First, the background of Japanese overtime culture
Overtime is a common occurrence for Japanese. First look at Japan's national conditions. From the chaotic period and revival period after the war, through the period of rapid economic growth and two oil crises, and then to the expansion and bursting of the bubble economy, in these long decades, the changes in the number of Japanese enterprises and employees have also been affected by the economic form. After the bubble economy burst, the number of Japanese enterprises decreased for the first time after the war, from 19 1 to 1996+0. The number of employees kept increasing before 1996, and decreased for the first time from 1996 to 200 1. The number of enterprises and employees in Japan is in short supply. Although the number of employees has decreased after 1996, the market competition is still fierce. In addition, the phenomenon of declining birthrate and aging in Japanese society has also caused the shortage of positions and the difficulty of promotion. Under such circumstances, it is understandable that the Japanese work hard and work overtime. Secondly, Japan's overtime culture is also determined by its economic situation. Japan is in an era of low economic growth, and the increase in working income is very limited anyway. Finally, Japan's overtime culture also depends on Japanese labor consciousness. "Japanese are hardworking"-this evaluation has been recognized internationally with the continuous development of Japanese economy. Some people think that for the Japanese, the main purpose of work is not to reap benefits, but to find self-worth from work. Critic Yamamoto Kaiping said: "The hard work of the Japanese is actually what Buddhism calls practicing Buddhism. Economic interests are endowed with religious motives, and as a result, they become labor without selfish desires, and the profits obtained through labor can be recognized by all. In modern enterprise activities, this spirit of hard work still exists, which is also an explanation for the Japanese's hard work. Therefore, the Japanese people's labor consciousness and economic remuneration and labor time and value should be equal, and the European and American people's labor consciousness is very different. It is said that on the one hand, this difference has created enterprise management based on contract society; On the other hand, it has produced a unique so-called Japanese operation. " Of course, Japanese people's labor consciousness is different from that of China people.
Second, the reasons for the formation of Japanese overtime culture
The reasons for the formation of overtime culture in Japan are objective and subjective.
1. Look at its objective reasons first. I think the objective reasons should be divided into three points:
(1) Japanese people have a strong sense of community, which is also a more fundamental reason. Group consciousness can be said to be the most distinctive national character of the Japanese. In Japanese group consciousness, internal and external differences are an important psychological feature. Within groups and acquaintances, the Japanese pay attention to "harmony", comprehensive etiquette and consideration for others. They are modest and polite to the members of the group, but they become bold and rude to people and things outside the group or without acquaintances. So the Japanese emphasize a sense of belonging. They like to belong to a social group and enjoy being with members of this social group. They always feel that going it alone won't achieve much. To use a metaphor, the Japanese are like bees. Personally, they are not necessarily excellent. However, once they form a small group, tacit cooperation can bring them great strength. It is not difficult to imagine why the Japanese prefer to work overtime, because overtime not only satisfies their group desires, but also brings benefits to their enterprises. (2) Overtime has become an unconscious inertia, which is what the author calls "overtime culture". Some people simply can't explain why they work overtime. Maybe it's just inertia, just like eating every day, it has become a compulsory course. Many people are trained to work overtime by their bosses as soon as they step into their jobs. Of course, there may be other reasons, day after day, year after year, so that they are not used to not working overtime in the future. For these people, they are used to putting off work for an hour or more. (3) Social reasons. Japanese men who come home from work on time will be looked down upon by their wives or neighbors. Neighbors will think that this man is incompetent, and the wife will worry that her husband is not valued by the boss in the company. This is the environment created by the whole society. Sometimes even if there is really nothing to leave work early, men will not go home, but go to the pub on the street for a drink and wander around until nine or ten o'clock.
2. Japanese often work overtime and like the subjective factors of overtime.
(1) is determined by its own personality. Japanese people are cautious and conscientious. It may only take an hour for China people to do the same thing, but it may take a day for Japanese people. As for the quality of work, it may be much better. (2) Low working efficiency. Many people work overtime because of job burnout, or because their work enthusiasm is not high, which leads to longer working hours. The author thinks that most overtime workers in Japan work overtime for this reason. It was tiring to work overtime on the first day, and then I worked overtime the next day. Every day, of course, the more work is delayed, the longer the time is delayed, and the more the body is delayed, which has become a vicious circle. (3) Self-pressurization. In big cities like Tokyo and Osaka, the competition in the workplace is more intense. In the face of competition and opportunities, everyone hopes to stand out and get ahead one day. Due to this strong desire for self-realization, quite a few people are in an overloaded state. (4) Earn overtime pay or please the boss. It can be divided into three situations: ① This situation is more common in some enterprises with higher overtime pay. Who doesn't want to make money? New employees, in particular, rely on youth and strength. Don't take overtime too seriously. In this case, the cost of overtime is very small, and there is no need to do anything real. Just sit there and pretend. The boss didn't go, and he didn't dare to go himself. He was afraid of leaving a bad impression on the boss and had to accompany him. Some Japanese employees will also deliberately sway in front of their bosses to let them see that they are working overtime. (5) inform. This is also often performed in some Japanese dramas. On the surface, the Japanese seem to be kind and friendly to everyone, but in fact they love to gossip in private. Some Japanese employees like to snitch on their bosses and report other people's behavior to cheer themselves up. But during working hours, it is not convenient for them to do so, because their colleagues are here, so they have to report to their boss after work on the pretext of working overtime.
Recently, business organizations such as the Japan Federation of Economic Organizations are calling on companies to make more flexible schedules to reduce overtime. They pointed out that Japan needs to end the corporate culture of working overtime, and corporate executives and the government need to take more actions to "drag" Japanese working-class people off their desks.
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