Am I working too hard?
- vanshikamalpaniblo
- Jul 28, 2022
- 8 min read
Updated: Sep 1, 2023
CASE STUDY INTO JAPAN'S WORK CULTURE
Japan is often seen as the pinnacle of success and forms an inspiring story from rags to riches- how it transformed its crumbling economy after World War II to become a first world nation and one of the largest economies in the world, popularly known as the Japanese Economic Miracle. Japanese always come off as well cultured individuals who always show up on time with a smile on their face, living a long and healthy life after deciphering the secret to success in life- famously known as IKIGAI. Japanese are the most hardworking people on this planet who have been primarily responsible for their economic boom but underlying this fancy story lies the actual hardships and working conditions of people- the most hardworking people on this planet are definitely not the happiest.
Shockingly, the country has the 2th highest suicide rate among the G7 nations which makes it a major social issue (1). A more shocking news is that death from overwork is such a common phenomenon here that the Japanese have curated a term for it- Karoshi, the most common medical causes ranging from heart attack to stroke, stress, and starvation diet. Although the government recognises the fact that over 200 employees are a victim to this cause, many feel that this number is highly deflated. The actual statistics may become too much to bear for a Japanese. According to a study, 22.7 percent of companies surveyed had employees that worked more than 80 hours of overtime each month – the official threshold after which there is a chance of karoshi (2). Indeed, as many as one in five workers in Japan are currently at risk. Apart from that, depression and crumbling mental and physical health is also common among the Japanese employees. In 2018, there were over 2000 reports of work-related suicides (3). These numbers made us question the very existence of such a disturbing work environment and the real opportunity cost of their hard work, that is the heinous price Japanese have paid to become the so-called “hard workers”.
One of the major reasons lies within the work culture of Japan itself, Japanese work for the longest hours with an average Japanese working over 49 hours in one week (4). It is a common for children to not see their fathers for over 2 days since he has been to work. The society puts this pressure on males where they can prove their love towards their family not by spending more time with them but by spending more time at the office working more to earn more. There is a common phrase where it is told- “Best husbands are the one who are healthy and not around too much.” This work culture has gone forward to develop the concept of Salaryman- basically, a white-collar worker who is expected to show undue devotion towards the company by working towards that same company throughout his/her life and holding the company’s well being over his/her personal wellbeing. They are expected not only to grind their heads throughout the day towards the profits of the company but also to engage in “After work drinks sessions”, where after completing their tenure for the day, they go out for drinks with their colleagues to increase team bonding. The concept of collectivity is so strong among Japanese that they a survey reviewed that they felt guilty for taking a paid leave- because their peers were working and they were not, which is looked down upon in the society (5).
Amongst all this trauma, the working women are expected to perform household work as well which conveys the high levels of gender inequality in Japan. Its Gender Inequality Index was 19th on 2019, which is relatively low for developed nations (6). While women hold 45.4 percent of Japan's bachelor’s degree, they only make up 18.2 percent of the labour force, and only 2.1 percent of employers are women (7). The government essentially has to take a lot of steps to remove this disparity.
The process of opting into this toxic work culture is dreadful in itself- Shukatsu, the job-hunting process and a nightmare for students who are exposed to it so early that 1 out of every 5 contemplate suicide, unable to bear this system (8). On an average, once a Japanese is recruited into the company, they are expected to stay there for a minimum of 10 years which makes this choice for students all the more difficult. Even though 80% of the students are successful in finding jobs in their home country, they are exposed to a rigorous process of going through multiple group discussion rounds and interviews, a process that spreads over a year. With such expectations from students, Shukatsu has become a billion-dollar industry to groom the students to compete for the jobs they apply for. This causes the youth to be left in bewilderment. Young people think they have no other choice if they manage to grab a job, they will have to give unreasonable amounts of time and if they are unable to land a job, they won’t survive.
Another of the many toxicities of this work culture is the Black Companies- burakku kigyo, which are corporations with extreme exploitative working conditions like no insurance benefits, only one 10-minute break throughout the day etc (9). These companies conduct training sessions which soon becomes hazing sessions and they do not regret the same. One appalling fact regarding black companies is that it is not only legal in Japan, the Japanese have gone forward to award the “Most Evil Corporation of the Year”, with Toyota being one of the 2019 winners (10). The major reasons these companies are still allowed to exist is because they are based on the age-old Japanese concept of Bushido- a moral code concerning Samurai attitudes which talks about the theory to “sacrifice everything” for the cause of life, here being the faithfulness towards the company.
Amongst such a culture, we would be thinking that self employed people working on their own norms would be a majority. However, the statistics show a completely opposite result. Approximately only 10% of the work force of Japan is self-employed (11). The understood cause behind it is that self-employment is essentially a trade off between stable income levels and mental health. It is only a rare sect of Japanese who break off the traditional shields and value their mental well being more than stable income levels to have the courage to be self-employed.
A thought pondering most of us by now is why Japanese still are part of such a work culture. Here are a few reasons behind it. Firstly, Japan is the third largest economy in the world by nominal GDP, 4th largest by the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) and the world’s 2nd largest developed economy (12)(13). To maintain this economy, it requires constant perseverance and dedication from the Japanese. But more importantly, the population of Japan is steadily declining with a major sect of their population ageing and decline in birth rates (fathers not spending time with their children has upset the mothers). With Japan going through a construction boom and organising events like the Tokyo Olympics which requires a huge labour force, the Japanese are forced to work more. Even though Japan has dearth of physical labourers, it has never been welcoming to immigrants and is looking for other options like robotics to neutralise the demand and supply, which is a shocking paradox because even though there is a job shortage, Japanese have not been able to improve their working conditions. Interestingly enough Japan has been one of the world leaders in robotics.
Surprisingly, even though Japanese are the most hardworking people they sure are not the most productive ones. In fact, Japanese are the lowest in productivity among all the G7 nations (14). In the early 1990s, the nation lost its status as an economic juggernaut and found itself a beleaguered nation in its worst recession since World War II. The bubble burst and the economic growth has been declining steadily (15). Many Japanese have complained of unnecessary lengthy meetings, over seriousness at work and lack of attention to mental and physical health as the causes of lower productivity which essentially forces them to work overtime in order to get tasks done, trapping them in a vicious cycle.
The government must essentially promote the concept of productivity and put a stop to the hellish conditions the Japanese work force are exposed to (16). Among the most high profile which forced the government to mend it’s ways is the story of Matsuri Takahashi, whose monthly 100 hours of overtime for advertising giant Dentsu pushed her to commit suicide at the age of 24 (17). Another fatality that sparked outrage was that of 31-year-old Miwa Sado, who experienced heart failure following a month in which she logged a shocking 159 hours of overtime with public broadcaster NHK (18).
Soon after Takahashi’s death, the government introduced Premium Friday, an initiative that gives employees the chance to leave at 3pm on the last Friday of every month. However, this measure did not prove to be very effective as the Japanese had to work longer other days to compensate for it. The government, meanwhile, continues to plaster posters and hold events to raise awareness, but many see these actions as insufficient since it is unable to bring about any tangible change. Although the government put a cap of 80-hour work, it has allowed companied to extend it to 100 hours during “the bust periods.” However, according to The Japan Times, the largely symbolic gesture has had little impact (19).
Private innovative Japanese companies have established their own handbook. There are those, such as Dentsu, that now turn the lights off at 10pm. The advertising firm also offers breakfast to those that come in early, in another bid to deter individuals from staying too late (20). Lack of sleep among salarymen is also quite apparent. Nescafe has suggested a way to mitigate this by inventing what they the ‘coffee nap’ cell. A coffee nap is a quick doze preceded by a cup of Nescafe coffee (21). Another company, Crazy Inc, awards points to employees who sleep at least 6 hours a night, at least 5 days per week, according to Bloomberg. The points have a value of up to 64,000 yen. A specialized mattress has been made that tracks the number of hours of sleep and is connected to an app (22). Some companies have come up with afternoon exercise breaks and unique allowances like the grooming allowance and games allowance to motivate workers. Others have sent their employees to unique therapy sessions like that of Ruikatsu (literally, tear activity) encouraging people to cry as a way to release stress and ultimately be happy (23).
Japan still has a long way to go to acknowledge individuals as human beings in the society rather than just a collective for their economic progress. The opportunity cost of taking away their mental and physical wellbeing is too inhumane a cost to even think of. The government has to come forward with a fool proof plan to legalise stable working. However, “Changing the rules are not same as changing the culture” and the Japanese need outside help, our help. We essentially need to pressurise the government to amend its ways to make Japanese one of the happiest, hardworking individuals.
REFERENCES AND FURTHER READINGS
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y-YJEtxHeo (CNBC REVIEW)
8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ajH2Id5FY4 (DOCUMENTARY ON JAPANESE WORK CULTURE)
Fascinating!!
Interesting!!