Japan is known around the world as one of the most beautiful and unique countries, with advanced technology and famous attractions. Outside of Japan, the Japanese work culture seen positively: it adheres ‘to its oldest behavioral traditions, which emphasizes politeness, discipline, and diligence.’ Many see it as one of the reasons for Japan’s current success as a country.However, these long-standing values and traditions have had a huge negative impact on Japan’s workers.
The beginnings of the work culture in Japan came from the ancient samurai code, bushido, which represents ideas such as loyalty, respect and integrity. During WWII, in an attempt to bring the people of Japan together, the Japanese government introduced the concept of ‘imperial bushido’, which ‘emphasized Japanese military spirit, honour, self-sacrifice, and unwavering, unquestioning loyalty to the nation and to the emperor.’ However, after the humiliating loss Japan suffered in WWII, bushido was forgotten as it became a reminder of the war. In the 1980s, the bushido code resurfaced during Japan’s period of huge economic growth. It was redefined to mean unconditional loyalty to one’s company or employer and a diligent attitude towards work to provide the most excellent service to customers.
One example of this is shūshin-koyō, or lifetime employmentin Japan. Although it is steadily declining, it is still prominent in many older companies. In shūshin-koyō, a batch of recent university graduates were brought in as new employees and they were guaranteed the job for life. The company would also sometimes provide housing subsidiaries, bonuses or pensions to help motivate the new employees to rise through the ranks. This practice created a strong sense of loyalty towards the company that made the company part of their identity, because it was so involved in their own personal lives. One former office worker described this system as ‘the employee having to die for the company’. It caused employees to abandon their social lives and instead try and show their loyalty towards the company, often by doing overtime.
Even if one is not under ‘lifetime employment’ in Japan, the workaholic society creates expectations and pressures which employees feel that they have to fulfil. An example of this is the amount of leave taken by Japanese employees. In 2018, workers only ‘took 52.4% of the paid leave they were entitled to’. In an anonymous interview, a worker explained that ‘none of the others are taking days off – I cannot be the only person taking time off work’. This might be difficult to understand from a Western point of view due to the differences between Western and Japanese society. While Western companies are more about making opportunities for yourself in the workplace and progressing further up the company, Japanese society is more about creating a sense of harmony (known as wa) between employees so that they can all work together efficiently and equally. Thus, workers only take holidays when everyone else does e.g. during Golden Week or New Year, because they do not want to be shunned or seen as lazy by their peers. For the same reasons, workers will do overtime, even if they are not paid for it, because all the other workers are doing overtime and they do not want to be the odd one out. This may sometimes backfire as workers will not complete their work or be less efficient during times when they are actually supposed to be working, just so they can be seen to be working extremely hard during overtime. Aside from being seen as different or lazy, workers will also try to do more overtime or avoid taking leave to show their commitment and dedication to the company because in a Japanese company, a worker’s chances of being promoted and making their way up the company mainly depends on their work ethic and loyalty.
Aside from the expectations on overtime and taking leave, employees are also expected to stay at work until their boss (or senior) finishes their work. An employee explained that she felt guilty that she was able to leave while her seniors had to stay behind. She described it as being ‘a kind of Japanese culture thing where I feel very sorry if I leave’. Even after work, there are sometimes drinking parties known as nomikaiwhich employees are expected to join. Work usually ends at around 10pm, so by the time nomikai is over, it is often almost midnight. Workers still have to travel home and then wake up the next morning to travel to work, which usually starts at around 8pm. This, when added to overtime and the littleamount of leave taken, has led to many employees being unable to have an active social life or be with their families. As a result of this situation, recently the number of deaths in Japan has started to outnumber the number of births as many are lonely because they spend all their time doing work.Overwork is also the main reason for many suicides in Japan. The Japanese term for these suicides is karoshi (meaning death from overwork).
Japanese work culture has many unspoken rules which are tricky to understand for new employees, especially those that are foreign. An example that shows just how specific these rules are is the business card. In his book, ‘the Blue Eyed Salaryman’, Niall Murtagh, an Irishman who has just began his new job in a Japanese company, describes the business card rule as ‘company existentialism: I have a business card, therefore I exist… the business card is a piece of your soul so handle it with care’. This concept, just like shūshin-koyō, creates a strong sense of identity between the holder and the company. Murtagh then describes the way you should accept or give a business card: ‘with your right hand extended at chest height (and when receiving) accept with your left hand, look at it carefully for a few seconds and then place it lightly on the table with your right hand’. Although this might seem over the top and excessive, not following these instructions or other ‘unspoken rules’ might be the difference between a deal going well between two parties or falling through.
In conclusion, I believe that Japanese work culture has to be changed as it is having a huge effect on the entire nation.However, this is far easier said than done. In 2017, the Japanese government introduced a scheme called Premium Friday where work ends on Fridays at 15:00 in order to give time for workers to relax and spend time with family and friends. Unfortunately, many companies ignored this scheme and workers who took the Premium Friday later complained that they were made by their companies to come in on weekends or find extra time to do work. This shows that even the government is unable to change the current situation in Japan. I think that there needs to be a change in the mindset of the entire nation while still holding true traditional, important values of the Japanese people.
