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 Japanese workaholics who are burned out at work and 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 traveled 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. 
One of the first associations that arises in connection with the Japanese is their almost fanatical diligence. In Japan, even arriving at work on time is not very decent - it would be much better to show up at least half an hour earlier. And overtime and a short, barely noticeable break for lunch are completely commonplace.
Even without being a doctor, it’s hard not to guess that after some time human body may not be able to withstand such a heavy load. That's what happens.
IN Japanese there is even a special term - karoshi - sudden death at work caused by fatigue and overwork. The first case of such a death was recorded in 1969. Annually karoshi claims hundreds of lives (only 250-350 cases are officially recorded).
By the way, such dedication at work leads to a less fulfilling personal life. According to the results of one of the social surveys, 70% of young male employees aged 24-30 put overtime more important than dating. Women are also at a disadvantage, juggling between work and home life.
At the same time, overwork is not only the fate of ordinary workers. For example, in 2000 karoshi caused the death of Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, who during his 20 months in office had only three days off and worked no less than 12 hours a day.
High stress levels nervous tension, lack of sleep... Not every body can withstand this, and even as a constant phenomenon. Workaholism, and overwork associated with long hours of overtime or increased physical activity cause negative changes in the activity of the brain and cardiovascular system, which leads to sudden death during work. It is believed that at least every tenth heart attack occurs as a result of overexertion at work. By the way, the relatives of the “burned out at work” seek moral compensation only in half of the cases.
Since not all companies have heeded the request of the public and the country's government to do everything possible to prevent or at least reduce the number of cases karoshi. In 2013, at an extraordinary session of parliament, a bill was proposed that would regulate the volume of overtime work and oblige employers to more closely monitor the health of their employees. The bill will still be considered and finalized, but progress has already been made.
Karosi – a big problem Japan, the solution of which may improve not only the health of the nation, but also the demographic situation in the country.
The Japanese are known for their willingness to overwork beyond imagination and their unwavering loyalty to their companies. There is even a word in Japanese that means death from overwork, – karoshi (過労死). Is this attitude to work admirable, or should the Japanese still rest more?
Japan Today asked foreigners for their opinion on why the Japanese work so hard. We received a lot of feedback, most of it negative, from those who worked in Japanese companies. Many believe that Japanese society should reconsider its views on work.
There are plenty of terrifying examples. Thus, on August 11, the organization “Watami Foodservice Co.” received the dubious honor of topping the 2013 Black Companies of the Year list. During selection, discrimination, overtime, harassment at work, and so on are assessed. The company is accused of driving a new employee to suicide within a couple of months of work. The insurance adjuster estimated that the woman's monthly overtime was in excess of 140 hours.
It's not just black companies that have workplace problems. They stay late into the night in almost all Japanese offices, regardless of the field of activity and time of year. But does processing benefit the company? And do the Japanese really love work so much that they are willing to sacrifice their health? Judging by the results of a Japan Today survey, not all is well in the offices of the Land of the Rising Sun. Five points of view were especially popular.
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.
Natalya Golovakha, Kyodo News
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 last years Among the inhabitants of Japan there is a tendency to resemble the much despised Europeans as much 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, without blinking an eye, will answer: “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.
Japanese workaholismJapanese 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. There is a word in Japanese 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. One can argue for a long time which is better, both they and we have their pros and cons, but in recent years and even decades, Japanese youth do not want to settle for 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.
Every day, doctors are increasingly expressing concern about the growing number of diseases caused by excessive workloads. Workaholics are threatened a large number of diseases of various kinds. This was reported by journalists in the “Science” section of the online publication for traders “Stock Leader”.
Doctors say that excessive work zeal usually ends in health problems for workaholics. Typically, careerists face alcoholism, diabetes, depression, hormonal disorders, and strokes are common among workaholics. Scientists have been studying this problem for many years to help keep workers healthy.
As a result of the studies, it was established that workaholism is a serious pathology that entails a number of dangerous diseases. When a person devotes too much of his time to work, the body fails to recover from stress. Therefore, sooner or later, a workaholic has to push work into the background in order to deal with health problems.
Overwork has become such a common problem that it is being addressed at the state level. About 600 thousand people die every year in China due to overwork. Workaholism has reached the level of a real social disaster. For many companies, a 12-hour workday is the norm, with many employees sleeping in the office. The management of most Japanese companies requires maximum productivity from employees, therefore, even having the right to a 30-day vacation, employees prefer to rest no more than 6 days.
Fear of potential dismissal is often the reason why Japanese employees refuse to take vacations. The scale of the problem is even illustrated by the fact that in Japan there is a separate term “karoshi”, which refers to the death of a person from overwork. Thousands and hundreds of thousands of deaths every year are attributed to overwork at work. Suicide is common among deaths; among Japanese workers under 60 years of age, about 5 percent of strokes and heart attacks are caused by work.
Doctors have determined that one of the workers at the Japanese factory died from spending too much time at work and being very nervous. In each month the deceased spent at work after school hours about 106 hours, confirmed death as a result of workaholism. It is also known that the Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi died from excessive workload - after several intense working days, the prime minister was hospitalized with a stroke, he soon fell into a coma and died a few months later.
Every sixth employee works more than 60 hours a week. Canadian statistics show that about 30 percent of the country's population are workaholics. In the Netherlands, work-obsessed people are often diagnosed with the so-called “leisure disorder,” which occurs in 3 percent of Dutch people. People diagnosed with this disease lose peace of mind and become physically ill on weekends or during vacations.
The danger posed by workaholism was once again proven by an international group led by specialists from the University of Bergen in Norway. According to research published in PLoS ONE, those who like to spend longer hours at work often experience mental disorders; workaholics are haunted by frightening thoughts and neuroses of various forms.
16,426 office workers took part in the study; the tendency to workaholism and related problems were discovered using special surveys. It turned out that almost a third (32.7 percent of the subjects) suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which manifests itself in poorly controlled impulsiveness and the inability to concentrate on a task. In another 25.6 percent of respondents, scientists discovered obsessive-compulsive disorder, which is characterized by the involuntary appearance of intrusive or frightening thoughts.
In addition, scientists have found that people who are dependent on work very often feel hot flashes or chills, and a feeling of discomfort in the stomach. Workaholics often feel dizzy and their arms and legs tremble. Typical illnesses for workaholics are depression and sleep problems. Many respondents admitted to their excessive penchant for pedantry - constantly checking whether doors are closed, frequently washing their hands and washing even clean clothes.
Study leader Cecile Andreassen argues that workaholics are much more susceptible to illness. Scientists have also determined that dependence on work is no less dangerous for a person than alcoholism, smoking, gambling addiction and other painful conditions. The scientist believes that workaholism should be included in the list of diseases that are being combated at the state level.
Physiological and psychological diseases in workaholics are usually explained by an unhealthy lifestyle. Passion for work does not allow a person to rest; these people neglect vacations, sleep, sometimes even personal hygiene; many workaholics skip meals or replace them with a cup and a cigarette. Among the most common problems of workaholics, doctors name heart and stomach diseases, and psychologists warn about the likely appearance of emotional burnout syndrome.
