Japan
Japan has intrigued me since the first time I have read about this country. Not only, because of the huge contrast between the European countries, but because of the uniqueness of Japanese culture. In Japan 98,5 % of the population are the Japanese in contrast to United Kingdom where only 82,4% of the population is from European countries. When you think about Japan, you may think about Tokyo as one of the biggest and safest cities in the world, you may think about manga that you watch, or sushi that you love to eat every week or even the famous brands created in Japan like: Toyota, Nissan, Sony, Honda, Uniqlo, Panasonic and many, many others. However, what you probably missed is how the country that is only 8% bigger than Poland has one of the best economies in the world. I might guess it has taken a lot of hard work…
The Growth
In order to talk about Karōshi, I believe it is vitally important to mention how it all has begun. In the last months of the World War II, the United States detonated two atomic bombs in Nagasaki and Hiroshima. These two bombings killed around 210,000 people. Moreover, the scale of the destructions was enormous and the whole country suffered for a very long time. However, it is strange that between 1945 and 1991 (the end of the Cold War), Japanese economy was growing extraordinary rapidly. Furthermore, during these years, the workers were welcomed to the companies and it was a huge need for labor as companies like Sony (1946), Honda (1949) or Uniqlo (1984) were just getting started.
Karōshi
The first case of Karōshi happened in 1969 and it was a 29-year-old male that worked in shipping department. From that moment a new terrible era has started, since this death there were around 3000 more deaths due to overtime work, not counting the suicides. Unfortunately, it probably has been expected as during the years of biggest economic growth around 7 millions of people were working 60 hours per week. Furthermore, even now the situation has not really improved. In Japan there are only 10 days of vacation per year and maybe this numbers have been increasing (there used to be only 7 days), however even now 20% of people work more than 49 hours per week. Unfortunately, it is not going to change any time soon as Japanese labor law allows companies to sing contract that allow for unlimited overtime work due to “extraordinary circumstances”. There are huge negative effect, not only for the people, but also for the whole country. Japan has more seniors than kids and these numbers are not going to change anytime soon, because people just do not have time to have them.
Sources:
https://www.tokyoreview.net/2017/10/japan-numbers-karoshi-overwork/
https://www.swedishnomad.com/interesting-facts-about-japan/
https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-53648572
https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20160912-is-there-such-thing-as-death-from-overwork
https://brandirectory.com/rankings/japan/table
- Have you ever heard about Karōshi? What do you think about overwork in Japan?
- What changes would you propose to fix this big problem in Japan?
- Do you think that Japan would still have this great economy if people were not forced to work so many extra hours?
Comments
Yes, it sounds cruel in my opinion. I believe that not everywhere you have to work for 5 days a week not mentioning more than 40 hours in 5 days. It should be fixed, but I don't think it maight happened soon enough.
2. What changes would you propose to fix this big problem in Japan?
One time I read about some business in Japan that introduce bonus 4 vacation days, but only for those that do not smoke ciggarettes. In my opinion it is a great idea, as majority of Japanese people smoke tons of this stuff. Such idea both helps with overall health, as some people may quit smoking in order to rest more.
3. Do you think that Japan would still have this great economy if people were not forced to work so many extra hours?
I believe it can be done. Overall people my be more productive when they rest more and are more focused on what they are doing. I've seen it not only in my case. Many times some work that would need entire 8 hours of work, can be done in 5 or 6 based only on the entering material for the job and the state of ones mind at the beginning.
I've heard that the work ethics and culture might have a negative effect on this situation. I'm afraid those are hard to change. Some companies fight with karoshi by turning off the lights in offices after a certain hour. This makes it impossible to work. That seems like a fairly nice way of preventing karoshi. I would try to make overtime not paid. If people work overtime to gain more money, that wouldn't be a problem anymore. I realize it's not the best way, but it'd be worth a try.
Sometimes working extra hours does not benefit as much as some would think. One's productivity generally lowers with each hour, having its peak at around 10AM. Of course, that differs from person to person, that's a general idea. I believe that planning and organizing one's work is a lot more beneficial than spending more time at work. It's crucial to spend the time at work as productively as possible. So I don't think that Japan's economy would suffer from people not working as much and actually caring about their well being more than they care about their work.
As I am a bit of a workaholic myself, I can understand the urge to work, earn money, grow et cetera, however, it is beyond my comprehension to work just for the sake of working. I don’t think I know how to explain it properly … when you work to travel, have time for your passions, spend quality time with your friends and family … hard work makes sense. But I guess that is not the case in Japanese culture, considering the things that you wrote in your article – short vacation, no families.
I don’t think I have any groundbreaking propositions – in my opinion these people should be guaranteed with longer vacations, shorter work spans and maybe some therapeutic activities, that would help them deal with the stress of overworking?
I think that Japanese have incredible motivation and work ethic. But studies show that people are able to work efficiently only for a limited number of hours, so beyond some threshold, the law of diminishing returns kicks in. So I would say that they still would have a great and competitive economy even if they did not do so many hours.
Yes, I've heard about this problem many times. It's a really serious matter because people are just being treated as working robots, not as humans. I really admire Japanese culture, but this overwork issue is really sad, and I really hope that the new prime minister is going to change it.
2. What changes would you propose to fix this big problem in Japan?
I think that changing the vacation amount is the first step. I think that making work laws similar to those that we have in Europe, would be a really good direction. Japan's economy is going really good now, so I don't think that there's a need for people to overwork so much.
3. Do you think that Japan would still have this great economy if people were not forced to work so many extra hours?
Yes. They wouldn't die and they would have more energy to work properly, so I don't think it would be such a big loss. Because now they had to replace people that have died, and sometimes they don't have enough energy to be more efficient. Generally, happier employees equals better results, that's my opinion.
2. I believe that it is impossible to fix this type of situation because of the mentality (and the lack of it) of people working overtime. I believe that this is one of the greatest pathologies of the 21st century that, surprisingly, some people are proud of.
3. It's hard to answer this question, but I don't think so. I think that if slaves from ancient Egypt had worked 8 hours a day, the pyramids would not have been built either.
I've heard about Karōshi earlier. I think it's a huge problem and the worst is that Japanese are not aware of that. They work how much it's possible and at one point they notice that all of they did was unuseful because they are unhappy...
2. What changes would you propose to fix this big problem in Japan?
I don't think that any propose could help. The reason is really easy - we're not Japanese, we're European, and we have got different value system. It's not possible to understand each other because we have been growing up surrounded with other principles. For me, until a young generation of Japanese won't accept that it's not worth to die for work - nothing changes.
3. Do you think that Japan would still have this great economy if people were not forced to work so many extra hours?
I don't think so. Japan owe the great economy to their society and their diligences. If people changed their value system, they probably would be happier but for the economy of Japan it would be a sharp blow.
2. I would suggest them to get acquainted with the culture of people living in Latin countries. They live in total chill. They don't rush, they live in the moment. Family and private life are most important to them. Everyone walks smiling, they live slowly and happily.
3. It depends. If they could automate the work done by humans, I think it would be possible. Otherwise, their economy would surely drop significantly due to the reduced number of hours spent by employees. If they invented robots that would completely replace work or speed up the current one, it is probably possible. Otherwise, it doesn't really seem possible.
2. I think it's more about the culture of Japan and Asia in general. From childhood, children are taught to work. Young people have to work very hard to achieve something. I also read that the main reason that real estate in Japan is expensive is that many work to exhaustion to afford to buy property.
But this is a problem in Japan but also in Asia as a whole. As far as I know In Asia, it is unacceptable to come to work later than the boss and leave earlier.
3. I don’t think so. I think one of the reasons for the karoshi is the increase in prices for everything, and after the Second World War Japan went through a lot and was in a big crisis. I think if it were not for workaholism and overwork, then Japan would not have achieved what it now has
My conclusion is, that there must be something deeply rooted in Japanese work culture.
However, there are people all over the world, working huge overtime hours.
I believe that best example are... students. In order to work during semester, considerable commitment is required.
Some, are forced to work due to circumstances.
However, some willingly choose to earn money as they believe it is profitable.
Let's not forget that work is another source of education!
If we assume that working overtime is a problem, then we need to find a cause as to why it is happening.
In my opinion, people pursue money in order to feed their families.
Given the fact, that in Japan there are prominent regulations and taxes, one has to work harder to earn a living.
Should limitations will ever be lifted, we will become richer thus eliminating need for overtime due to financial situation.
There is still the case of overtime due to career development.
In such situation, I think that hardly any solution is required.
Young people strive to achieve things early on, so they can rest later.
A system which promotes social programs will have a hard time attaining great economy.
During years of hard work, Japan accumulated their treasure.
Can you imagine? To get up so quickly, even after atomic bombing and USA occupation.
Irresponsible government decisions can bring ruin to any country, regardless of how developed it is.
I haven't heard the exact term, but heard of the overall work culture in Japan, which is based on honor and the fear of letting you boss or the company down, meaning a lot of hours is spent in the workplace, and people often take the first train of the day to work and the last train of the work to home. I think it's a big problem in Japan, and people should be taught to live a more healthy lifestyle.
2.
I would say that maybe it should be taught in schools that the most effective method of getting things done in a long-term is to keep a balance between work and rest. Without the latter work becomes less and less efficient.
3.
I think that Japans fame of it's grame economy is a little bit exagerated, especially comparing it to the economy of nearby China. I think the country could a bit poorer,
but overall the life satisfaction would increase and far less suicides would take place.
I completely agree with you that it is cruel and should not be tolerated in Japan. I actually have never heard about the idea of 4 extra vacation days if you quit smoking, it might be super beneficial for the employees, however I am just wondering how would it be verified. In case of the economy, I am not sure to be honest, there are huge consulting corporation in the world (not only in Japan) that make people work around 14+ hours every day and these corporation have the best results. People should not be able to focus for such a long time, but somehow they do and unfortunately, also because of that these ridiculous hours of work will continue.
I totally agree with you thought process. Life is too short to spend your best years working absurd hours, even if you are very successful. Every human being deserve to have time for their families, to relax during the day and have enough time to travel and explore this beautiful world. I am also not very surprised with the your answer to the 3rd question, because to be quite honest, in my opinion there is not a simple answer or solution for this particular issue. We all know that these people deserve more time to spend however they want, unfortunately the overwork in Japan has deep roots in their culture and I do not think that is easy to change them.
In my opinion this issue should not be simplified to the degree in which you present this problem. People work in certain industries and like I wrote in the blog, 98% people in Japan are Japanese, so it is a really closed culture which means that probably most of Japanese people are going to stay in Japan. Because of that, people do not have an option to just quit their job and find another one, because it is a domestic problem in Japan. A lot of companies force their employees to work extraordinary hours. They really do not have a choice.
About second question, once again I'll go on a limb here and I''ll make some assumptions. I think easiest (but not to effective) method would be promoting healthier lifestyle by workers. It won't stop karoshi, but it might at least slow it down. More effective way would be to restrict companies from making workers work above, let's say, 10 hours a day. Companies would be furious for sure but it would greatly aid workers.
Fourth question is pretty complex. Japan's economy is influenced bu extremely many factors. Restricting workhours would definetly injure economy, but would it really hurt it or just slow it down a little? I think that it would be just temporary slow-down, just to race ahead in no time.
Yes I have. I think that topic came up once or twice, on my english classes before. I think this phenomenon is deeply disturbing. When I think of all the families and children that were, in fact, left alone by their hard-working fathers, I feel incredibly sad. I believe that consequences of such lifestyle can be catastrophic not only for the people living it, also for their relatives. A very deep-reaching change in Japanese culture is mandatory in order to fix this issue - if it's even possible.
2. What changes would you propose to fix this big problem in Japan?
I think that I would be a very long process, taking place during development of new generations in Japan. In my opinion spreading awarness is the first phase. Then, shifting Japanese work-life balance towards healthier propotions, achieved through educating people about the importance of stopping to take a breath. I believe that the Japanese have many issues when it comes to their social skills, which should be developed from the early stage of life.
3. Do you think that Japan would still have this great economy if people were not forced to work so many extra hours?
It's very hard to tell, but I think, if they stopped working so hard, their economy wouldn't necessarily slow down.
Your fear or ambition analysis was on point! I actually was thinking about the same situation, however when Karōshi started the people had many opportunities to get a job. There were many jobs available and somehow most of the employers demanded extra hours from their employees.
It might be fear or ambition or maybe even both, however there is also one more possibility. The overwork was treated as something common and regular. What I mean by that is people that work for 60 hours per week with one another, in the same office, do not think that it is just wrong, because everybody does it. They do not protest, because it is treated as a normal, common aspect of their life and this is one of the reasons why it is so difficult to make any change in this terrible system.
I have heard many times about deaths from overworking in Japan, I think their work culture is very famous and well-known all around the world. However, I didn't know it was called Karōshi, so I learned something today. I think everyone thinks negatively about overworking. I mean, some countries are trying to make four day work week a reality, while in Japan you are almost like a slave in your job.
2. What changes would you propose to fix this big problem in Japan?
One of the changes could be raising salaries for the jobs, that are most popular for the overworking. That would help workers have better living conditions, so at least it would make things more fair.
3. Do you think that Japan would still have this great economy if people were not forced to work so many extra hours?
That would affect economy for sure, but I can't tell how much. There was a study that said, when people are happier they can have more things done than if they worked longer hours while being unhappy.
I know some things about manga and anime industry, and I must say, it would be sadly impossible to maintain the same quality and amount of content people make if they weren't overworking themselves constantly.
Yes, I've heard about Karōshi earlier. Japan has been always known for it's issues with people overworking so hard that they start to have mental issues. I don't say this is the only reason of problems with mental healt in Japan. To be honest, overworking is kind of burned into japanese culture.
What changes would you propose to fix this big problem in Japan?
I'm not any specialist on this field but I think this problem would be very difficult to solve. As I mentioned before overworking is burned into japanese culture and changing they perspective would be probably nearly impossible.
Do you think that Japan would still have this great economy if people were not forced to work so many extra hours?
I don't think it would be possible. If apple doesn't grow on an apple tree, then it's not an apple. Same point with Japan, they would't be in their economy class if people would.t work so hard.