What is the reason for this workaholism in Japan?

Of course, working hours and working conditions in each country are different, but at this point, the Japanese are separated from almost everyone else. The only purpose in their lives is is that their work progresses flawlessly and is not interrupted.

But behind this There must be some reasons.

Working long hours has become a way of life in Japan.

Japanese people have a high sense of duty and are so loyal to their jobs that some of them come face to face with death due to these long working hours. Even in Japandeath due to overwork” There is even a term meaning: Karoshi.

In Japan, one of the countries with the longest working hours in the world, nearly a quarter of companies It employs its employees to work more than 80 extra hours per month outside of normal working hours. In addition, there is generally no additional payment for work outside working hours.

Currently, Japan’s corporate culture is driven by so-called salaried people.

According to Japanese culture; employees, They are always loyal to their company and spend their entire career working in the same company. is expected. It is also assumed that in addition to working long hours in the office, workers will also participate in various activities with their co-workers.

This being the case, Japanese people cannot spare the time they need. A 2017 survey found that although Japanese workers were entitled to 20 days of leave per year, they only used 10 of those 20 days, compared to other countries. It revealed the fact that Japan is the country that gives the least amount of leave.

In fact, the country’s work ethic dates back to the economic growth that began in the 1950s and made Japan the world’s 2nd largest economy.

Culture is very important in companies in Japan and the success of the company is depends on a group rather than a single person. These value judgments reveal that 63% of Japanese people have a criminal mentality when they take paid leave.

But there is something worrying at this point. In fact, long working hours, It does not necessarily mean high productivity. Japan; Unfortunately, the USA has the lowest working efficiency compared to France, Italy, America and Canada.

As we mentioned above, Karoshi, which means death due to overwork, is legally recognized by the government and this term; It is associated with heart attack, stroke or stress-related suicide.

in japan Hundreds of Karoshi cases are reported each year but some sources claim that these cases are underreported and are actually 10 times the actual number.

For example, in 2015, an employee of Dentsu, known as an advertising firm, died, and the cause was revealed to be depression due to overwork. Dentsu, for forcing its employees to work more than 100 hours a month, fined for violating working hours.

At that time, the case aroused widespread interest and began to seek solutions to the long working hours and overtime that were so common in Japan. With this incident, the general manager of the company resigned and Dentsu After this death, he does not allow his employees to work after 22.00.

Nowadays, the Japanese government and companies here are working to reduce working hours.

For example, the government is trying to reduce the number of hours spent in the office. Making at least 5 vacation days a year mandatory decided. In addition, efforts are ongoing to make a rest period mandatory between the end of one workday and the beginning of the next workday.

Also in 2016, a new holiday called “Mountain Day” was introduced, thus The number of annual public holidays in Japan increased to 16.

Additionally, in 2017, the government launched an initiative called Premium Friday to encourage companies to spend less time in the office on the last Friday of the month to encourage their employees to leave work at 3 p.m.

But the Japanese continued to do what they wanted and Just under 4% of employees leave work early on Premium Friday appeared.

At this point, it is possible to see that Japanese culture comes into play again. Because the Japanese give importance to the group rather than the individual, no one wants to be the first to leave the office And in a way, due to herd mentality, most of those who work on Friday cannot leave the office.

In fact, there is another reason that pressures the Japanese to submit to long working hours.

Unfortunately, the Japanese economy is in danger and the Japanese need to make a lot of effort to ensure the sustainability of the economy. This country has managed to hold the title of “the country with the second largest economy in the world” for approximately 42 years, but It lost this to China in 2011.

Japan is facing a labor crisis. Birth rates are falling rapidly, and the elderly population is increasing at the same rate. this too It means a decrease in the total population. Japan is expected to shrink by about a third over the next 50 years.

For now, there are two different ways the country can compensate for its labor shortage: Robots or immigrants.

Japan is generally not very willing to accept immigrants, and the percentage of foreign workers is It is quite small compared to countries with other large economies.

In summary, the country is trying to use robot technology to avoid having to accept immigrants. But robots How Japan will achieve work-life balance for its workforce It is still among question marks.

Additionally, according to official data, Japan is actually the 22nd hardest-working country in the world. While Mexico takes the lead, Türkiye is in the 14th place. We find Japan strange, but we We rank 1st among the hardest working countries in Europe.

In addition, some countries, in order to reduce density He started working 4 days a week. Don’t you think such an application would be quite logical?