V this moment I am I am in Thailand, and people, having learned that we came from Japan, begin to complain that we left this country in vain, that their acquaintances live happily in Japan and earn tens of thousands of dollars a month by honest labor, thus knocking down their vital capital.
I will not argue that Japan is in some way a very comfortable country, but somewhere beautiful, and quite someone can live in Japan absolutely happily, but for someone it is even a favorite country.
But one thing I know for sure. Making money in Japan is not easy. This can only be done hard work, and even then, they will not pay much.
As I, immediately upon arrival in Japan, I rushed to look for work, and soon found a successful job at a Japanese factory for the production of set meals - bento.
It was an Arubaite job - that is, not a full-time job, but from 9:00 to 16:00, and not necessarily every day. The payment for the number of hours worked is very modest: 800 yen / hour.
During the interview, we discussed how many days I would work. I insisted on six (no days off at all, and that's what I wanted), but the manager said I would work five days a week.
Immediately they gave me a work suit that looked like a spacesuit.
In the morning in the locker room, I changed my clothes to a completely white work suit: white pants with shoe covers, a jacket with a wrap-around collar that covers the entire neck, a hair band, a hair net on top of the band, and a hood on the eyebrow on top of the net. The shift attendant checked that not a single hair came out from under the caps, we cleaned the top of the suit with adhesive tape, rinsed our hands with alcohol, put on white slippers and went into the shop.
The room was 8 degrees Celsius and lots of UV lamps. Eight degrees began to be felt immediately, in fact, working with food in Japan is working in a refrigerator. The white cotton suit was of little help.
They put on medical masks on their faces, rubber gloves on their hands and stood behind a conveyor belt.
The essence of the work: a box with grooves goes along the conveyor, each worker puts a piece of carrot, mushroom, cutlet, rice into the box, each his own. At the end of the conveyor belt, ready assembled lunch boxes are rolled out. 
Initially, I was given the responsibility of putting carrot pieces, while professional workers put two to four objects in the boxes at a time.
The tape went very quickly before my eyes, after 15 minutes I started to feel sick. Soon we changed the type of dinner, now I got mushrooms. All change operations were performed by the Japanese grannies at a run. The tape ran again at an eerie pace.
I don’t remember how I waited until the end of the working day. On the second day, I could not go to work. The whole body was crushed. The ultraviolet light hurt my eyes. Fortunately, one could refuse.
The next day, I went to work again, and the next day I rested again. As a result, I went to the factory twice a week with grief.
And this is still a heroic act. Many foreigners, and sometimes Japanese, could not stand the first hour and left.
All the monotonous work was done while standing. There was a lunch break - exactly half an hour, taking into account changing clothes. During work, there was not a second of free time, no one sat down to rest, no one went to the toilet, this was not welcome.
Almost all work in Japan, except office work, is done while standing. Cashiers, salesmen, factory workers spend the whole day on their feet. Often, on the way to work, I saw a woman standing behind the counter through the large glass of an expensive store window, and never saw buyers in that store. When, later, I myself started working in a Russian souvenir shop, I also had to stand all day, and at that moment when there was no work and there were no buyers, I just stood around until the working day was over.
The work in the factory was much harder.
Every working day, the whole shift, I looked at the wall opposite with the clock, and when finally the hand reached four, often the work was not finished, and I had to stay still. Sometimes the work ended at four, but the shift had a choice: to work again or to go home. More often than not, the shift (Japanese grannies) decided to stay to earn extra money, so everyone from the group had to stay!
The most striking thing is that the leaders of our shift were old groovy Japanese old women and young cheerful women from Thailand and the Philippines! The Japanese are hard workers in life, but the inhabitants of hot countries are usually distinguished by a lazy lifestyle.
I don’t know, maybe if I had worked at the factory for years as they did, I might have gotten used to it. But soon I managed to find a better job in, it was a salvation.
Blogger Mary Galloran, who has worked in Japan for six years, posted on her personal website a note on how the country's corporate culture works. According to the author, the Japanese almost never take vacations or quit, but they work extremely unproductive. The girl also mentioned on what conditions foreigners work in Japanese companies.
"The clock shows five o'clock in the evening - official time the end of the working day. But nobody leaves, ”writes Mary Galloran. According to her, the management of Japanese companies strongly recommends that their employees leave workplace v set time, so as not to pay extra for overtime, but employees still prefer to stay in the office until late at night.
“As on other days, I turn off my computer, pack my things and apologize to my colleagues for having to leave early today. They answer that they understand my fatigue and thank me for the work done. " The rest of the workers, writes the author of the material, leave the office not after 10 or even after 30 minutes - they remain at their workplaces until 10-11 pm.
Galloran worked for the Japanese company for six years. All this time, she says, she has been trying to figure out how her colleagues can spend so much time in the office, given how little work they have to do.
According to the girl, Japan has attracted her since childhood. “I watched anime, played Japanese video games, studied samurai history - I was crazy about this country. I learned Japanese on my own in high school and continued my studies at university. My dream was to settle in Japan one day and I knew that with my linguistic and cultural skills I could get a job in large company- for example, in Toyota ". The author of the material writes that she had heard more than once "nightmarish" stories about what it was like to work in Japan from my acquaintances, but, like everyone else, hoped that she would not suffer the same fate.
You may be fluent in Japanese and wondering where these skills can be applied. Maybe you just dream of visiting the homeland of anime and robots. Or you're just super unlucky and accidentally got a job at a Japanese company. Either way, you'd better figure out what it's like to work in Japan in advance.
Huge processing
Recycling in Japan is common across all industries, Galloran said. Often, company employees work 14 hours a day. In a comment for The Guardian, the Japanese resident admitted that he works up to 100 hours a month. Previously (in the 80s and 90s) in Japan, overtime payments were paid, the author of the material notes, but now companies have abandoned this practice.
Galloran notes that office etiquette interferes with leaving work at five o'clock in the evening - leaving the workplace before the boss is considered disrespectful. “The Japanese are very social. They stay in the office to maintain "wa" - working harmony. Employees prefer to work with the rest of the team rather than go home. "
If Tanaka-san leaves the office every day at five o'clock in the evening, and everyone else works until ten o'clock in the evening, then Tanaka-san is a selfish bastard.
The only one who can leave work at five o'clock in the evening and not incur the wrath of colleagues, says the author of the material, is a foreign teacher. of English language... The Japanese don't mistake him for a "real" team member.
Productivity doesn't matter much
As Mary Galloran writes, the Japanese don't actually have much work to do - but knowing how much time they will have to spend in the office, employees stretch it as much as possible. “Here they can spend a couple of hours sending one email or a week creating a simple PowerPoint presentation,” she says.
In addition, she notes, the Japanese are rewarded not for how they work, but for how long they work - that is, in order to get a promotion, you need to work in the company for a certain period. The quality of work does not play a decisive role here. That is why, according to the girl, the Japanese so rarely change their place of work.
Layoffs and salaries
Galloran notes that workers in Japan are rarely fired - "even if they sleep in the workplace." At the same time, dismissal, if it does occur, is perceived by the employee as very painful, often it comes to suicide. The loss of a job, the girl says, is akin to the loss of a family for a Japanese.
Salaries in Japan, in comparison with the United States, are low - on average, residents of the country earn $ 30 thousand a year. Women receive about $ 25,000 a year. And although prices in Tokyo, Galloran writes, are on average lower than in the United States, the difference in wages is still palpable.
Employees of Japanese companies receive bonuses for their work twice a year. In total, these bonuses reach half of the employee's annual earnings. "Many of my Japanese colleagues admitted that if it weren't for the bonuses, they would hardly make ends meet."
Paid holiday
Japanese workers, says the author of the material, prefer not to take time off, even if they are sick. She cites one of her colleagues as an example: one day he came to work wearing a mask. The employee did not have a voice, he was in a fever, and he could communicate with colleagues only through coughing, the girl says. At lunchtime, the young man went to the hospital, where he was given an IV, and then he returned to his workplace, where he stayed until 11 pm.
The next day, both Mary Galloran and one of her American colleagues experienced the same symptoms.
Of course, it was worth it - after all, he proved to both the boss and most of us that he takes his work very seriously.
The Japanese, writes the author of the material, are not used to taking paid leave or sick leave. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe personally instructed the legal services to take care of this problem - and offered to send the Japanese on vacation forcibly.
Conclusion
Assimilating in Japan, the girl notes, is almost impossible - both culturally and corporately. All visiting workers are considered strangers by the residents of the country - they do not become part of the team and have practically zero chances of getting a promotion.
In the United States, the girl writes, workers sent from Japan to work in the American branch of the company receive full insurance, do not pay taxes (the company does this for them), receive $ 3,000 monthly as a scholarship for personal needs, and also have the opportunity to get a raise in service.
At the same time, Americans who work in the branch of a Japanese company in the United States are forced to pay all taxes on their own, do not receive scholarships or benefits, and also do not have the opportunity to get a raise. The chances of taking a leading position from an American, the author of the material notes, are very low.
According to Galloran, not all companies treat foreigners in this way - when she worked at the branch of a Japanese firm in Shanghai, American employees were paid the fare to the office and helped with paying taxes, but it was almost impossible to get a raise.
If you are looking to work for a Japanese company, I advise you to think carefully. Imagine exactly what you would like to get out of your career.
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, the traditional working system of Japan is arranged in a peculiar way, and it is rather difficult to exist in it. That is why there are not so many foreigners building a career in classic Japanese companies. How the middle exists office worker in Japan, says Epson employee Marina Matsumoto.
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 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 and including instant dismissal.
In a traditional Japanese company, they always wear a black suit, regardless of the weather, even if it's +40 ° C outside. The Japanese tolerate both heat and cold calmly, as they go through a very harsh school of hardening the body in childhood. Recently released new law allowing to wear short-sleeved shirts to work. This is due to the forced saving of electricity, in which even in extreme heat, air conditioners are not always used in offices now.
In some companies, women are prohibited from wearing 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 in international level... But I work where mostly Japanese work. At my workplace, I was only allowed to wear a cross - under my clothes so that it would not be visible, and a wedding ring.
Makeup should be invisible. Japanese women love to paint brightly, their cheeks are very blush, almost all have false eyelashes. But at work, a woman should be as less attractive to men as possible.
In some places, women should only wear short hair that does not cover their ears. Hair color is necessarily black. If you are naturally blonde, for example, you will have to dye yourself.
Men except long hair, you can not wear a beard and mustache. This is an unspoken rule that everyone knows. The persistent 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 me that I would not discuss anything with clients and colleagues except work: neither the weather nor the nature. At work, I have no right to share my "personal data" - who is my husband, how am I doing ... At home, I have no right to talk about my work. I do not have a secret job, but it is accepted and stipulated in my contract.
At work only work
Only what is needed for work is taken to the workplace: for me, these are documents and a pen. I can't take my bag, wallet and phone, it remains at the checkpoint.
In Russia there is a favorite saying: "If you have done a job, walk boldly." At 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 have come to work and you have to work there.
How the Japanese slow down the workflow
In Russia, we all know that wages depend on the results of your work. If you work badly, you get nothing. You do a good job - you get bonuses and promotions. Did everything, you can leave early or ask additional task to earn more.
In Japan, you pay for the watch. Almost all Japanese take overtime. But often this translates into the fact that they stretch out one task, which 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, it seems to us that they work like sleepy flies and they think they are doing the job "carefully." They slow down the work process incredibly, 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 pay by the hour system, they have trapped themselves. Indeed, 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 a dim-wittedness. The Japanese cannot speak briefly and to the point. They embark on long and lengthy explanations that are aimed at making even a narrow-minded person understand what they are talking about. Meetings can take an incredible amount of hours. The Japanese believe that if they talk about the same thing for a long time and in excessive detail, they thereby respect the interlocutor.
Stratification of society
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 their own duty and their place in the life and production process.
Japanese communities have always been well organized. For example, a samurai never cooked food for himself, he could easily die of hunger if the peasantry had not rescued him.
As a consequence of this mentality, it is very difficult for any Japanese to accept that independent decision, which is not inherent in its status. They cannot take on elementary responsibility that somehow goes beyond the scope of their daily routine. To put a comma or not to put it is a half-day problem. Preparation of elementary documents is a series of endless, very slow consultations. Moreover, the obligatory nature of such consultations is striking. If the employee still 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 an oriental despotism in action: "I am a small man, I am a simple peasant, and I should only do what I am supposed 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, one must clearly know: my border is here, and this is another person's border, I must respect it. Nobody goes beyond their limits. If a Japanese man marries them, he will literally be lost.
Russia has a huge territory, breadth, open spaces. We are not constrained. We are free. A Russian person can do anything. And the Swiss, and the reaper, and the player on the tune ... - this is primarily about us, Russians!
The same as everyone
Interestingly, in Japan you don't have to show your difference or superiority in your mind. You cannot show your uniqueness, peculiarity. This is discouraged. Everyone should be the same. Since childhood, uniqueness is burned out there with a hot iron, so Japan will not give the world either Einstein or Mendeleev.
Famous Japanese technology is a myth. As a rule, these are ideas that were not created by the Japanese. What they do well is to pick up and improve on time. And we, on the contrary, can create genius 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 be lost. New ideas are constantly needed to master and fill a large space.
Career
The classic Japanese campaign takes a long time to build a career. Career growth depends on age, not merit. A young specialist, even a very talented one, will occupy an insignificant position, work a lot and for a low salary, because he just came. This organization of the workflow makes it increasingly difficult for Japanese companies to compete in the international market. Yes, there is a concept of Japanese quality, but this does not save them any more, because the business is conducted too Japanese.
The salary
Officially, salaries in Japan are high. But with the deduction of all taxes, which are almost 60%, they receive an average of a thousand dollars on their hands. Young people get even less. At 60, the salary is already a very decent amount.
Vacation and weekend
There are no vacations in Japan. The weekend is 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 so happens that you need to take one day off a week - and go somewhere on business. In my campaign, I am obliged to give a month's notice of this so that everyone can cooperate and replace me. In some companies, these terms are even longer. Absent from work in the event of an unexpected incident is problematic.
If you get sick on Monday and think not to go to work, then you will not be understood. All with a temperature go to work.
The weekend could be holidays: Day of Remembrance of the Dead - Obon, in mid-August. But have young specialist there is no such possibility, it will work for the first two years without any extra days off.
On New Year given 1-3 days. If they fall on Saturday-Sunday, then no one like in Russia will postpone them to Monday-Tuesday.
There is also a "golden week" in May, when there are several state and religious holidays in a row. My husband worked all days, I had 3 days off.
Working day
A standard working day is from 9 am to 7 pm. But most importantly, you must keep in mind, if it is indicated that the working day is from nine, then you cannot come directly to this time. Even if you arrived at 8.45, it is considered that you are late. You have 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 a working mood, to get ready for work.
The end of the official work day does not mean you can go home. Previously, it was not customary to leave your boss. If he stays in the office for two hours, then you will be late, and this will not be considered overtime. Your personal circumstances are your personal problems, which, as I have already mentioned, are not discussed with my colleagues according to the agreement I signed.
Informal communication
In Japan, there is such a concept - "nomikai" - "drinking together", reminds a Russian corporate party. Somewhere "nomikay" takes place every day, in my campaign - twice a week. Of course, you can refuse, but they will "look askance" at you. Why exactly drink? - because in Japan positive attitude to alcohol. Shinto is supposed to make an offering to some gods in the form of alcohol. Japanese doctors believe that drinking alcohol on a daily basis is beneficial. Nobody talks about doses.
The Japanese do not know how to drink, and, as a rule, they 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 visiting bars with colleagues, employees have even been paid for “nomikai”. It's part of Japanese culture to work together and drink together. It turns out that you spend almost 24 hours a day, 365 days a year only with your work colleagues.
In addition to "nomikai", you need to drink with clients, with partners, with officials with whom the company is connected.
Yes, there is something similar in Russia, but it is completely incomparable with the Japanese alcoholic 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 strict framework of his status. After the end of the official working day, he takes extra hours because he needs to feed his family. He then goes out drinking with his colleagues and returns home from there at 2 am, most likely drunk. He works on Saturdays. He only sees his family on Sundays. Moreover, until the evening the whole weekend 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 from processing". This is a very common case when people die at their desk 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 invent these rules for itself. Everything took shape over the centuries due to the geographical and historical originality of Japan. Probably everyone will agree that they had good reasons for such a mobilization of society, constant readiness for something. A small area, a lot of people, wars, earthquakes, tsunamis - everything can collapse at any moment. Therefore, from childhood, the Japanese learn to work in a group, learn to survive on their piece of land. In fact, all Japanese education is not built on teaching a person something, developing him, it teaches him to be a real Japanese, to be competitive in Japanese society ... Not everyone can endure such a life, because it is really hard.
Japan has always stood out from the list of countries with a high pace economic development... it eastern state successfully fights against any crises and cataclysms. This happens, among other things, thanks to the hard work, as well as the diligence of its citizens. Purposefulness, ideology and responsibility have been brought up in Japan from the very beginning early age... It is no coincidence that the management systems developed in this country are recognized throughout the world as the most effective, which is why they are used as a standard in many large enterprises.
Features of employment
Immigrants who come to Japan have to adhere to the overstated requirements of the employer and a kind of national mentality. For those who do not wish to do this, the company quickly finds a replacement.
The Japanese are most often employed for life. That is, having come to the enterprise as a young man, they are on its staff until the very retirement. If you wish to find a job in another company, the new employer will take into account the time of the previous continuous contract.
Japan is considered a country that is fairly closed to immigrants. After all, when finding a job for a highly paid prestigious job you will need not only to be a real professional, but also to have enough high level knowledge of the Japanese language. But, of course, when considering candidates for a vacant position, preference will always be given to the indigenous people of the country. In order to get a job in Japan, you will need to prove your extraordinary abilities. And for this confirming high papers will not be enough. It is recommended to prepare the brightest independently created projects in advance, translating them into Japanese in order to be able to present them.
Profession rating
What specialists does the labor market need today? Countries rising sun? Work in Japan without special efforts can find:
- IT specialists. It is quite easy to explain the demand for such professions in a country that is a leader in the development of electronic technologies. However, the immigrant should prepare in advance for the big competition. The fact is that Japan has many of its own professionals. The most in-demand specialties in this category are project managers and developers.
- Designers and architects. It is enough just to get a job in Japanese companies and good specialists from this field. Moreover, employers are happy to attract professionals from among immigrants for cooperation. It should be noted that in this regard, this is one of the few categories of specialists that deserves such a favorable attitude.
- Trade professionals. The most popular specialty in this category is sales managers. Japanese firms and trade representatives, freight forwarders and other workers in this field are invited. However, it should be borne in mind that to fill the vacancy you will need not only work experience in the specialty, but also excellent knowledge of the Japanese language.
- Management staff. Such employees form the backbone of Japanese business. The fact is that obtaining evolutionary results of economic development is impossible without correct planning efforts and time of workers. For this reason, Japanese employers place a high value on recruiting, planning and management professionals. However, it should be borne in mind that the indigenous people of the country are still easier to navigate in this area. But at the same time, foreign experience in the implementation modern systems departments may also be of interest to the employer.
- Marketing and PR specialists. Advertising is the engine of progress. The Japanese do not neglect this rule either. In addition to employees who manage projects, the country is in demand for managers working in this direction. However, only a person who, in addition to experience, will be fluent in Japanese will be able to work in the advertising field.
- Electronics engineers. For Japanese employers, specialists who are able to work in production are of particular value. household appliances, road vehicles, shipbuilding and instrument making.
- Production personnel. Such specialists are needed by many large Japanese companies operating in the food and pharmaceutical industries, machine tools and mechanical engineering. So far, in this country, full automation of production is a prospect for the future. That is why immigrants will always be able to find work for themselves in any factory. This usually requires technicians and operators for automated production lines. However, despite the fact that specialists in this category can quite successfully find a job in the country, it is necessary to clarify the requirements that the employer imposes on the candidates. Often they are required to obtain a diploma in technical education.
- Consultants and teachers. These specialists are also in demand in the state. Here you can even get a job as a teacher of the Russian language. But in recent times there are a lot of applicants for such a vacancy, so appropriate place you have to wait for years. English teachers can get a job in Japan without any problems. However, if their place of work is educational establishments, then the specialist will be required to have a teaching license.
- Accountants and financiers. No organization can do without these workers. That is why they are also ranked among the most sought-after professions in Japan. But knowledge of the language for people who decide to apply for such a vacancy is a prerequisite.
- Pharmacists and healthcare professionals. This category of specialists in Japan is considered one of the most privileged. Most of the clinics in the country are private. Thanks to this, the salary in Japan is medical worker is approaching 760 thousand yen in one month. In terms of dollars, this amount will be 6400. However, it is almost impossible for an immigrant to get a job as a doctor in this country. The fact is that diplomas of other states confirming the acquisition of this profession are not quoted in Japan. To obtain permission to work as a doctor, you will need to graduate from a medical school directly in this country.
Work mentality
Every inhabitant of Japan certainly follows the traditions that have developed in the country over many centuries. If we consider the attitude of the indigenous population of the country to work, then it can be noted that it has certain qualities. Among them - politeness and loyalty, personal responsibility, as well as the ability to effectively work within a specific work team.
The main goal of the Japanese is to benefit the company, while working as a kind of cog in one well-coordinated large mechanism. Individuality is not welcomed in this country. Those loners who are guided by the principle "my house is on the edge" have no chance of success. Highly educated, but at the same time ambitious people for leadership are less valuable personnel than those who, although not so educated, but at the same time are patient and open to compromise. Why is this happening? Simply because the Japanese do not believe that money can be given to people. in simple ways... They will not respect anyone who does not work by the sweat of their brows.
By the way, many Europeans complain that their life is practically spent at work. But is it? What are the working hours in Japan? This should be clarified in advance by the one who decided to take one of the vacancies in this country.
The beginning of the working day
Japanese people start their daily routine with a trip. They rush to their place of work, usually using public transport. Most residents of this state refuse to use a car. They do this in order to save money. After all, the maintenance of a personal car will cost them about 10 thousand dollars. And that's just for one month! And is it worth using a private car in a country that has the best public transport system on the planet?
However, in large cities For such savings, the Japanese pay with tedious trips to work in wagons that are 200% full in relation to their design capacity. Nevertheless, such a morning ritual does not at all cause irritation among the indigenous inhabitants of the country, which they would rip off on a neighbor.
Coming to work
The Japanese begin with a kind of ritual. It includes more than just greetings from superiors and colleagues. The ritual of starting the day includes the joint chanting of various inspiring statements and slogans by the employees. Only then can you start performing production tasks.
What time does a working day start in Japan? Officially, most companies in the country have the same schedule. It provides for the beginning of the working day at 9 o'clock, and its end - at 18 o'clock. Nevertheless, most Japanese come to their workplace at least half an hour earlier. It is believed that an employee needs time to tune in to work.
Currently, many corporations have introduced a temporary card system. What is it? A special card is entered for each employee. It must be lowered into the device installed in front of the entrance upon arrival at work and at the time of leaving it. The card reflects the time that affects the salary in Japan. Some firms deduct one hour of work for a delay of 1 minute. There are corporations when, in this case, the employee will not be given a salary for the whole day.
Work days
How long is a working day in Japan? Officially 8 o'clock. There is also a lunch break in the country. Its duration is 1 hour. Thus, the standard work contract specifies 40 hours per week.
However, working hours in Japan tend to exceed these limits. This is influenced by another tradition of the inhabitants of the country. The fact is that climbing the career ladder is of great importance for them. And climbing these steps, as a rule, does not depend at all on the qualifications and ingenuity of the employee, but on the amount of time during which he does not leave his chair. It is because of this that the length of the working day in Japan is far from the official one. Employees often stay late to complete assignments in the evenings. In this regard, the length of the working day in Japan sometimes reaches 12 hours. Moreover, the inhabitants of the country do this mainly on their own initiative. In addition, despite the fact that the work week in Japan lasts only five days, employees come to the company on Saturdays. And this is also most often theirs own desire.
A bit of history
The beginning of the increase in the average working day in Japan was facilitated by the rather low wages that the country's population received in the 1970s. Employees did everything to increase their earnings. That is why they were keen to get extra money for overtime hours. This trend continued into the 1980s. And this is despite the fact that the period has come when Japan entered the list of the most highly developed economic countries, taking second place there. The inhabitants of the country did not change the established tradition in the late 1990s. At this time, the length of the working day in Japan was long due to the outbreak of the crisis. In order to successfully overcome it, companies began to conduct internal reforms rebuilding its organizational system... At the same time, workers were delayed at work, trying not to get laid off. At the same time, companies began to hire temporary employees who work without any guarantees or bonuses. Such a move made the existence of the people on the state even more unbearable.
Today, no one is confused by the length of the working day of 12 or more hours. As a rule, people are not forced to stay in the evenings, but they believe that they are obliged to do so.
Karoshi
It is not uncommon for workers in Japan to remain at their jobs, fearing that they will be thought of as professionals who are unable to fulfill their duties. Moreover, when solving any production problem, a resident of this country strives to be the necessary link in one general chain of the corporation. The main thing for him is to work in such a way that the working group, of which he is a member, will complete the task assigned to it within the minimum time and in optimal mode... This is one of the reasons for the appearance of overtime. In addition, each employee, showing solidarity with his colleagues, seeks to provide them all possible help which, in his opinion, they really need. This is how it goes overtime in Japanese companies, which is currently not paid.
Such a busy schedule leads to the fact that in the country there are often cases of death due to overwork or suicide. And all this happens right at the workplace. A similar phenomenon in Japan even got its name - "karoshi", it is considered the official reason for the death of a person.
An unusual tradition
The stressful working conditions in Japan require some relaxation. This led to the emergence of an unusual tradition, which in the country is called "inemuri". It represents a dream or a kind of quiet hour during work. During this time, the person continues to remain upright. In this case, sleep for the Japanese is not only a sign of hard work. It indicates the employee's hard work and dedication.
However, those who have just got a job should not try to fall asleep on it. Inemuri is the privilege of the bosses. An employee is not allowed to sleep in front of a more qualified colleague. The only exceptions are revisions that take place after the end of the official working day... At this time, a person can sleep for 20 minutes, but with the condition that he continues to work intensively after he wakes up.
Holidays
As you can see, the Japanese are working literally to wear and tear. Their daily routine and work system seems inhuman to Europeans. After reading these facts, the question immediately arises: "Is there a vacation in Japan?" Officially, yes. According to the legislation in force in the country, it lasts 10 days and must be provided once throughout the year. However, having studied the Japanese mentality, one can understand that the Japanese will not rest for so long. And indeed it is. It is not customary for residents of the country to fully use their vacation. This does not allow them to do existing traditions. In the culture of the country, it is considered: using days of rest, a person by this indicates that he is lazy and does not support the work of the entire team.
The Japanese compensate for their vacation national holidays, of which there are a lot in the country.
Wage level
What is the remuneration for labor in Japan? Its level will directly depend on the position of the employee and his profession. So, an immigrant who took one of the vacancies on initial stage must count on a salary lower than that of the indigenous population. It can range from $ 1,400 to $ 1,800 over the course of a month. Over time skilled worker will get more. His salary will average $ 2,650.
Experienced lawyers, attorneys, pilots, and doctors in Japan earn between $ 10,000 and $ 12,000. Even the most highly developed people cannot boast of such a monthly salary. European countries.
Retirement
System social protection in Japan has been active in the country since 1942. It allows people to retire when they reach 65 years of age. This rule applies to both sexes.
Pensions in Japan are paid from the Social Security Fund. Today, its assets reach 170 trillion yen.
The average social pension in Japan is $ 700. The professional one is calculated based on the system in which the person worked. Thus, civil servants receive, while retiring, 2/5 of their previous salary. For other employees, the amount of payments is determined based on the amount accumulated by them. It consists of monthly salary deductions (5%). Contribution to the accumulation fund a specific person the employer also contributes. The company also makes monthly contributions to its employee's pension fund.
"Karoshi" is the name used in Japan for death from a heart attack or suicide caused by excessive work. From now on, this is considered the official cause of death.
In the West, there are endless stories, articles and books that teach you how to be more productive so you have more time for your family and hobbies.
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 exhausting work culture that is at work in Japan.
Every year in the country hundreds, if not thousands, of Japanese literally bring themselves to the grave with backbreaking work.
Such a fate overtook Kyotaka Serizawa.
This 34-year-old Japanese man committed suicide last July after exhausting work - in last week he worked 90 hours of his life. He was an employee of a residential building maintenance company.
“His colleagues told me they were amazed at how hard he worked,” said the father of the deceased Kiyoshi Serizawa. "They said they never saw a person who doesn't even own the company work so hard."
Long hours of hard work and forced labor after business hours are the norm in Japan. This is the local work culture.
In Japan, there is a special profession of wiping away tears for female employees.
It all started back in the 1970s, when wages were quite low and workers wanted to increase their earnings. This trend continued in the 1980s, when Japan's economy became the second largest in the world, and after the crisis in the late 1990s, when companies began to restructure, and workers tried to make sure that they did not shrink.
In addition, temporary employees appeared, working without any bonuses and guarantees. Because of them life permanent employees turned into an even greater hard labor.
Nowadays, no one is embarrassed by a working day that lasts more than 12 hours.
“In Japan, people always work after the end of the working day. Recycling has become practically part of the working time, says Koji Morioka, a professor at Kansai University who sits on a committee of experts developing methods for karoshi control for the government. "Now no one is forcing anyone to work overtime, but the workers themselves believe they have to do it."
The basic workweek is 40 hours, but many workers do not count overtime because they are afraid they will be thought of as workers who do not have time to get everything done. This is how "overtime" works, and in Japan, "overtime" means "unpaid".
This relentless work schedule has led to karoshi (suicide in the workplace or 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 in this way last year, but experts believe there are actually 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 increased recently. Photo: Getty
As Hiroshi Kawahito said, the worst thing is that young people are dying. Most often they are only twenty. Kawahito is a lawyer and secretary general 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, who was just over thirty.
"In Japan, heart attacks are quite common in people in their thirties,"- 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 claims for compensation due to karoshi rose to a record number of 2,310 claims.
But, according to Kawahito, the government approves only less than a third of these applications.
The death of Kyotaka Serizawa was only officially recognized last month. He was responsible for furnishing cleaning facilities in three different buildings in northeast Tokyo.
A year before his death, Kyotaka tried to resign, but his boss refused to sign his application. Fearing that his behavior would cause inconvenience to his subordinates, Kyotaka continued to work.
Sometimes during his trips to offices, he dropped by 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.
V last time she saw Kyotaka last July when he stopped by to pick up the laundry because he didn’t have time to wash himself. He dropped in for literally ten minutes, showed his mother some cute videos with cats and left.
On July 26, Kyotaka went missing. Three weeks later, his body was found in a car in Nagano Prefecture, not far from where he spent the weekend with his parents as a child. Kyotaka locked himself in the car, set fire to the compressed 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 it will work force decrease by at least a quarter. Photo: Getty
The government project includes several goals, including reducing the number of employees working more than 60 hours a week to 5% by 2020. V last years this is how about 8-9% of the population work.
The government is also trying to force workers to take paid leave. In Japan, workers are entitled to 20 days of vacation a year, but few enjoy at least half of that time. The point is, in Japanese culture, taking a day off is a sign of laziness and lack of commitment.
The government hopes to ensure that workers take at least 70% of their vacation time.
"If you know your rights, you can show others that there is nothing wrong with vacation."- said Yasukazu Kurio of the Ministry of Health and Labor.
Curio is trying to set an example himself: last year he took 17 of the 20 days of vacation he was entitled to.
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 the Council on certain aspects of the organization of working hours, which obliges to take an 11-hour break between shifts.
“In countries like the United States, it’s much easier for people to switch jobs to more comfortable ones,” says Kenichi Kuroda, a professor at Meiji University in Tokyo and a specialist in work culture. "But the inhabitants of Japan try to work all their lives in the same company and it is not easy for them to change jobs."
Some organizations, in particular from the financial sector, support the government initiative and allow their employees to come 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 to their children.
“These companies are trying to bring about a 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 a change in the 12-hour workday would not be revolutionary.
However, the current problem will still be very difficult to solve.
Japan's population is aging rapidly, which means that by 2050 its workforce will have shrunk by at least a quarter. There will be 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 culture of work in Japan will have to be changed.
“You can't just get rid of karoshi,” Morioka said. - We need to change the whole culture overtime work and set aside time for family and hobbies. Working too long is the root of all evil in Japan. People are so busy they don't even have time to complain. "