens), really getting to know people, all the stuff I should have been doing while feverishly trying to cram as much information in my head.

You know, I saw an original apple for sale for some serious bucks, maybe it's time to be a Relic Hunter!



-p

[Aerows]

27. I adore hardware

always have, and always will . I flirted with the idea of becoming a material engineer at the processor level. Just too confining of a work environment to design wafers, and I couldn't get my hands dirty in the field with implementation if I went that route.

[Recursion]

46. That's why I like doing FPGA and PCB work now

Just the right mix of software and hardware...

[Aerows]

47. UEFI seems like a great place to be a part of, too

along with PCB work.

[Recursion]

48. Meh. I still can't figure out what problem UEFI solves

But then I don't deal with multi-terabyte boot disks very often (the opposite, since I'm doing a lot of embedded stuff lately).

[Aerows]

51. Deal with multi-terabyte solutions

and their databases, and you will get it . Embedded rocks, though. I can't tell you how much I love my quad-core Galaxy Note II.

[Recursion]

50. Linux has pretty much killed off the old proprietary Unices

but that's fine with the vendors, because AIX, HPUX, etc. were really just loss-leaders to get you to buy their expensive RISC platforms... and RISC is the revolution that never happened.

But anyways, there are a ton of routers and firewalls out there that are just small-form-factor Linux or Net/OpenBSD servers with fast NICs; even a lot of the turnkey solutions are actually that under the hood.

[Aerows]

52. Solutions for

multi-terabyte redundant databases like email - that must be copied and retrievable in a redundant storage system.

You have to have those. I know embedded is great, but you also have to have maintained, redundant storage.

I can rack mount a server, and I also know how to hook up fiber channel, energy requirements and cooling/FM200 fire suppression.

[Recursion]

42. Yep. At least we don't have beepers anymore.

The ringtone from my last one still haunts my nightmares. And since I can't hate the device I play Angry Birds on, I'm a little more tolerant of the Nagios alerts.

[Aerows]

45. I flushed one down the toilet one time "accidentally"

I was so pissed. I was working on a problem and had been on call for fuck only knows how long and got a page when I was in the damn ladies room for heaven's sake.

[Recursion]

49. Ha!

I love it.

[Aerows]

53. Gone 2 minutes in RESTROOM.

Paged. Caught up in clothes while attempting to use ladies room and simultaneously answer page. Pager falls in toilet. Finished business. Because you really shouldn't be paging me 2 minutes after I went to the damn toilet.

Flushed down toilet with a grin .

[hollysmom]

58. I used to sail and when they tried to give me a beeper

I asked if they floated, I was the only one in the office that ever got sleep.

[Auntie Bush]

59. Your job sounds a lot like my son's.

He's a computer Engineer and works for Time Warner up in ME. He was also up and on call for days/week and sometimes couldn't fix router problems via computer and had to go out to those servers and work in the semi dark and freeing weather for hours and practically rebuild the routers at the station. He doesn't have to do that much anymore. Thank goodness

[Ken Burch]

5. It was bound to happen.

And it's bound to keep happening as long as "effeciency" and profit are valued more than human lives.

[Curmudgeoness]

10. Problem is, there can be no efficiency in those working hours. nt

[Phlem]

12. They don't care.

hours spent = productivity

You can analyze this to the ends of this earth, all they do is cover their ears and go blah, blah, blah, till your done.

It's painfully obvious but whatever. You want to keep your job, then STFU about it, period.

A union would be nice but for some reason people have tried and it's never taken hold. Go figure.

It's total control bullshit, you've got a salary, their going to make sure they get their money's worth.



-p

[loudsue]

39. But all you're going to hear from the corporatists is how awful and unqualified American workers are

That shit makes me so mad I could well, get mad.

[Aerows]

44. Have a good paying job?

You are terrified as shit of losing it, no matter what you have to do to keep it. Pretty much the norm these days, and yes, it sucks and is inhumane.

[Phlem]

55. Hell yes and another

hell yes to this.

-p

[Blue_Tires]

60. +1

[WowSeriously]

11. Unfettered free market ... when the job market has you working for free.

[Phlem]

14. Exactly!

You don't want to know what I think of the "Free Market" bullshit they're spewing. And the annoying thing, these 2 to 4 word catch phrases that seem to sink and hold, "Free Market", sounds pretty doesn't it?



-p

[Logical]

17. Many people are awake that long. Wonder what she died of? n-t

[Phlem]

20. I would venture pro longed exposure to this environment.

Lack of sleep kills. We won't find out until an autopsy if there even is one.

-p

[niyad]

30. I would guess that all that red bull she was drinking contributed, at the very least. possibly her

heart just could not take it.

[Phlem]

56. Exactly!

Wow a another 36 hours of work straight, time to dose up!

-p

[JVS]

19. Twitter? Sounds like a case of slacking on the job.

[Skittles]

25. sorry but I know people who routinely work that many hours and more

that is right here in America

[Aerows]

28. I've done that and more

repeatedly, and I'm not buying that it was just "work". Hell, I've put in enough hours on a few servers (in the middle of fucking nowhere) that I wanted to cry, and a hotdog from a combination gas station/diner was the best to offer as food. Tell me that isn't some disheartening bullshit while pulling a 36 hour "day".

[Skittles]

62. I live off vending machines

because there very often isn't an opportunity to even nuke a dinner

[karadax]

29. How much blame on the individual vs employer ?

Was this lady afraid of losing her job ? Perhaps she's one of those busybody types that enjoys having a full plate all of the time. I'm certain her employer didn't hold the proverbial gun to her head and force her to stay awake.

50 red bulls a day was probably a factor in her demise.

[Aerows]

32. Uh, 50 Red Bulls would kill anyone

Copious amounts of water are called for when staying up that long. I don't drink soft drinks, though, so I couldn't tell you.

[Gravitycollapse]

57. Actually, it would take roughly 100 cans to kill someone.

We're talking A LOT of caffeine.

[niyad]

33. "I'm certain. . ." really?? perhaps you ought to read some of the posts in this thread alone. and

then, perhaps, check out what employers are doing to employees everywhere. it is not pretty.

[Aerows]

37. It really isn't

Expectations are high if you want to keep a job that actually pays you what you are worth. Your body is pretty much worth less than a high profit margin, so if you want to keep a good job, you have to exceed it.

Kind of sucks sometimes, particularly if you have responsibilities.

[Phlem]

35. water, a whole heck of a lot of drinking in a short amount of time, it will kill you.

-p

[Phlem]

36. "I'm certain her employer didn't hold the proverbial gun to her head and force her to stay awake."

Would you like to keep your job?

2 answers only, yes or no.

She doesn't lose it that day, no, there have to be instances and tracking of bad employee's by HR. Their needs to be traceable evidence and that takes a little while.

Really? are you that gullible?

-p

[loudsue]

40. Man, that's just cold.

Always blame the victim, huh?

[RandySF]

38. I'm not surprised.

I work at a majority university where we are understaffed, overworked and underpaid. We deal with huge work loads, unforgiving deadlines and little tolerance for error. Management promises to provide better tools to get the job done but never deliver. As we get conflicting messages about which tasks needs to get done and which one can wait. The Employee Assistance Office is busy and local therapists are always fully books with employees. And staff will take a sick day off for the slightest sniffles because it gives then the excuse to get a day of rest. It's a total nightmare.

[LeftyMom]

43. $10 on heart condition plus cocaine.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

54. therefore...Tweeting kills

[yuiyoshida]

61. Wow KamaAina ...this

Didn't happen in America? Its going to soon... just watch!!

[KamaAina]

63. A similar death occurred in London

the guy had only been working 24 hours straight.

[yuiyoshida]

64. They been trying to stop this in Japan as well for years...

finally the corporations have decided to fight the idea of working too many hours.