Japanese work culture has been known for its strict rules and conditions, as well as high required engagement including long working hours and lifetime employment. However, it is true that a number of Japanese companies have changed (or at least have become aware of the changes needed) their traditions and work environment when faced with the COVID pandemic, just like so many other companies around the world. In this article, we’ll have a look at 5 traditions and how companies have been changing over the past three years.
Contents
Long Working Hours Still Exist
Long working hours are the norm in many Japanese companies. What makes it worse is overtime work without pay called “service overtime”, which is almost unbelievable in other developed countries across the world. Under Japanese law, in fact, the Labor Standards Law prohibits work in excess of the normal statutory working hours (8 hours per day, 40 hours per week) in principle.
However, Japanese workers especially in the restaurant and construction industries do things such as false reporting of working hours (punching time cards out at the end of official working hours but keep working afterwards), rounding down overtime hours (a lot), and starting work before the official work hours but not reporting it. Overtime work in excess of these hours must be paid at a premium by law, so the ‘service’ overtime is a clear violation of the Labor Standards Law.
Ironically, according to OECD data, Japan’s hourly labor productivity in 2021 was $49.9 (¥5,006; PPP conversion). It was nearly 60% less than that of the US ($85.0/¥8,534) and ranked 27th among the 38 OECD member countries, which is the lowest since 1970 when data became available. This result clearly suggests that long working hours (needless to say, ‘service overtime’) do not help Japanese companies improve their performance. Proper working hour management is not only a critical issue for protecting the Japanese workers’ health and work-life balance, but for Japanese companies to keep growing effectively.
Reference: Japan Economic Snapshot, OECD
Lifetime Employment Gradually Fading
It has long been well known that most Japanese workers tend to stay with only one company throughout their career thanks to the “lifetime employment” system. In previous eras in Japan, a performance-based system was actually more common in Japanese companies, and skilled craftsmen and technicians would change jobs several times in search of a better position.
But in the 1960s, when Japan was experiencing a rapid economic growth phase, a lot of industries required workers involved in manufacturing, planning, sales, and all the other roles to ensure mass production. Lifetime employment was then devised as a form of stable employment contract to attract and retain talented workers. The system was also matched with the tradition of new graduates’ recruitment, where Japanese companies started their recruiting activities at a fixed time each year.
However, the number of younger workers who are eager to make a mid-career job change in order to advance their careers (regardless of their age or years of experience) has been increasing significantly and the lifetime employment system is not necessarily attractive to them anymore. Moreover, the Japanese economy and many corporate performances have been sluggish since the 1990s, leading local companies to try to reduce costs and many find it difficult to maintain the lifetime employment system. In addition, the emergence of IT giants and other ventures encourages a performance-based work (and promotion) system to attract accomplished engineers and to expect material and results quickly from the employees.
According to a survey of recruitment plans compiled by Nikkei Inc. (a Japanese news media company) in April 2023, mid-career hiring at Japanese companies accounts for a record 37.6% of the total planned for FY2023, doubling over the past seven years (since FY2016).
Reference
- 中途採用比率が最高37% 7年で2倍に、23年度計画 Nikkei (April 19, 2023)
National Holidays vs Paid Time Off
Starting with the long working hours previously mentioned, and your image of Japan as a country of “no rest” is probably getting stronger. But if you look at the holidays, it might give you a different picture (or maybe not). In fact, the Japanese government has increased the number of national holidays through legislative changes and now there are 16 national holidays throughout the year, which is a larger number than in the US, Europe, and most other Asian countries.
On the other hand, the number of paid leave days on average granted by Japanese companies in 2021 was 17.6 days per worker and the take-up rate was 58.3%. The number of paid holidays granted is 30 days in France, 100% of which are used, compared to 19 paid holidays granted and over 70% used in US. These numbers indicate that Japan is not quite a country with no holidays, but local workers feel guilty or at least are not encouraged to take the paid leave. Also, another survey result shows that 40% of Japanese workers take some paid days off every month, which is the highest percentage in the world. Unlike in France or other European countries, the workers in Japan are more likely to take regular & short holidays, excluding the summer “Obon” and year-end season when almost all Japanese companies set at least 3–4-day vacations.
Reference:
- 令和４年就労条件総合調査の概況 厚生労働省(Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare)
- フランスの労務知識 JETRO (June 2021 update)
- 米国は有給休暇の少なさで世界2位、先進国で唯一、法定の有給設定なし JETRO (December 8. 2022)
- エクスペディア 世界16地域 有給休暇・国際比較調査 2022発表！
Balancing Work and Life is Hard
The Japanese government highlights work-life balance as a way of working and living that allows all workers to balance their work with their private life, including childcare, nursing care, hobbies, study, rest, and community activities, and to enrich both aspects. As the population has been aging and declining for decades, it has become an urgent issue for the country to ensure the work-life balance. In fact, there is already maternity leave, parental leave, and nursing care leave to help working parents to support their family, and flexible working hours are also available at many companies especially in the IT/tech industries. Moreover, the government encourages the workers to pursue “decent work” by reskilling and seeking fair employment conditions.
All that said, there have been challenges particularly for small, local companies to make the shift in the midst of a sluggish economy and with a scarce labor force. In FY2021, only 14.0% of men took childcare leave compared to 85.1% of women, suggesting a huge gap of understanding the necessity of taking parental leave between men and women. Also, reducing working hours while the workload remains the same is regarded as a risk for companies’ performance.
Still, companies that have applied a performance-based salary and system naturally encourage their employees to work effectively and are showing that flexible or shorter working hours don’t directly reduce their profit. As younger, talented workers opt for those companies in future, the number of companies that use these systems is expected to increase.
Reference
- 仕事と生活の調和推進サイト 内閣府HP
- 令和３年度雇用均等基本調査 厚生労働省(Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare)
Long Commuting Hours in Packed Trains
A minor yet also essential fact about the working culture in Japan is commuting. The long period of commuting while packed together in trains in Japan are notorious around the world. According to the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the average commuting time for Japanese people is 1 hour and 19 minutes (round trip) on average. In other words, if you work 20 days a month, you spend about 26 hours per month, and 316 hours per year just commuting to the office, packed like sardines.
However, things have changed significantly over the past 3 years with the COVID pandemic, when almost everyone was asked to literally “stay home” (at least for a while). Japanese companies and their employees were obliged to prepare a new remote work system and the bad commuting conditions, and the morning rush hour from 6-10AM, suddenly disappeared. Currently, as people are returning to the office more and more, and sometimes asked to work in a “hybrid” style, the infamous rush hour is starting to come back. What is different, though, is a lot of employees (especially younger ones) are now aware that they can perform just as well working from home as they do in the office, and this is the best way to balance work and life. Going forward, if working remotely is allowed will be one of the key factors that talented workers consider when choosing a company.
Reference
- 平成28年社会生活基本調査 総務省統計局
Summary
We have introduced 5 facts about Japanese work culture. Just as the whole world has adapted, there have been shifts in recent years due to the COVID pandemic and some positive consequences can be seen or are expected. Good or bad, a lot of surprises wait for people from other countries here; but try to enjoy the differences and the special experiences, and you may get a chance to change yourself (and emerge stronger)!
This media series provides a wide range of information about the Japanese language and Japanese culture for those who are interested in traveling to or living in Japan. Add us to your reading list and stay tuned!