Japanese workaholism
The Japanese are incorrigible workaholics. The Japanese is working. Works long hours, works late, works on weekends. The children don’t remember his face, he doesn’t have time to come to his parents’ funeral, and it’s all because of work. IN Japanese There is a word that means "death from overwork." The origins of this phenomenal workaholism are difficult to understand.
Japanese employees go home only a few hours after the end of the working day. This is the unspoken “code of honor” - the higher the position held, the more time the employee spends at the workplace overtime and most often for free. The same “code of honor” also has a perverted reverse side- on Fridays after work, the whole team, at least the male part of it, is supposed to get drunk, and then go not home, but go to their mistresses or ladies of easy virtue. Family men, heading home after work, often find themselves the black sheep among their colleagues.
When Canadians are asked what is more important to them, work or family, they find it difficult to answer, since for them it is absolutely different concepts. This is the same as asking: “What do you like more, milk or apples?” Milk and apples are concepts that cannot be compared. The correct question is “What do you like more, tangerines or apples?” Or something like that. A Canadian will answer you that this question is completely meaningless, since work and family are completely different things. Compared to a Canadian, a Japanese puts work on the same level as family; “work” and “home” are close concepts. Perhaps it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a feature of Japanese culture to consider work and home to be similar concepts. And this is how it is expressed in language. A Japanese man goes to work and says a phrase that everyone always says, it’s quite difficult to translate, it means something like “well, I’m off.” In response to this, his housewife wife (housewife mom/child/dad and whoever else) responds with the invariable “well, happy.” When a tired/drunk/tired and drunk Japanese man returns home, he is simply obliged to shout out to the whole house “here I am!”, and if one of the above is still awake, they will answer him “welcome back!” These greeting formulas are already so established that it is simply impossible to imagine the life of a Japanese without them. These words are said when they leave for work or when they return home. At the same time, they are also used at work, which suggests that for the Japanese, work and home are quite close concepts.
In English, “go to work” is “go to work”. That is, in both English and Russian we use the word “work”, while the Japanese will say “go to your company/company”. For the Japanese, work is their company, a community of people of which they are a part. For the Japanese, the concepts of belonging to a team, fellow feeling mean quite a lot.
For Russian and English speakers, “going to work” means going to a place where they are expected to perform some duties, for which they are paid. For a Japanese it is much more. The collective spirit, somewhat faded over the years, is still strong. You can argue for a long time which is better, both they and we have their pros and cons, but in last years and even for decades, Japanese youth do not want to get a job permanent job, that is, he does not want to be with the team. And more and more often you can hear from the media a call to work for life, and not to live for work.
The Japanese government has decided to no longer reward workaholics. Nowadays, the vast majority of residents of the Land of the Rising Sun work overtime, and taking a full vacation is considered bad manners.
8.5 - according to statistics, this is exactly how many vacation days a year employees of Japanese companies take on average. This is not even half of the 18 days required by law. The local peculiarities of corporate ethics do not allow the Japanese to take more: it is inconvenient in front of colleagues.
There is a saying in Japan: “If you run through a red light, do it all together.” Taking a full vacation here is considered a much more daring violation of an unspoken taboo. The government's program, adopted Monday, is intended to relieve Japanese people of the burden of personal responsibility so that they can enjoy the right to legal recreation without remorse.
But this is not the only problem. Japan's Ministry of Health warns that excess labor is dangerous to life. There are special clinics for workaholics in the country. According to government data, the vast majority of Japanese people work overtime and die from overwork every year, and this is only according to official estimates, at least 500 people. According to unofficial data, their number exceeds 10 thousand people.
Representative of the Agency for Medical and Social Support of Workers Shinji Yoshitani, showing the results of the research, explained: “Here you can see how many people get sick and die every year from stroke or heart failure due to excess work. And here is the number of people who, for the same reason, fell into depression and committed suicide."
Excessive zeal for service in Japan is considered effective way get a salary increase and accelerate career growth. In the vacation incentive program, the country's authorities directly appeal to company management with a request not to allow employees to overwork themselves at work. Some companies have restrictions on overtime work, but the authorities are not yet able to prohibit people from going on vacation. An employee of a private company, Akira Yamaguchi, admitted: “In our company, theoretically, you can take a vacation of 8 to 12 days, but no one takes advantage of this. After all, if you leave for a long time, then the rest of us have more work. Although I do not rule out that government measures will help change general attitude towards this issue."
However, no one has any special illusions. To begin with, it is planned to increase the average vacation duration to at least 10-12 days. In the meantime, the only effective way to combat workaholism in Japan remains forced rest in the form of national holidays.
Unlike Europe and America, where they easily change jobs in search of a higher salary and better conditions labor, Japan is known for its “lifetime employment” system, which creates an atmosphere of loyalty to the company. Many organizations call this “team spirit” or “teamwork”, but it basically means the same thing.
Employees of Japanese companies must demonstrate team spirit, even if nothing useful is accomplished during those long evening hours. (c) paulinusa
I worked in a Japanese company for two years and... I saw how colleagues slept at their workplaces to show their fatigue. In general, having slept for two hours, they should stay at least the same amount of time after the end of the working day. It is also believed that one should not leave before the manager. If, as often happens, he is bored at home, he simply surfs the Internet or reads the newspaper, while everyone else is dying to go home. (c) Kakukakushikajika
Foreigners who see nothing wrong with changing jobs have a hard time understanding what holds the Japanese back, especially if working conditions are less than ideal. Japanese people often say that they love where they work and are proud to belong to their company. It may not even occur to them to reconsider their views.
Many people have noted the low productivity of Japanese companies. Widespread processing does not bring the result any closer. Nobody strives to meet the allotted deadline. Some even go so far as to deliberately procrastinate to make their work seem more stressful and require extra effort.
I got the impression that although people seem to stay late, if you throw away the smoking breaks, trips to the toilet, phone calls furtively, long lunch breaks and the like, it turns out that they work in offices for only 5-6 hours. (c) Daniel Sullivan
Many Japanese people don't try too hard, they just waste a lot of time on pointless things. paperwork and unnecessary actions. (c) Saxon Salute
Quite harsh reviews, is there any truth to them? Most foreigners place high priority on leaving home on time. It seems that most Japanese contracts office workers The working hours are incorrect.
Many comments point to the lack of actual results in Japanese companies. So we can talk not about overtime work, but about long-term stay in the office.
I once had a conversation with a Japanese man who had previously lived and worked in Australia, in Sydney. According to him, the Japanese are always ready to complain about how hard it is at work, but all this is nonsense. His Australian colleagues worked much harder to get everything done before five in the evening. He believed that the Japanese were simply messing around and wasting their time. I have often seen people sleeping at work - in my country this is grounds for dismissal. (c) Tamarama
Most likely, Japanese workers would insist that they were indeed “working hard.” It seems that Japanese and foreigners have different understandings of what hard work is.
Although it often seems that the Japanese have no time for anything but work, no one protests against this state of affairs. Some believe that the Japanese simply do not know what to do with themselves in their free time.
From childhood, their life is clearly organized - schools, after-school programs, preparatory courses (juku). They have no idea what to do in their spare time. As a child, my friends and I had free time, and we learned to somehow entertain ourselves. And here many people have lived the life of salarimen since the cradle. From six in the morning to nine in the evening - morning exercises, school, after-school activities, juku. (c) bgaudry
The opinion has been repeatedly voiced that the Japanese are simply afraid to be indignant and disrupt the existing state of affairs.
The Japanese have to stay late into the night trying to figure out what to do with their time. In fact, behind all this lies fear. At least if things go wrong, no one can blame them for not working hard. (c) yabits
I think the state of the economy and the fear of losing a job play a big role. Moreover, the Japanese mentality remained unchanged over a long period. A person's life is determined primarily by work; family, hobbies and other aspects of personal life are given a secondary role. (c) Thomas Proskow
According to foreigners, the Japanese simply need to take a tough stand and go home at the time specified in the contract. In fact, everything is much more complicated, because this is fraught not only with censure from colleagues and management, but also with a change in the lifestyle instilled in childhood. Going against the flow is never easy.
During the golden years of the Japanese economy, Japanese companies were seen in the West as models for achieving economic growth. However, now foreigners often criticize working conditions in Japan and consider them unsuitable for a rapidly changing world. There is also disappointment in the Japanese workers themselves - after all, it is clear that no one likes to work in such a ridiculous regime, so why not take a tougher position? From a foreigner's point of view, this is quite simple, but for the Japanese, life is all about following certain rules. No one dares to go home “early” (that is, on time), because they will get the impression of indifference to the team, and colleagues will not fail to gossip.
Working for a Japanese company can be endlessly frustrating for a foreigner, but we must bear in mind that we are relatively free from the burden public opinion, and our Japanese colleagues are exposed to it, consciously and subconsciously. For our part, we can analyze negative sides and adopt the positive ones. Maybe we too can learn a little about loyalty to the company and teamwork, while at the same time convincing our frazzled colleagues that there is more to life than work.
At the same time, it is worth noting that in the West, where there is actually no such thing as “karoshi” at all, scientists have been dealing with such a problem as workaholism for several years. And even more - they study the aspects of the health, work and life benefits of such a “shameful” phenomenon as laziness.
Eg, Andrew Smart- American neurophysiologist, in his book “On the Benefits of Laziness: A Guide to Productive Doing Nothing” provides convincing evidence that idleness is not a whim, but a necessity, despite the general belief to the contrary that reigns in modern society, obsessed with multitasking and efficiency. Work on the “laziness problem” began with the scientist investigating the effects of noise on memory and attention in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and analyzing tomography data to study the neurological basis of speech.
This year, one of the Russian publishing houses published this book in Russian. I would like to address reviews about her to all Japanese, who have probably already forgotten what a normal life outside of work is. Although it was not written in “ Japanese material”, since the problem of overwork at work and, as a consequence, a decrease in labor productivity, is widespread nowadays. Perhaps only with the exception of the Mongolian steppes...
“This book is simply vital for us: lazy people - to get rid of social pressure and remorse about their lifestyle, and workaholics - so as not to burn out at work, losing personal effectiveness with every leap. What could it be better than requirements relax, sounding from the lips of progressive scientists?”, says Tanya Cohen, editor-in-chief of Metropol magazine.
“Andrew Smart exposes time management as just another tool to brainwash bosses corporate culture, designed to make us ideal robots. In reality, in order to work productively, our brain needs to regularly be in sleep mode, because what well-trained employees of the month call laziness is a thought battery,” notes Anna Zhavnerovich, editorw-o-s.ru
“This book is dedicated to all the neurotics of our time. To all those who fill their lives with hectic activity and consider every minute of downtime to be a sin worse than perjury
and adultery. Andrew Smart encroaches on the sacred: he questions the need to do as much as possible,” adds Grigory Tarasevich, editor of the science department of the Russian Reporter magazine.
“Don’t the working people see that by working overtime, they exhaust their strength and the strength of their offspring, that long before their natural time they become weak and are no longer capable of any work, that this single vice completely absorbs and cripples them, so that they are among the people turn into human stumps, kill all the wonderful abilities in themselves, leave nothing alive and blooming, only obsession with work,” Smart quotes the author of the no less interesting book “The Right to Be Lazy” Fields of Lafargue.
And again about the difference in mentalities... East-West. But Japan is not the whole “East”, is it?
8.5 - according to statistics, this is exactly how many vacation days a year employees of Japanese companies take on average. This is not even half of the 18 days required by law. The local peculiarities of corporate ethics do not allow the Japanese to take more: it is inconvenient in front of colleagues.
Report from Tokyo in the VESTI program on the RUSSIA channel.
Hardworking Japanese collapse and fall asleep right on the street and in other public places.
I present to you photographs by British photographer Adrian Storey, taken on the streets of Tokyo.
In any other state, people sleeping in the subway, on benches, or even in the middle of the streets could be mistaken for alcoholics, drug addicts, or homeless people. But they are wearing decent clothes, and in their hands are briefcases with documents. These are those who are burning at work Japanese workaholics who are unable to get home after a 12-hour working day. 
British photographer Adrian Storey is better known online as Uchujin. 
This master of photography, now living in the Japanese capital, has managed to travel to many countries during his life. 
While living in Tokyo, the photographer discovered that in the evenings the city turns into a sleepy kingdom, so he often goes out onto the city streets to conduct another “photo hunt”. 
People sleeping in the subway, dozing on stairs and benches in the park, on lawns and under trees, or even in the middle of the street on the sidewalk - a typical sight for the business center of the Japanese capital. 
The author called his series about sleeping Japanese “Let the poets cry themselves to sleep.” 
It is well known how hardworking the Japanese are and that they have one of the highest labor productivity in the world. But miracles don’t happen, and you have to pay for such high results by exhausting yourself so much that you no longer have any strength to get home. 
It's no secret that Asians and Europeans have radically different lifestyles and habits, morality and attitude, culture and way of life, customs and traditions. However, many do not even suspect how special the inhabitants of the land of the rising sun are. Let's try to lift the veil of secrecy a little and talk about the Japanese mentality.
“Teach” and “Soto”, or one’s own among one’s own - a stranger among strangers
The Japanese have such concepts as "uchi" and "soto". The first denotes its own - what is inside the country and inside the family. The second is everything else, what is located outside of Japan. Europeans are more used to impressing others and not being particularly shy at home. The Japanese are exactly the opposite.
If a person from the European continent calmly greets a visiting aunt in an old robe and invites her to join a modest home-cooked dinner, then the Japanese, even if it is late, will change clothes in order to look appropriate in front of a relative and set the table. However, if he travels on a train in another country, then without any special ceremony he will undress until underwear before absolutely strangers to change clothes before going to bed.
Residents of the Land of the Rising Sun are sure that Japanese is not just the name of a nationality, it is also a special status. And they treat each other accordingly - they bow when they meet, almost bending over three times in an effort to show their respect for their acquaintance, they vividly discuss pressing issues, and exchange pleasantries when parting. At the same time, in relation to a foreigner, it is quite acceptable to only nod dryly as a sign of greeting (and sometimes even pretend that you didn’t notice him), not to apologize if you accidentally stepped on your foot in the elevator or pushed into public transport. Of course, conversations are only permissible about the weather and nothing more. This is why the Japanese behave too relaxed, noisy, and sometimes even uncivilized abroad - this is not home, which means you can afford a lot here. There is even an Eastern proverb on this subject, which accurately reflects the essence of the Japanese character: “No one will remember what happened along the way.”
Naturally, every Japanese, like every person on our planet, is taught to love his neighbor and treat him properly - respectfully and carefully. However, with age, this transforms into approximately the following point of view: it will still not be possible to bestow love and affection on everyone in the world, so let those who receive care and respect be at least one of our own. There is even a special word for foreigners - “gaijin”, which can be translated as “non-Japanese”. However, "gaijin" is a shortened form. Full word sounds like "gaikokujin", which means a person from another country.
And a gaijin will never become one of his own, even if he lives in Japan for at least a hundred years. So, if two foreigners on the street start to sort things out or even fight, not a single Japanese, even a policeman, will think of helping or even asking what’s going on. What for? These are foreigners, and let them solve their problems themselves. And, which is absolutely incredible for a European, in Japan there are bars with a sign “No Foreigners Entry” and a security guard standing at the door not allowing unwanted people inside. Actually, along with them, there are also establishments where only visitors have fun - in such places, as a rule, even the bartender and waiters are foreigners. A true Japanese would never set foot in such a restaurant or cafe.
There are real estate agencies, as well as shops that, when they see a citizen of another country in front of them, will apologize and say that they do not work with foreigners. A visitor can easily not be allowed into a Japanese hotel, public bath, gym... The work of the indigenous population is better paid, and if the number of personnel at a large enterprise is reduced, the first thing they will “ask” for is a foreigner. The Japanese on the streets stubbornly “do not understand” visitors and will not show the way if you address them in any language other than the state language; Taxi drivers will take you on the tenth route, without hesitation to charge a crazy fee...
If there was an interethnic marriage followed by divorce, then the foreign “side” of the failed relationship receives nothing! Moreover, within a month after the divorce, the spouse who is not a Japanese citizen is obliged to leave the country, while the child remains to live in Japan in any case. As they say, to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.
Nature itself helped the Japanese to cultivate the spirit of such “nationalism.” If you remember geographical position this island country, it becomes clear that the Japanese are cut off from other peoples by the raging sea. Here, willy-nilly, all that remains is to unite, unite and perceive each other as one big family. Independence from neighbors, self-sufficiency and isolation have been formed and polished in the Japanese character for centuries. This is a kind of self-preservation instinct that helps to survive.
"Foreigner complex"
Despite all of the above, in recent years there has been a tendency among the people of Japan to become as much like the much despised Europeans as possible. Many Japanese women dye their hair brown, use pink foundation, and buy blue or green contact lenses for their eyes. After all, Americans and representatives of European nations, as a rule, have blond hair and eyes. Paradoxically, having a Western appearance has begun to be considered prestigious.
If a Japanese resident is asked who he would like to be born into in his next life, every third person will answer without batting an eye: “American.” She is such a contradictory, oriental nature...
Japanese workaholism
The Japanese are amazingly efficient. The office is their second home, in which they often spend much more time than in their home, with their family and children. They are real workaholics and work tirelessly for the benefit of their native enterprise, forgetting about the end of the working day, about the coming weekends and holidays...
Leaving work on time is considered bad manners - good specialist certainly stays behind schedule, and only such a hard worker will get a promotion. And, having become a boss, he will remain in the office even longer, working at the edge of human capabilities. There is even an expression in Japanese that means “death from overwork” - perhaps it best characterizes the rapid pace of work and the manic zeal of the inhabitants of the land of the rising sun. They greatly value and respect the organization or company for which they work, and are ready to do everything for its prosperity.
Japanese - ideal employees, disciplined and educated, hardy and patient, observing subordination and showing zeal. At one time, even special hotels for workaholics were very popular. After all, many Japanese live in the suburbs, the way home is not close, and if they are delayed at work until midnight, there is simply no reason to return to their native land.
So these capsules were invented - small, oblong boxes, suitable exclusively for overnight stays. Probably, this could only be in demand in Japan. I spent the night, took a shower, and was ready for work battles again. Some traveled home only on weekends, thereby saving time and money on travel. It happens that people even refuse to take a vacation, proudly saying that every extra hour spent at work brings success to the entire country. One can only be surprised when they manage to spend their hard-earned money. However, the new generation is no longer so fanatical about their work responsibilities - young people are not going to spend days and nights in offices, advocating that a person who has worked hard has the right to have a good rest.
This is how they are, the Japanese - proud and unapproachable, peculiar and a little obsessed, but undoubtedly interesting and worth it to get to know them better.
