Working hours in Japan. Japanese corporate culture: working late, low productivity, no vacations or sick days

There is a stereotype that it is good to work in Japan. This stereotype comes from our compatriots who work by invitation in foreign companies, where the Japanese try to adapt to the level and style of foreigners. Meanwhile, Japan's traditional work system has a peculiar structure, and it is quite difficult to exist in it. That is why there are not so many foreigners building a career in classic Japanese companies. Epson's Marina Matsumoto tells how the average office worker exists in Japan.

Tokyo. View from the 45th floor of the observation deck. Photo by Swe.Var (http://fotki.yandex.ru/users/swe-var/)

Dress code

Of course, the conditions depend on the specific company, but in principle the dress code in Japan is much stricter than in Russia. Failure to comply with its rules has serious consequences for the employee, up to instant dismissal.

In a traditional Japanese company, they always wear a black suit, regardless of the weather, even if it is +40 outside. The Japanese endure both heat and cold calmly, as they go through a very harsh school of hardening the body in childhood. Recently, a new law has been passed allowing short-sleeve shirts to be worn to work. This is due to the forced energy savings, in which even in extreme heat, air conditioners are not always used in offices.

In some companies, women are not allowed to wear fitted suits - they must be absolutely straight. The skirt must cover the knees.

Women's accessories are also prohibited. I have a big serious company, it is known internationally. But I work where mostly Japanese people work. At my workplace, I was only allowed to wear a cross - under my clothes so that it was not visible, and a wedding ring.

Makeup should be invisible. Japanese women love to make up brightly, blush their cheeks strongly, almost all of them have false eyelashes. But at work, a woman should be as less attractive to men as possible.

In some places, women are required to wear only short hair that does not cover their ears. Hair color must be black. If by nature you, for example, are blonde, you will have to dye your hair.

Men, in addition to long hair, cannot wear a beard and mustache. It's an unspoken rule that everyone knows. The stable image of the Yakuza (a traditional form of organized crime in Japan) interferes.

Subordination

When I got a job, I signed a bunch of documents, where I assured that I would not discuss anything with clients and colleagues other than work: neither the weather, nor nature. I do not have the right to share my “personal data” at work - who is my husband, how am I doing ... At home, I do not have the right to talk about my work. I do not have a secret job, but it is accepted and stipulated in my contract.

Only work at work

They take to the workplace only what is needed for work: for me, these are documents and a pen. I can’t take my bag, wallet and phone, it remains at the checkpoint.

There is a favorite proverb in Russia: “Done the deed - walk boldly.” In the workplace in Russia, the main thing is that you fulfill the plan for today. In Japan, “plans for today” are of no interest to anyone. You came to work, and you have to work on it.

How the Japanese slow down the workflow

In Russia, we all know that wages depend on the results of your work. If you work hard, you get nothing. If you work hard, you get bonuses and promotions. You've done everything, you can leave early or ask for an additional task to earn more.

In Japan, they pay by the clock. Almost all Japanese take overtime. But often this results in the fact that they stretch one task that can be done in two hours - for a week. The deadlines set by the company also do not always correspond to the level of complexity of the work. The Japanese will poke around for hours, we think they work like sleepy flies, but they think they do the job "thoroughly". They incredibly slow down the workflow, so it’s hard for us to work with them.

And this, by the way, is one of the main reasons why their economy was not in the best condition. With this system of payment by the hour, they have trapped themselves. After all, in fact, the work is not designed for quality, but for the number of hours spent in the office.

Long lengthy conversations

We all know that “brevity is the sister of talent”, but in Japan, brevity is the narrow-mindedness of the mind. The Japanese cannot speak briefly and to the point. They launch into long and lengthy explanations that are aimed at making even a narrow-minded person understand what they are talking about. Meetings can last an incredible number of hours. The Japanese believe that if they talk about the same thing for a long time and in excessive detail, then they respect the interlocutor.

Society stratification

It takes a lot of work and organization to grow rice. Therefore, historically, Japan has developed a system with a very narrow specialization of labor and a rigid stratification of society. Everyone has his own duty and his own place in the life and production process.

Japanese communities have always been well organized. For example, a samurai never cooked his own food, he could easily die of hunger if the peasantry had not rescued him.

As a result of such a mentality, it is very difficult for any Japanese to make an independent decision that is not inherent in his status. They cannot take on an elementary responsibility, at least somehow beyond the scope of their ordinary habitual affairs. To put a comma or not to put it is a problem for half a day. The preparation of elementary documents is a series of endless, very slow consultations. Moreover, the necessity of such consultations is striking. If an employee nevertheless takes the liberty of making a decision not based on status, then everyone in the hierarchical chain associated with him will receive a reprimand. This is Eastern despotism in action: “I am a small person, I am a simple peasant, and I should only do what I have to do.”

Again, everything is understandable: Japan is a small country with a large overpopulation, it needs strict frameworks and rules. To survive in Japan, you need to clearly know: my border is here, and this is the border of another person, I must respect it. Nobody goes beyond their limits. If a Japanese marries them, he will literally be lost.

Russia has a huge territory, expanse, open spaces. We are not chained. We are free. A Russian person can do anything. And the Shvets, and the reaper, and the igretz on the pipe ... - this is primarily about us, Russians!

Same as everyone

Interestingly, in Japan you don't have to show your difference or superiority in mind. You can not show your uniqueness, feature. This is not welcome. All must be the same. Since childhood, uniqueness has been burned out there with a red-hot iron, so Japan will not give the world either Einstein or Mendeleev.

The famous Japanese technology is a myth. As a rule, these are ideas that are not created by the Japanese. What they are good at is deftly picking up and improving in time. And we, on the contrary, can ingeniously create and forget ...

To survive in Japanese society, you have to be like everyone else. In Russia, on the contrary, if you are the same as everyone else, you will get lost. New ideas are constantly needed to master and fill a large space.

Career

In the classic Japanese campaign, careers are built for a long time. Career growth depends on age, not merit. A young specialist, even a very talented one, will occupy an insignificant position, work hard and for low wages, because he just came. Because of this organization of the workflow, it is increasingly difficult for Japanese companies to compete in the international market. Yes, there is the concept of Japanese quality, but this no longer saves them, because business is conducted in too Japanese a way.

The salary

The official salary in Japan is high. But with the deduction of all taxes, which amount to almost 60%, they receive an average of a thousand dollars in their hands. Young people get even less. At 60, the salary is already a very decent amount.

Vacation and weekends

There are no holidays in Japan. Weekends are Saturday or Sunday. And depending on the company, you are entitled to a few extra days off a year. Let's say you have 10 days, but you can't take them right away. They need to be broken. It happens that you need to take one day off a week - and go somewhere on business. In my campaign, I have to give a month's notice so that everyone can cooperate and replace me. In some companies, these terms are even longer. It is problematic to leave work for an unexpected incident.

If you get sick on Monday and think not to go to work, then you will not be understood. Everyone goes to work with a temperature.

Holidays can become days off: the day of remembrance of the dead - Obon, in mid-August. But a young specialist does not have such an opportunity, he will work for the first two years without extra days off.

For the new year, 1-3 days are given. If they fall on Saturday-Sunday, then no one, like in Russia, will transfer them to Monday-Tuesday.

There is also a "golden week" in May, when several state and religious holidays are held in a row. My husband worked all days, I had 3 days off.

Working day

Standard working day from 9 am to 7 pm. But most importantly, you should keep in mind that if it is indicated that the working day is from nine, then you cannot come right to this time. Even if you arrive at 8.45, it is considered that you are late. You need to come to work at least half an hour in advance, some come in an hour. It is believed that a person needs time to tune in to the working mood, to prepare for work.

The end of the official working day does not mean that you can go home. It is not customary to leave before your boss. If he is late at the office for two hours, then you are late, and this will not be considered overtime. Your personal circumstances are your personal problems, which, as I already mentioned, are not discussed with colleagues under the contract I signed.

Informal communication

In Japan, there is such a thing - "nomikai" - "drink together", reminiscent of a Russian corporate party. Somewhere "nomikai" takes place every day, in my campaign - twice a week. Of course, you can refuse, but they will "look askance" at you. Why drink? - because in Japan there is a positive attitude towards alcohol. Shinto involves making offerings to certain gods in the form of alcohol. Japanese doctors believe that drinking alcohol daily is beneficial. Nobody talks about doses.

The Japanese do not know how to drink, and, as a rule, get very drunk. The booze itself will cost you nothing, either the boss or the company always pays for it.

Now, in order to further stimulate visits to bars with colleagues, employees have even begun to pay for “nomikai”. It's part of Japanese culture to work together and drink together. It turns out that almost 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, you spend only with your work colleagues.

In addition to nomikai, you need to drink with customers, with partners, with officials with whom the company is connected.

Yes, in Russia there is something similar, but it is completely incomparable with the Japanese alcohol scale. And then in Russia the attitude towards alcohol is much more negative.

Now you can imagine the whole picture. The Japanese leaves the house at 7 am. At work, he exists within the rigid framework of his status. After the end of the official working day, he takes extra hours because he has to feed his family. He then goes out to drink with colleagues and returns home from there at 2 am, most likely drunk. He works on Saturdays. He sees his family only on Sundays. And until the evening, the whole day off, he can either sleep or drink, because he is in terrible stress from such a cruel regime.

In Japan, there is a separate concept - "death by processing." This is a very common case when people die at their desks or, unable to withstand the load, commit suicide. For Japan, this is in the order of things, an event to which there is practically no reaction. People will even resent if someone's suicide interfered with their work. Everyone thinks: “Why didn’t you do it somewhere in a quiet, inconspicuous place, because of you I won’t come to work on time!!”.

It must be understood that Japanese society did not sit and come up with these rules for itself. Everything has evolved over the centuries due to the geographical and historical uniqueness of Japan. Probably everyone will agree that they had good reasons for such a mobilization of society, a constant readiness for something. A small territory, a lot of people, wars, earthquakes, tsunamis - everything can collapse at any moment. Therefore, the Japanese from childhood learn to work in a group, learn to survive on their piece of land. In essence, all Japanese education is not based on teaching a person something, developing him, it teaches him to be a real Japanese, to be competitive precisely in Japanese society ... Not everyone can endure such a life, because it is really hard.

Faktrum shares with the reader interesting facts about what the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun have to go to in the name of work.

The Japanese have a strict dress code.

Most Japanese companies have introduced the mandatory wearing of a black suit with a tie for men and a straight-cut suit with a midi skirt for women. Violation of this rule is punishable by dismissal.

Japanese women are banned from wearing bright makeup to work

The Japanese believe that at work a woman should not attract the attention of men. Therefore, on weekends, residents of Japan “break away” and make up as brightly as possible, and go to work with little or no makeup, using only powder and mascara.

Men are not allowed to wear beards and mustaches

This is due to the fact that long hair, mustaches and beards are a sign of belonging to the Japanese Yakuza mafia. Workers with long hair are forced to part with it during employment.

The management of the company regulates even hairstyles

In some state-owned companies, employees are prohibited from wearing long hair, they must be short and barely cover their ears. And if by nature a girl has a light hair color, then she is forced to dye her hair black.

The Japanese don't talk about personal life at work.

According to the rules, in the workplace you can not talk about your family, about problems and other topics, as this is distracting. Even innocent conversations about the weather and nature are prohibited!

They can't just finish the job and rest.

If a Japanese has a certain task for the day, and he completed it before the appointed time, then he cannot just go and, for example, drink coffee. The employee must remain in his place and work until the very end of the working day.

The Japanese spend too much time on trifles.

Due to the fact that companies pay their employees for hours spent at the workplace, and not for the work actually done, the Japanese tend to drag out even a trifling task for a long time. This slows down the workflow terribly, but no one wants to change anything.

They hold long meetings

The thing is that they are not used to speaking briefly and to the point. When talking about something, a Japanese person launches into long and lengthy explanations, even if the person didn't ask for it. The Japanese believe that if their speech on a subject is too short, then they show disrespect for the interlocutor. Because of this, meetings are stretched out for long, long hours.

The Japanese do not like to take responsibility.

If an employee was given an assignment that goes beyond the scope of his usual work, then he may refuse to fulfill it, delegating it to another. If the employee takes up the performance of a case that was not in his competence, then he may receive a reprimand.

In Japan, an employee does only his job.

It is here in Russia that we can easily instruct a colleague to do work not according to his profile, if we do not have time. And in Japan, employees have a well-defined place in the work process, so they never go beyond their authority.

Getting the right document in Japan is a huge problem

To sign a single piece of paper, the Japanese have to spend many hours on consultations. Moreover, they are mandatory and simply brush them aside.

The Japanese do not show their individuality

In order to exist normally in society, the Japanese are forced to hide their differences and distinctive personal qualities from everyone, especially from colleagues. At work, everyone should be the same and no different from each other.

In fact, the Japanese are not great inventors at all.

Career growth in Japan is slow

The Japanese do not value a person's skills, but his age. Therefore, a talented but young specialist can wait a very long time for a promotion, working for a company for many years, while old employees will receive a large salary for their seniority.

The high salary of the Japanese is a fiction

Yes, Japanese companies pay large sums to their employees, but after deducting all taxes, which is about 30% of the salary, a little more than a thousand dollars is given out. At the same time, young workers receive a very small salary, and only after 30-40 years of work in one place can they count on a larger amount.

There are no holidays in Japan

The Japanese do not go on vacation, they have Saturday or Sunday for rest. Some firms give an additional 10 days of vacation per year, but they cannot be used at a time. These weekends are broken up throughout the year.

The Japanese don't take sick leave.

Even with a high temperature or very poor health, the Japanese will come to work so that he is not fined or fired.

Strict work schedule

Even if the contract states that the working day lasts from 9 am to 7 pm, the Japanese must arrive half an hour before work starts. It is also not customary to leave work before the boss, and if he stayed in the office for several hours, then all the employees will leave only when the boss leaves the building - and not a minute earlier!

The Japanese almost everyone drinks with their colleagues.

As a rule, twice a week employees meet after work and go to a bar where they drink a lot of alcohol. In Japan, there is a very positive attitude towards alcohol, and no one condemns its excessive use.

Japanese people often die on the job

In Japan, it is not uncommon for an employee to die from overexertion right at the workplace or commit suicide due to stress. At the same time, the colleagues of the deceased are extremely indignant if this unfortunate fact interfered with their work.

Since the mid-60s of the 20th century, the concept of the “Japanese miracle” has entered the economy - those lightning-fast changes that have occurred in the Japanese economy in a relatively short period of time. There are several approaches to explaining this economic phenomenon. The most plausible of them lies in the attitude towards employees. With the right priorities, Japan is more productive, loses less time in strikes, protests, and downtime, can more easily adopt new technologies, and generally produces more and faster high-quality goods than its foreign competitors.

In Japan, there are several laws, a number of regulations governing labor relations and issues of protecting the interests of workers. They apply in principle to all enterprises operating in the territory of the country, regardless of the nationality of the owner. In addition, they apply to foreign workers, provided that they fall under the definition of "worker".

How to find a job

In Japan, there is a government agency for employment, which bears the telling name "Hello, work." There are offices and representative offices of this organization throughout the country. The agency helps people who are looking for a job and companies that are looking for workers absolutely free of charge.

Also, some regional state organizations and educational institutions offer employment services free of charge. There are also several private employment agencies of various types in the country. Moreover, most need to pay, only in case of successful employment. Finally, jobs in Japan can be found through numerous newspapers, magazines and websites.

The process of hiring labor is subject to the principle of free contractual relations: the employer has the right to decide for himself how many and what kind of employees he wants to hire. At the same time, Japan has a number of rules that are unusual for a Russian citizen. For example, employers are not allowed to indicate the gender of an employee in job postings.

How to register an employee

When hiring employees, companies enter into employment contracts with them. In this case, the employer is obliged to notify the employee in writing of the following conditions of employment:

1) The duration of the employment contract (or in the absence of provisions governing the duration of the contract, an indication of this fact)

2) Description of the workplace and duties to be performed by the employee

3) Start and end time of the working day, overtime, breaks, weekends and holidays

4) Method for determining, calculating and paying wages; the period for which wages are accrued, and the timing of its payment

5) The procedure for leaving and dismissal from work (including a description of all grounds for dismissal)

Document expiration date

As a rule, employment contracts do not specify the duration of their validity. If a period of validity is nevertheless specified, it should not exceed three years, with the exception of a number of special cases. In this case, the employee has the right to quit, provided that a year has passed from the date of commencement of the employment contract.

Probation

Before hiring a worker on a full-time basis, the employer may set a limited trial period to determine if the person is suitable for him. As a rule, the trial period lasts three months. At the same time, if after the probationary period the employer does not want to hire an employee on a permanent basis, such a decision qualifies as dismissal. And in order for the dismissal to be valid, it is necessary that during the probationary period there are good reasons for not hiring.

How salary is paid

Employers are required to pay the employee wages at least once a month on a pre-agreed date. In this case, the employer can, with the consent of the employee, transfer wages to the bank account indicated by him, taking into account tax deductions

The minimum wage is set in each region and in each industry separately. Moreover, if two different minimum wages are established for an employee, he has the right to receive more.

The monthly salary includes the minimum wage and a range of benefits such as housing allowance, family allowance and travel allowance. Generally, workers in Japan are also paid summer and winter bonuses.

It should be noted that more and more companies are introducing wage systems in which the amount of wages depends on the ability of the employee. As a result, the practice of paying salaries based on the results of the year is becoming more widespread.

Working hours

Working hours in Japan are legally limited to 40 hours a week or eight hours a day, excluding breaks. But some businesses are allowed to set a work week of up to 44 hours. These areas include retailers, beauty salons, cinemas, theatres, healthcare and hygiene facilities, as well as restaurants and entertainment venues.

If the duration of the working day is six hours, the employer is obliged to give the employee a break of at least 45 minutes. If a person works eight hours, then the break must be at least an hour.

Employers are also required to give employees at least one day off per week or four days off per month. The weekend doesn't have to fall on a Sunday.

Any employer requiring its employees to work overtime or on public holidays must submit to the local Labor Inspectorate an agreement on such conditions for the employee himself.

Those who work overtime or at night are entitled to increasing coefficients:

Paid holiday

The employer is obliged to provide 10 days paid leave to an employee who has worked for at least six consecutive months from the date of employment and has worked at least 80% of the planned working days. Paid leave can be used in whole or in parts. The duration of the vacation increases with the accumulation of seniority:

The right to paid annual leave is valid for two years. In other words, unused paid leave can only be carried over to the next year.

It should also be noted that in a number of cases (wedding, death of close relatives, birth of a child, etc.), most Japanese companies provide their employees with several additional days of paid leave.

Maternity and parental leave

If a pregnant woman asks for leave six weeks before the expected date of birth of the child, the employer is obliged to do so. After the birth of a child, a woman may not work for eight weeks while on maternity leave.

The employer has the right to refuse to grant parental leave (1 year) to an employee who has worked at the enterprise for less than one year or has a spouse capable of providing permanent care for the child.

If an employee whose family member is in need of permanent care requests leave to care for such family member, the employer is obliged to comply with this request. The maximum duration of such leave is three consecutive months. However, the employer has the right to refuse an employee who has worked at the enterprise for less than one year or whose employment contract expires in the next three months.

Issues reflected in the internal regulations:

1) Work start and end times, breaks, holidays, vacations (including leave to care for a child and a relative due to illness), work shifts (when work is organized in two or more shifts).

2) The procedure for determining, calculating and paying wages (not including bonuses and other payments), the period for which wages are accrued and the timing of their payment, as well as issues of wage increases.

3) The procedure for leaving and dismissal from work (including a description of the grounds for dismissal).

Other highlights

Employers are obliged to inform employees about the internal regulations established at the enterprise and about any collective agreements between the management and employees of the enterprise.

Employers are required to ensure compliance with safety and industrial hygiene requirements. Before an employee is hired by the state, he is obliged, at the request of the employer, to undergo a medical examination. Then all permanent employees are required to undergo a medical examination once a year at the request of the employer.

Leaving and dismissal from work

If an employee working under an employment contract without specifying a period of validity expresses an intention to quit, he has the right to do so by sending a corresponding notice two weeks in advance.

An employee can be fired only if there are objective grounds. Reduction of staff in connection with the restructuring of the enterprise can be considered justified only if it meets the following four criteria:

1) Production necessity. The enterprise must prove that, taking into account the prevailing circumstances of doing business, the reduction of staff is inevitable and necessary.

2) Taking measures to avoid downsizing. The enterprise must prove that its management has taken all possible measures to prevent layoffs, such as redeployment of the workforce and offers of voluntary redundancy.

3) The validity of the selection of laid-off workers. The enterprise must demonstrate that the selection of employees subject to redundancy was carried out using reasonable criteria and taking into account the principle of fairness.

4) Compliance with established rules. The enterprise must prove that its management has carried out all necessary consultations with employees and trade unions.

An employer is not entitled to dismiss an employee if:

1) At the time the employee is on leave, which was granted to him as a result of an occupational disease or occupational injury, as well as within 30 days after the employee leaves such leave.

2) At the time the employee is on maternity leave, namely, within six weeks before the birth of the child and within eight weeks after the birth of the child, as well as within 30 days after the employee leaves such leave.

If the employer wishes to dismiss an employee, he is obliged to send a corresponding notice to his address 30 days before the expected date of dismissal. If an employer wishes to dismiss an employee on an accelerated basis, he is obliged to pay the employee 30 days' wages at the time of dismissal.

However, it should be noted that in some cases the employer has the right to dismiss the employee without notice and without payment of benefits:

1) The enterprise is unable to continue its economic activities as a result of a natural disaster and in other similar circumstances, the occurrence of which it could not prevent.

2) The dismissal of an employee becomes inevitable due to the fault of the employee:

- an employee, while at the workplace, commits an act that, in accordance with the Criminal Code, qualifies as a crime, including theft, embezzlement or bodily injury

— the employee violates the rules or generally accepted standards of behavior in the workplace or has a negative impact on other employees

- the employee provides information about himself that is not true, and which could affect the decision on his employment

– an employee without permission and without a good reason takes absenteeism lasting from two weeks

- the employee is constantly late for work, leaves work earlier than the set time, is absent from the workplace without permission and without a good reason

Japanese Social Security System

Japan has a universal insurance system, under which all persons living in the country are required to participate in the public health insurance system and in the pension system.

There are four different types of insurance schemes in Japan that are mandatory for all companies to participate in:

1) Industrial accident insurance. This insurance covers occupational diseases and accidents that occur at the workplace or on the way to or from work.

2) Job insurance. Allows you to pay unemployment benefits and ensure the stability of employment through the provision of financial assistance and the payment of various subsidies.

3) Medical insurance and medical care expenses insurance. Covers medical and nursing expenses incurred by employees.

4) Pension insurance. This insurance provides workers with an old-age pension, as well as benefits in the event of loss of a breadwinner or disability.

The payment of insurance premiums is made by the company by deducting the corresponding amounts from the wages paid to employees and transferring these amounts to the accounts of the relevant government authorities, together with the contributions payable by the company itself.

Who will help

Social and labor insurance consultants are experts in the field of human resources management. At the request of the heads of companies, they are entitled to provide the following services:

– execution of labor and social insurance contracts and performance on behalf of companies of other administrative functions related to employment

— advising on compliance with safety and industrial hygiene requirements and human resource management

– performing mediation functions in the course of resolving labor disputes in accordance with the provisions of the Law “On the resolution of individual labor disputes”

– advising on pension issues and handling related complaints and claims

— resolution of other issues related to the application of labor legislation

"Karoshi" is the Japanese term for death from a heart attack or suicide caused by overwork. From now on, this is considered the official cause of death.

There are countless stories, articles and books coming out in the West that teach you how to be more productive so you have more time for your family and the things you love to do.

In Japan, the term "work-life balance" simply does not exist. But there is a special word for “death from overwork at work” - “karoshi”. Karoshi is the inevitable outcome of the grueling work culture that operates in Japan.

Every year in the country, hundreds, if not thousands, of the Japanese literally drive themselves to the grave with overwork.

Such a fate overtook Kyotaka Serizawa.

Last July, this 34-year-old Japanese man committed suicide after working 90 hours in the last week of his life. He was an employee of a residential maintenance company.

“His colleagues told me they were amazed at how hard he worked,” said the father of the deceased, Kiyoshi Serizawa. “According to them, they have never seen a person who does not even own a company work so hard.”

Long hours of hard work and forced labor after the end of the working day are the norm in Japan. This is the local work culture.

In Japan, there is a special profession of tear wiper for female employees.

It all started back in the 1970s when wages were pretty low and workers wanted to increase their earnings. This trend continued into the 1980s, when Japan's economy became the second largest in the world, and also after the crisis in the late 1990s, when companies began to rebuild, and workers tried to make sure that they were not laid off.

In addition, there were temporary employees working without any bonuses and guarantees. Because of them, the life of regular workers turned into even more hard labor.

Now no one is embarrassed by a working day lasting more than 12 hours.

“In Japan, people always work after the end of the working day. Recycling has practically become a part of working hours, says Koji Morioka, a professor at the University of Kansai who sits on a committee of experts that develops methods for the government to deal with karoshi. “Now no one is forcing anyone to work overtime, but the workers themselves believe that they are obliged to do it.”

The base work week is 40 hours, but many workers don't count overtime because they're afraid they'll be thought of as overtime workers. This is how “overtime service” works, and in Japan “overtime” means “unpaid”.

This relentless work schedule has led to karoshi (suicide at work or death from a heart attack due to overwork) now being considered the official cause of death. According to statistics from the Japanese Ministry of Labor, 189 people died this way last year, but experts believe that in fact there are thousands of such cases.

For a long time it was believed that karoshi occurs mainly with men, but lawyers have noticed that the number of suicides due to overwork among women has recently increased. Photo: Getty

As Hiroshi Kawahito said, the worst thing is that young people die. Most of them are in their twenties. Kawahito is a lawyer and general secretary of the State Council for the Protection of Karoshi Victims, which advocates for the rights of families whose relatives have died from overwork.

Kawahito represented the family of a journalist who died of a heart attack in his early thirties.

“In Japan, people in their early thirties have a heart attack quite often.”- said the lawyer.

If the cause of death is karoshi, then the families of the deceased are automatically entitled to compensation payments. At the end of March, the number of applications for compensation due to karoshi rose to a record 2,310 applications.

But the government approves less than a third of those applications, Kawahito said.

The death of Kiyotaka Serizawa was only officially acknowledged last month. He was responsible for setting up cleaning rooms in three different buildings in northeast Tokyo.

A year before his death, Kiyotaka tried to quit, but the boss refused to sign his application. Fearing that his behavior would cause inconvenience to his subordinates, Kyotaka continued his work.

Sometimes during trips to offices, he dropped in to visit his parents.

“Sometimes he lay on the couch and slept so soundly that I had to check if he was breathing,”- says the mother of the deceased Mitsuko Serizawa.

The last time she saw Kyotaka was last July, when he stopped by to pick up the laundry because he didn't have time to do his own laundry. He popped in for literally ten minutes, showed his mother some cute cat videos, and left.

On July 26, Kiyotaka went missing. Three weeks later, his body was found in a car in Nagano Prefecture, not far from where he spent weekends with his parents as a child. Kyotaka locked himself in the car, set fire to the pressed coal, and died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

The karoshi problem has existed for several decades, but the government began to deal with this problem at the legislative level only a year and a half ago.

Japan's population is aging, which means that by 2050 its workforce will shrink by at least a quarter. Photo: Getty

The state project includes several goals, including reducing the number of employees working more than 60 hours a week to 5% by 2020. In recent years, about 8-9% of the population has been working this way.

The government is also trying to force workers to take paid holidays. In Japan, workers are entitled to 20 days of vacation per year, but few take even half of that time. The thing is, in Japanese culture, taking a day off is a sign of laziness and lack of commitment.

The government hopes to ensure that workers use at least 70% of their vacation time.

“If you know your rights, you can show others that there is nothing wrong with a vacation”, - says Yasukazu Kurio from the Ministry of Health and Labor.

Curio is trying to set an example himself: last year he used 17 of the 20 days of vacation due to him.

Lawyer Kawahito believes that all these efforts of the state may bear some fruit, but they will not solve the main problem.

“There is nothing in the government draft about penalties for companies that break the rules,” explains Kawahito. By the way, he himself cannot serve as an example of a good balance between work and personal life. Even in his youth, he was accustomed to long work. He is now 66 and works about 60 hours a week.

Kawahito would like to see in the country something like a Directive of the European Parliament and Council on certain aspects of the organization of working hours, which obliges to take an 11-hour break between shifts.

“In countries like the US, it's much easier for people to change jobs for a more comfortable place,” says Kenichi Kuroda, a professor at Meiji University in Tokyo and a specialist in work culture. “But the people of Japan try to work all their lives in one company and it’s not easy for them to change jobs.”

Some organizations, in particular from the financial sector, support the government initiative and allow their employees to arrive or leave work early. So, instead of working from nine to nine, people can work from seven to seven so that when they come home they have time to talk with their children.

“These companies are trying to bring about change in society. They show that they can create an "ideal lifestyle", thereby trying to influence other organizations," said Kuroda. But, of course, in other countries, such changes in the 12-hour working day will not be something revolutionary.

However, the current problem will still be very difficult to solve.

Japan's population is rapidly aging, which means that by 2050 its workforce will decrease by at least a quarter. There will be even fewer people able to work, and the size of the workload will increase even more.

Professor Morioka believes that if the Japanese want to get rid of deaths due to overwork at work, then the whole work culture in Japan will have to change.

"You can't just get rid of karoshi," said Morioka. “We need to change the whole culture of overtime and make time for family and hobbies. Too long working hours - this is the root of all evil that is happening in Japan. People are so busy that they don't even have time to complain."

So, the eight-hour working day came to an end. The most important work for today is done, and everything else can wait until morning. Almost every employee thinks so when leaving the office in the evening. But not the millions of employees of Japanese corporations, for whom leaving work to be home in time for dinner can lead to serious accusations of lack of loyalty to their company.

According to 2016 data, almost a quarter of Japanese employers allow their employees to work 80 hours a month. Moreover, these overtime working hours are not paid, because employees go for it of their own free will. In addition to everything, the Japanese do not rest for the time set for them by law, and if they take their legal paid vacation in full, they feel guilty.

How many work in different countries of the world?

The latest labor market surveys by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) cover the number of official working hours per year in 38 countries around the world. It is noteworthy that countries such as Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria and Luxembourg are among the last positions in the list, while the leaders are Mexico, Costa Rica and South Korea.

Table of working hours in some countries of the world

According to official figures, Japan is not in first place in the world in terms of the number of working hours, but this is official. If you add overtime of 80 hours a month to them, you get more than 2,500 hours a year. So Japanese employees will leave workers from other countries far behind.

"Death by Recycling"

The term "karoshi" means "sudden death from work fatigue". "Karoshi" in Japan may be officially listed as the cause of death in documents.

An employee of the largest Japanese advertising holding Dentsu died suddenly at the workplace in 2015. The cause of death was then recognized as depression due to work overload. This incident attracted widespread attention and public condemnation of Japan's usual endless overtime.

Dentsu was fined for gross violations of labor laws, as facts of 100-hour monthly overtime were revealed. Later, Dentsu changed the approach to the working hours of its staff. So, for example, blackouts were introduced in offices after 22:00 so that employees would not stay late.

Now the Japanese authorities and employers are actively working to combat "karoshi". The government has legally limited the number of hours spent in offices and introduced mandatory rest between the end of the previous and the start of a new working day.

In 2016, a new holiday appeared in Japan - Mountain Day. It is dedicated to the numerous mountains of this country, and by decision of the authorities has become an annual official holiday. Thus, the number of public holidays per year for the Japanese will increase to 16. Holidays in Japan are considered a generous gift from the government to dedicated workers. In May, for example, during the so-called Golden Week, three holidays are celebrated: Greenery Day, Constitution Day and Children's Day. At this time, business life in the country practically freezes.

Not so long ago, the government of the country introduced the so-called "Premium Friday", when employees are allowed to leave work at 15:00 on the last Friday of every month. However, according to polls, only 4% of Japanese employees leave their jobs so early. As a rule, office workers in Japan come to work half an hour earlier, at 8:30, and finish work late in the evening. For them, special shops are common in this country where you can buy a clean shirt, and capsule hotels where you can spend the night if it makes no sense to go home after work.

Working people in Japan avoid taking long vacations, unlike people in European countries who usually like to go on vacation for a few weeks. Some Japanese employees admit that they experience anxiety and anxiety when they leave their workplace for a long time. The Japanese do not count their holidays in weeks, but only in days. In the same way that they try to extend their own working hours by working late, so they do with vacations, reducing them to the maximum in order to get back to work as soon as possible.

Instead of summer holidays, they prefer to take a few days of rest in August during the traditional three-day Obon festival and New Year holidays, which in Japan last from December 29 to January 3.

The power of tradition

The main reasons why the inhabitants of the Japanese islands are workaholics are the seniority system and commitment to the team. The amount of time worked determines the possibility of further promotion and is often more important than the quality of the work performed.

In Japan, open offices are insanely popular, when desktops are grouped in such a way that employees form separate teams. Each such team has a leader who determines the tasks for the day. Every Japanese office has two meetings every day, one by the top manager and the other by the leader of each group of employees.

The management style in Japan is based on the concept of "group accordion". The main thing is to achieve agreement among employees, in which any idea submitted for consideration by senior management is first thoroughly studied and discussed in the group. The approval of the proposal by the working group helps to avoid the condemnation of the employee by the management, because any even the smallest public condemnation for the Japanese is considered a disaster.