Why does Japan work so hard? | CNBC Explains

Working long hours is a way of life in Japan. So much so, that some occasionally die from it. Karoshi is a term that means death from over

work

. So why do people

work

so

hard

? And can it be fixed? Japan has some of the longest working hours in the world. Nearly a quarter of Japanese companies have their employees work more than 80 hours of overtime a month. These overtime hours are often unpaid. Today, Japanese corporate culture is driven by the so-called salaryman. The employee is defined by his loyalty to his company and is expected to spend his entire career working for the same company.

Not only

does

he work long hours in the office, but he is also supposed to participate in after-work activities, such as drinking with his colleagues. And they don't take enough time off. In 2017, a survey found that despite being entitled to 20 days off a year, Japanese workers left 10 of those days unused, outperforming all other countries in the survey. You don't have to be within the confines of a company to feel the impact of its work culture. It's 3 a.m. on Thursday in Tokyo, I'm in the Ginza area. Every few minutes I see a man wearing a suit and holding a briefcase.

The nation's work ethic dates back to what is known as Japan's economic miracle, which was its spectacular economic growth beginning in the 1950s, propelling it to become the world's second-largest economy. Within Japanese corporations, the culture emphasizes that the success of a company as a whole is more important than any individual, which could explain why one study found that 63% of Japanese people felt guilty about taking paid leave. But perhaps most worrying is this: long work hours do not necessarily mean high productivity. In fact, Japan has the lowest productivity among G7 nations. Earlier I mentioned the term karoshi: it means death from overwork.

It is legally recognized by the government and is usually characterized by a heart attack, stroke, or suicide due to stress. Hundreds of cases of karoshi are reported annually, although some argue that these cases are underreported and that the actual number could exceed it by up to 10 times. An employee at advertising company Dentsu jumped to her death in 2015. The cause was said to be depression caused by overwork. The case generated widespread attention and renewed calls to change the long work hours and illegal unpaid overtime common in Japan. The company was fined for violating labor rules because it was reportedly forced to work more than 100 hours of overtime per month.

The company's CEO even resigned over the controversy. After her death, Dentsu made some changes within the company. One of them? The office lights are now turned off at 10 p.m. every night in an effort to force employees to leave. Both the government and companies are actively trying to reduce the number of working hours here. And there are some first signs of hope. Japan's government has considered several initiatives to reduce the number of hours spent in the office, including requiring at least five days of vacation a year and a "rest" period between the end of one day and the beginning of another. .

In 2016, a new holiday, “Mountain Day,” was started, bringing the number of annual public holidays in Japan to 16. And in 2017, the government launched an initiative called Premium Fridays, which encouraged companies to allow their employees to leave at 3 p.m. on the last Friday of the month, encouraging consumer spending and less time in the office. But one study found that less than 4% of employees in Japan left early on the first Premium Friday. Therefore, despite these initiatives, a cultural challenge still looms. Since Japanese culture emphasizes the group over the individual, no one wants to be the first to leave the office.

And there is another reason why people are pressured to work

hard

. Japan's economy is in danger. And to maintain its enormous size, Japan needs to put in the hours. Japan lost its place as the world's second-largest economy to China in 2011, a title it had held for 42 years. Japan is dealing with a labor crisis. Its population is aging rapidly and its birth rate is declining. That means their total population is decreasing. And it is predicted that in the next 50 years it will reduce by almost a third. The population is expected to go from 127 million in 2015 to just 88 million in 2065.

There are two likely ways the nation can make up for the labor shortage: immigrants or robots. Japan has always been less inclined to accept immigrants. In fact, its percentage of foreign workers is minuscule compared to other large-economy nations. So, with no more immigrants, robotics is turned to fill the void. Its robotics industry has ranged from hospitality to manufacturing, and is now even reaching farms by creating robots that milk cows. But it remains to be seen whether the technology could open the door to a better work-life balance for the Japanese workforce. Hey guys, I'm Uptin, thanks for watching.

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