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Working nights and weekends

Petaris

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3 Aug 2007
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Hi all,

Sorry for all the posts!

I've seen a lot of posts mentioning having to work late and sometimes on weekends. I have seen this mostly related to IT jobs but I know it can affect other jobs as well as my wife often had to do so and she was in accounting. My question is this, is it mandatory and does it occur in certain jobs more then others? I ask as I am a family man and I want to be able to spend time with my wife and kids (when we have them). Normally I wouldn't think that would be too much to ask but this is a different country and I know that things are different in Japan.

Thanks for any helpful comments! :)
 
Teaching jobs often require work on the weekends.

For non-teaching jobs you are going to have to go with the flow or not keep the job. Having a desire to be with your family rates second or third in Japanese priorities. Many fathers live in different cities from their families. Many kids grow up not even seeing Dad most of the time even if they live at home.
 
Working 10-12 hours a day and some weekends is not uncommon at Japanese companies.
Foreign-owned companies are a little different however, but that depends on who's actually in charge.

But as Glenski said, family life, the idea of being home at a reasonable hour to be with your family and live your life, this concept is all but foreign to the Japanese. That being said, many Japanese would love to have the ability to lead a normal family life but to put it simply if you want to keep your job you have to be willing to bend over backwards, sideways, basically bend over a lot.

The idea is that you work hard until you're in your 40's and 50's then you're given a lot of compensation for those hard years you worked. But as the economy is not doing well many Japanese are disillusioned with this paradigm.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. :)

I guess that is kind of what I was expecting to hear though I hoped otherwise. :(

bakakanadajin,

You said that foreign companies are sometimes different? Would it be less likely to occur because of the non-Japanese roots?

Glenski,

Thanks for responding and for responding to my post on GaijinPot too. :) It seems like a sad thing for a kid to grow up without their dad. I would think that would make the kid (if male) think that is what he should do when he grows up to. Kind of forms a cycle and not a good one. :(

Thanks again guys! :)
 
While it is true that there are people who have to work until late and on weekends as well, you should not think that it is a norm for everyone working in Japan.
It really depends on the company and depends on the industry.
In Tokyo where I've been living/working, trains are very much crowded around 6:00pm with people going home from work, that means there are many people who do not work so late (though I admit that I often leave office for home around 7pm or later).. ;-)
 
Working 10-12 hours a day and some weekends is not uncommon at Japanese companies.

I call a 12 hour workday "finishing early". And I fully expect to work practically every Saturday. Six day weeks are still the norm for lots of Japanese companies.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. :)

I guess that is kind of what I was expecting to hear though I hoped otherwise. :(

bakakanadajin,

You said that foreign companies are sometimes different? Would it be less likely to occur because of the non-Japanese roots?

Yes, or because whoever's in charge is foreign. It really depends on who's in charge. Some foreign companies are, while foreign, still obviously run by Japanese people. To that degree they're more like Japanese companies. To use a crude analogy, service at McDonald's here is quite different from back home. Even if your boss is foreign and seems cool, he may have some old-school Japanese salary man breathing down his neck so he'll be twice as hard on you as a Japanese person might have been. He is after all in charge of 'keeping his own kind in line'. It's an interesting dynamic over here. I'm just a language teacher mind you so I speak mostly of 2nd hand information. But you can be assured that as Mike Cash pointed out, foreigners are expected to work just as hard as the Japanese if not a little harder.
 
Thanks for the response undretide. Its good to know that there is at least a possibility of finding a job where I wouldn't have too much overtime.

While it is true that there are people who have to work until late and on weekends as well, you should not think that it is a norm for everyone working in Japan.
It really depends on the company and depends on the industry.
In Tokyo where I've been living/working, trains are very much crowded around 6:00pm with people going home from work, that means there are many people who do not work so late (though I admit that I often leave office for home around 7pm or later).. ;-)
 
I'm not talking about not wanting to work hard. I just meant that I would like a job that doesn't have too much overtime. I have a family and I want to be able to spend time with them. The occasional overtime is fine as is the occasional weekend but I wouldn't want it to be every night and every weekend.


On a related topic, I know from my wife that overtime is paid at a higher rate (though not as high as in the US) but wouldn't it be cheaper (and make more sense) to hire more employees if you have such a workload that nearly every employee has to work overtime constantly just to keep up with the work? Or is it that the employees just aren't very productive? Or they need the overtime to make ends meet? Not trying to bash Japanese companies or culture, just wondering why there is a need for so much overtime? Maybe you guys could give your opinion on this? :?

Thanks,

Yes, or because whoever's in charge is foreign. It really depends on who's in charge. Some foreign companies are, while foreign, still obviously run by Japanese people. To that degree they're more like Japanese companies. To use a crude analogy, service at McDonald's here is quite different from back home. Even if your boss is foreign and seems cool, he may have some old-school Japanese salary man breathing down his neck so he'll be twice as hard on you as a Japanese person might have been. He is after all in charge of 'keeping his own kind in line'. It's an interesting dynamic over here. I'm just a language teacher mind you so I speak mostly of 2nd hand information. But you can be assured that as Mike Cash pointed out, foreigners are expected to work just as hard as the Japanese if not a little harder.
 
To sum it up, when the boss goes home everyone else gets to go home.

It's simply a part of the culture in the same way getting out the door by 5:00.01pm is in the West.
 
I'm not talking about not wanting to work hard. I just meant that I would like a job that doesn't have too much overtime. I have a family and I want to be able to spend time with them. The occasional overtime is fine as is the occasional weekend but I wouldn't want it to be every night and every weekend.
On a related topic, I know from my wife that overtime is paid at a higher rate (though not as high as in the US) but wouldn't it be cheaper (and make more sense) to hire more employees if you have such a workload that nearly every employee has to work overtime constantly just to keep up with the work? Or is it that the employees just aren't very productive?
Two reasons why that doesn't work.

1. Many companies just expect employees to stay late, and they don't get billed for OT pay. If the boss is too stubborn to leave, employees feel guilty leaving before him, even if all they do is LOOK busy or read comics.

2. Cheaper to hire other people? No, because you'd have to pay their full salaries, plus benefits and insurance, sometimes housing, not just the OT pay.

Not trying to bash Japanese companies or culture, just wondering why there is a need for so much overtime? Maybe you guys could give your opinion on this? :?
Thanks,
Aside from my example above (#1), I have found a lot of inefficiency in the way Japanese work. Thus the actual need, sometimes, to work after 5pm.
 
Thanks for the info Glenski. That is interesting.

Two reasons why that doesn't work.
1. Many companies just expect employees to stay late, and they don't get billed for OT pay. If the boss is too stubborn to leave, employees feel guilty leaving before him, even if all they do is LOOK busy or read comics.
2. Cheaper to hire other people? No, because you'd have to pay their full salaries, plus benefits and insurance, sometimes housing, not just the OT pay.
Aside from my example above (#1), I have found a lot of inefficiency in the way Japanese work. Thus the actual need, sometimes, to work after 5pm.
 
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