Gov't launches taskforce to improve work-life balance

Abe should balance his own life first.

 

unless they are willing to enforce this and police it, so to speak, then this is just a big waste of time.

 

Companies demand 100% loyalty and dedication to them and in return what do the workers get? Nothing. The demand over time at night and on weekends- they don't care about you, they don't care about your family. If you buy it from over work you get a "hey sorry about that" from the company and they hang out the "Help Wanted" sign again. Why do you think Japanese companies hire straight out of college? Why do you think they won't hire married women and kick women out as soon as they're married or pregnant? Because they want to be able to do with their employees what ever they please. Including making them work unpaid overtime, which is blatantly illegal and politicians have been promising to stop it but they never will.

I don't blame anyone who doesn't want to be an office worker.

Sincerely,
Those who can see things clearly and don't waste time & taxpayers money forming idiotic task forces to investigate things that are stupidly obvious and moreover have no intention nor power to change in the first place

 

Agree. Like so many things here in Japan, this is all about appearances/process, and not at all to do with actual results.
By forming a committee you can fool yourself and the public into believing you are actually addressing the problem. That, like so many other things here, will never change.
I also agree with the sentiment expressed by others that even if J-guys could leave work at a decent time, with the assurance that there would be no reprecussions on their career, they would still choose to stay and work, or go out drinking. It seems to be that long hours is considered "manly" here.
Also, one should remember that in this society "who" you are, and "what" you are are completely linked for salarymen. Their work identity -- what company, how long, what position -- defines who they are as a person, since they generally don't have religious, family, hobbies or social things that define them. And, personally, I think that is tragic.
But, as someone much smarter than me once said: "There are two types of people in this world -- those that live to work, and those that work to live." The Japanese pendulum is clearly stuck on the first part of that expression.

 

You're all calling it correctly... this is how it is and the similarities
are the same as my experiences.
jerseyboy and Jim are also on the mark. Living to work is what it's supposed to be about.
As I stare right this second at that the sad sight of my Japanese superior it's quite clear.
Head down, bum up, eyes six inches above the papers, muttering and writing. He'll be like this until 8:00 at least.

Here's man with no social skills, can only open up when he's half shot and then
it's not worth hearing, usually a garbled ramble on 'friendship, the important things in life.'
Pray do tell...? Basically a nice guy but a regular sad-sack with a life to match. I often wonder; 'doesn't this guy have any dreams?'

Nothing's going to change much anytime soon...

 

It's crazy. At my workplace the robots were up in arms last week. Management decreed that all workers had to evacuate the premises by 9pm.They all want to stay much longer, thus the protests. BUT all overtime is UNPAID!!! As over posters have said, they do FA all day and start to "work" around 5pm! I just find it amusing but however sad.

 

Only a social revolution will change anything. That is very unlikely as it seems Japanese self-esteem, as a Japanese person, is predicated on being at work late. i.e. If we go home like those westerners and other foreigners at 5:00, we will be lowering ourselves to their undedicated, tainted ways.
This is despite the fact that numerous studies show that time does not necessarily equal efficiency or quality of work. Only a revolution will change things, but it won't happen. People's bellies are too full to revolt. It's easier just to go along with everyone else.

 

I know one household name company here in Tokyo that turns the office lights down bang on 6.30pm.

They actually want their staff to go home early and get a life.

Good call.

 

I know one household name company here in Tokyo that turns the office lights down bang on 6.30pm.

Be interesting to see if that change corresponded to an increase in maternity leave...

 

6:30 is not exactly the height of liberation, in my opinion.

 

It has been proven time and time again that you work more efficiently in the morning when you are fresh and less and less efficiently as the day progresses and your body winds down for sleep. The perception of time is also different, in the evening time appears to pass more quickly, so 4 hours overtime feels much shorter.

People who work late come in late, they are creating the impression of being busy but actually they are wasting the best time of the day.

I used to work at a Japanese company as a regular freelancer, when they stopped paying overtime it took about 2 months for the regular employees to stop coming in at the weekends, after that there was only me and the other freelance guy working weekends because we were paid by the piece, not the hour.

One way to stop "overtime" is to switch the airconditioning off at the weekends and in the evenings during the summer, and to stop providing free meals for people working late. Half the time they are just hanging around to save on their own daily expenses.

 

One way to stop "overtime" is to switch the airconditioning off at the weekends and in the evenings during the summer, and to stop providing free meals for people working late. Half the time they are just hanging around to save on their own daily expenses.

I hate those AC thiefs; they put the con in aircon.

 

Nessie- When I hear aircon I think of JAL.

 

People who work late come in late, they are creating the impression of being busy but actually they are wasting the best time of the day.

That depends on what you mean by "waste."

This is why I make a point of coming into work as soon after an international trip as possible: If I'm going to be zombied out with jet lag, I'd rather it be on the company's dime. And they appreciate my dedication. The sweetest things in life are complementary dysfunctionalities.

 

Heh heh