Many both inside and outside Japan share images of the Japanese working environment based on "simultaneous recruitment of new graduates" ( ?????? , Shinsotsu-Ikkatsu-Saiy? ) and "lifetime-work" (? ??? , Sh? shin-Koy? ) "the model used by large companies as well as the reputation of long working hours and strong dedication to the company. This environment is said to reflect the economic conditions that began in the 1920s, when big companies competing in the international market began to gain the same prestige traditionally thought to be derived from the daimy? - the relationship of Japanese feudal retainers or government services in the Meiji Restoration.
Video Japanese work environment
Large companies
At the very top, the most prestigious companies will hire and retain the best workers by offering better benefits and real job security for life. In the 1960s, work at a prestigious large company has become the goal of new middle-class children, the pursuit required the mobilization of family resources and great individual persistence to achieve success in a highly competitive educational system.
Employees are expected to work hard and show loyalty to the company, in return for a certain level of employment benefits and benefits, such as housing subsidies, good insurance, use of recreational facilities, and bonuses and pensions. Wages start low, but seniority is rewarded, with promotions based on a combination of seniority and ability. Leadership is not based on decisiveness or quick decision making but on the ability to create consensus, taking into account the needs of subordinates. Surveys show a continuing preference for demanding bosses but show concern for the personal life of workers on less demanding bosses interested only in workplace performance.
The system recognizes behaviors that indicate identification with the team's efforts, shown by singing company songs, not taking all the days of one's vacation, and sharing credits for achievements with workgroups. Pride in one's work is expressed through competition with other parallel sections in the company and between one's company and another in a similar business line. Thus, individuals are motivated to keep wa (harmony) and participate in group activities, not only on the job but also in the hours after socializing ( nomikai ). The image of group loyalty, however, may be more an ideological problem than practice, especially for people who do not make it to the top.
Maps Japanese work environment
Small company
Not all workers enjoy the benefits of such employment practices and work environments. Although 64% of households in 1985 rely on wages or salaries for most of their income, the majority of these workers are employed by small and medium-sized companies that can not afford the benefits or achieve great company success, regardless of their best intentions. owner. Even in big companies, the difference between permanent and temporary employees makes many workers, often women, ineligible for profit and promotion. These workers are also the first to be laid off in difficult business conditions.
The Japanese scholar Dorinne K. Kondo compares the status of permanent and temporary workers with Bachnik differences between permanent and temporary members, creating degree within and outside of a company. The tradition of entrepreneurship and the inheritance of the way of life continues among traders, craftsmen, farmers and fishermen, still nearly 20% of the workforce in 1985. These workers give up security for autonomy and, when economically necessary, supplement household income by wage employment.
Traditionally, such businesses use unpaid family labor, but their wives or even husbands tend to go to work in factories or offices and leave retired couples or parents to work in the fields or take care of the stalls. On the one hand, decentralization policies provide locally factory work for working families part-time; on the other hand, the unemployment created by deindustrialization affects workers in rural as well as in urban areas. While unemployment is low in Japan compared to other industrialized countries (less than 3% until the late 1980s), it is estimated that 400,000 workers do not share the security or prosperity enjoyed by workers with lifetime benefits.
Japanese labor grew less than 1% per year in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1991 it stood at 62.4% of the total population over the age of fifteen, a rate that has changed little since 1970. Labor force participation differs in age and sex groups and is similar to that in other industrialized countries in the relative distribution between primary, secondary, and tertiary industries.
The percentage of people working in the primary sector (agriculture, forestry and fisheries) fell from 17.4 in 1970 to 7.2 in 1990 and is projected to fall to 4.9 in 2000. The percentage of the Japanese workforce used in heavy industry is 33.7 percent. 1970; it fell to 33.1 in 1987 and is expected to be 27.7 in 2000. The light industry employs 47% of the workforce in 1970 and 58% in 1987. The sector is expected to employ 62% in 2000.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, more than 95% of all men between the ages of twenty-five and fifty-four were in the workforce, but the proportion decreased sharply after the retirement age of fifty-five (in 1990 the retirement age for most man has risen to sixty). Women participated most actively in the job market in their early twenties and between the ages of 35 and 54 ( see Workers' women in Japan). The unemployment rate (2.2% in 1992) is much lower than in other industrialized countries, but has doubled since the fall of Japan's asset price bubble. Youth unemployment is now a big problem in many areas.
Wages vary by industry and job type. Those who earn the highest wages are permanent workers in companies with more than thirty employees and financiers, real estate, public services, oil, publishing, and high-tech industries emerging for the highest wages. The lowest payout is in the textile, apparel, furniture, and leather industries. Average farmer rates are worse, but may benefit from the appreciation of land ownership as well as strong political ties with the Liberal Democrats.
During a period of strong economic growth from 1960 to 1973, wage rates rose rapidly. Nominal wages increase by an average of 13% per year while real wages increase by 7% annually. The wage rate then stagnated as economic growth slowed. Between 1973 and 1987, the nominal and real wage increases annually fell to 8% and 2% respectively. Wages began to increase in 1987 when the value of the yen was greatly appreciated. In 1989, salaried workers who received the highest average salary increase over the previous year were newspaper employees (6.7%), followed by retail and wholesale workers (6%) and hotel employees (5.7%). Workers in the steel industry (2.5%) and shipbuilding (4.2%) fared worse.
The salaries of administrative and technical workers are about 20% higher than production workers. In the late 1980s, with wages in manufacturing companies with 500 or more indexed workers in 100, companies with 100 to 499 employees indexed in 79, those with 30-90 employees at 64, and those with five to twenty-nine employees at 56.6. The gap between salaries paid to high school and college graduates is few but widening as employees get older; wages peak at the age of fifty-five, when the first receives only 60 to 80% of the last wage.
In the standard model, the workers receive two large bonuses as well as their regular salary, one middle year and the other at the end of the year. In 1988, workers in large companies received bonuses equivalent to their salary for 1.9 months, while workers in the smallest companies received a bonus of 1.2 months of salary. In addition to bonuses, Japanese workers receive a number of benefits, such as living allowances, incentive pay, wages for special working conditions, benefits for good attendance, and living expenses.
Working conditions
Working conditions vary from company to company. On average, employees worked forty-six hours a week in 1987; employees of big companies work a modified five-day week with two Saturdays each month, while those working in small companies work six days each week. In the face of increasing international condemnation of overworked hours in Japan, in January 1989, public bodies began to close two Saturdays every month. Japanese unions make reduced working hours an important part of their demands, and many larger companies respond in a positive way. Japan's work hours have declined gradually.
In 1986 the average employee worked 2,097 hours in Japan, compared to 1828 hours in the United States and 1,702 in France. In 1995 the average annual hours in Japan had dropped to 1,884 hours and in 2009 to 1,714 hours. The average Japanese worker is entitled to fifteen paid days per year but usually takes only seven days.
In recent years, delivery of "haken" contracts has gradually become more popular among large corporations. Coupled with the declining number of Japanese labor force, the average working hours of the week has increased in many medium to large companies. In Tokyo it is very common for many employees to work twelve hours or more a day in a particular industry, even though the contract claims 8 hours a day. In many companies, there are written overtime allowances per month in the contract. Often the first 20-40 hours of overtime are "overtime service" and therefore not paid.
Employment Security
Japan's job protection is unique and dynamic compared to other countries. Loyalty to one's company is of the utmost importance in Japanese culture. Many Japanese companies only promote from within, as a result individuals can stay with the same company for their entire life. Japanese workers seek to invest and improve their companies, while the company strives to maintain a family atmosphere and keep employees. Disappointing colleagues, calling in sickness, and having a bad attitude are unacceptable. Companies in Japan do everything in their power to ensure job security and prevent employee dismissal. Company prevention efforts may include negotiating better deals with suppliers, soliciting government subsidies, and eliminating overtime. The relationship between employers and employees promotes job security, work ethics, and willingness to work long hours.
Impact on Japan's welfare state
Liberal and conservative philosophies combine to shape Japan's welfare state. The welfare state and working conditions are interrelated. As a result of declining working hours over the years, less pressure is placed on the welfare state. In 2012 Japanese citizens on average visit medical facilities twelve times, which is three times more doctor visits than the average citizen of the United States. This is partly due to the low cost of medical treatment and partly due to the increasing stress of working conditions.
Stress has a huge psychological and mental impact on the individual. Working hours vary between companies and company sizes. In the medium to large companies, hours have increased. Stress from working more than twelve hours a day is a contributing factor to the frequent medical visits of Japanese citizens. The majority of Japanese hospitals are private property that refers to conservative influences. While the government enforces strict regulations and prices on medical care touches on the liberal aspects of their welfare state..
Kar? shi
Kar? Shi is the death of overwork work in Japan. This is caused by the high stress of working 60 hours or more per week. (Kumarshiro, 1993: 9) Matsuri_Takahashi's_case_ (2016) "> Matsuri Takahashi Case (2016)
In 2016, the suicide of an overworked young woman makes the Japanese work environment questionable once again. Matsuri Takahashi, 24, committed suicide on Christmas Day 2015 after too much work at Dentsu Inc., Japan's major advertising agency. Her suicide happened just 8 months after she got her first full-time job at Dentsu, straight from college. His SNS post suggested that he get less than 2 hours of sleep per day before he committed suicide. His death was recognized as work-related death, known as "karoshi" in Japanese, by the Mita Standard Labor Inspection Office in Tokyo.
According to preliminary reports by the labor standards inspection office, Matsuri Takahashi has overtime over 105 hours each month. According to the Japanese Labor Law, only 8 hours a day, or 40 hours a week, is allowed. If Japanese companies want to extend their employees' working hours, they must first sign a special agreement to get revenue from the government, in accordance with the Labor Standards Act No.36. Within the limits made by the agreement, hours of work may be decided between employees, employers and unions. However, unions in Japan usually agree with the decisions made by the company.
The case is primarily centered by the public and the death of the worker returns to the public's attention. Upon hearing of public reactions on this matter, the labor standards inspection office has mandatory checks on Dentsu, and discloses there are norms that work together to ensure their employees record fewer working hours when they enter or leave the office. The case is shocking because Matsuri Takahashi was not the first young employee to commit suicide at Dentsu. In 1991, young Dentsu employees committed suicide in similar circumstances. After this incident, there was an order from the Supreme Court in 2000 against Dentsu to improve working conditions.
The case of Matsuri Takahashi proves that Dentsu's corporate environment has not changed since the death of its employees in 1991. Dentsu blames Matsuri Takahashi's case in part because of a serious workforce shortage in the growing division, such as internet consulting. Dentsu's CEO made an announcement to the public saying, "We have to address this situation by increasing the number of staff in the division". In Japan, the job of a lifetime remains in a number of companies and therefore, it is difficult to hire and fire people depending on the needs of the company. This CEO quote shows Japan's stable but low mobility social structure that can cause stress to employees.
After his case, Abe's government held a conference to improve working conditions in Japan. The first meeting was held in September, 2016. In addition, the Japanese government announced their first report on overwork death. According to this official announcement, 23% of major companies in Japan have the possibility of illegally over-working. The Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare, Yasuhisa Shiozaki, responsible for the inspection office of labor standards, emphasized the importance of strengthening these sectors.
Employment standards inspection offices are now suffering from labor shortages compared to the number of companies they need to investigate. After facing criticism from the public, the No.36 Labor Standards Act now faces possible amendments, as it has proven its inadequacy. Although many of the labor laws claimed to have been altered, Japanese social norms, including strong corporatism, prevent this law from being more than control liability and self-imposed business.
Future
There is a growing change in Japanese working conditions, both because of government intervention as a result of declining birth rates and labor productivity, and companies competing for the increasing number of workers due to the decline in the working age population as a result of low birth rates. Many Japanese companies reduce working hours and improve working conditions, including by providing facilities such as sports facilities and a fitness center. The Japanese government pushes through legislation that will require employees to take a minimum of five days' leave, and to ensure that high-income employees in certain sectors such as finance are paid according to performance rather than working hours.
See also
- Trade unions in Japan
- Recruitment of new graduates simultaneously
- Japanese employment law
- Japanese management culture
- Salary
- Japanese blue collar workers
References
- This article incorporates public domain material from the Library of Congress Country Studies website http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/. - Japanese
External links
- My life in Japanese Company
- Level of decency in Japanese business language
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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