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Government survey finds teleworking at least once per week raises Japanese worker happiness level

Krista Rogers
Oct 26, 2022
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On the flip side, the number of mental health illnesses diagnosed that are attributed to work-related stress also continues to rise.

Japan
(happiness • karoshi • Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare • overwork • remote work • report • survey • telecommuting • work from home)

Japanese government mulling over potential four-day working week

Katie Pask
Apr 7, 2021

Three-day weekend every week? Yes please!!

Japan
(COK • four-day workweek • government • overtime • overwork • society • three-day weekend • work • working • working in Japan)

Japanese overtime work culture captured in new dice collection

Oona McGee
Nov 20, 2020

Roll the dice with employees apologising in the windows of office tower blocks late at night.

Japan
(clever • cool • design • dice • Japanese jobs • Japanese office • Japanese salaryman • japanese work culture • offices • overtime • overwork • Tokyo • work in Japan)

Woman sues Tokyo company after having to work 48 days in a row with limited bathroom breaks

SoraNews24
Sep 21, 2020

Labor Standards Office recognizes treatment as workplace psychological injury.

Japan
(COK • mental health • overtime • overwork • society • working in Japan)

Japan’s “workstyle reforms” are actually making managers’ jobs a lot harder【Survey】

Casey Baseel
Feb 10, 2020

Less overtime for some workers means more for others if no one’s changing how much total work needs to be done.

Japan
(business • COK • overtime • overwork • society • working in Japan)

Overworked Japan celebrated Labor Day on a Saturday this year

Casey Baseel
Nov 26, 2019

Enjoy your day off…which you would have had anyway!

Japan
(COK • holidays • overwork • society • working in Japan)

How many hours a month do anime artists work in Japan? Survey finds crazy number, unhappy workers

Casey Baseel
Nov 14, 2019

“Just what was it that I ever liked about anime?” wonders unsatisfied female artist.

Japan
(anime • COK • overwork • society • survey • working in Japan)

Overworked Japanese employees mourn unused paid holidays at new Buddhist memorial service

Oona McGee
Nov 1, 2019

Workaholics asked to address this senseless loss in a country where taking paid leave is frowned upon.

Japan
(holidays • karoshi • karoushi • overwork • paid holiday • religion • salarymen • society • strange • temples • work • working in Japan)

Workers’ mental health more important than 2 million yen as ramen chain closes for New Year’s

Casey Baseel
Dec 31, 2018

500-restaurant chain closes all branches to give employees’ time to spend with families at New Year’s.

Japan
(culture • food • moving • New Year's • overwork • ramen • restaurants • society • touching • working in Japan)

Japanese government’s newest plan to fight overwork: Give employees Monday morning off

Casey Baseel
Aug 2, 2018

Shining Monday initiative sounds great for anyone who likes to party on Sunday night, or just would rather not be working on Monday morning.

Japan
(COK • Japanese Government • overtime • overwork • Premium Friday • Shining Monday • society • working in Japan)

Vending machines in Tokyo Station not getting restocked, exploitative “black company” to blame

Koh Ruide
Apr 21, 2018

Employees go on landmark strike to tackle unpaid overtime, receive overwhelming support from netizens.

Japan
(beverage • black business • labor law • overwork • strike • vending machine)

“The one and only way to make people in Japan take more vacation time”

Casey Baseel
Jan 10, 2018

Our veteran salaryman-turned-reporter gives his idea for the one thing that has to change before Japan will stop working itself to death.

Japan
(business • COK • economy • overwork • P.K. Sanjun • salarymen • SNOJ • society • working in Japan)

Overworked Japanese monk cured by the power of online gaming

Richard Simmonds
Jul 9, 2017

Online warrior monk gets his real-life HP restored.

Japan
(karoshi • monk • online gaming • overwork • stress • video games)

Up to 40 percent of Japanese men can’t sleep because of work

Andrew Kane
Nov 19, 2016

A new survey reveals that a startling number of Japanese workers are literally losing sleep over their stressful jobs.

Japan
(health • insomnia • overwork • salarymen)

“My dad is less useful than our Roomba”—Japanese 5th-grader’s brutal honesty on family in Japan

Scott Wilson
May 5, 2016

If your child has a better relationship with the robotic vacuum cleaner than with you, then you might have a problem.

Culture, Japan
(overwork • Roomba • sad • work • work-life balance • working in Japan)

Commercial reminds Japan’s tired commuters about the drawbacks of living far away from work

Michelle Lynn Dinh
Dec 18, 2014

Mouth agape, eyes rolled back, head bobbing – when home is an hour or more away and work continues late into the night, the only place for many Japanese office workers to lay their weary head is against a train car window. This phenomenon is not unique to Japan, but the combination of overwork and limited affordable housing in big cities like Tokyo give rise to crowds of sleepy commuters just trying to get to their futon. If you have never witness the varied sleeping positions of Japan’s overworked commuters, take a look at the following video created by real estate website HOME’S.

Internet, Japan
(culture • overwork • video • working)

A Chinese bank regulator died from working overtime — And officials applauded his dedication

BUSINESS INSIDER
Jul 3, 2014

The Chinese Banking Regulatory Commission Management Committee confirmed this month that one of its staff, Li Jianhua, died of being overworked on April 23 — and has suggested that his fatal devotion to his job is a model for other Chinese workers.

China
(death by overwork • overwork • Pull Partners)

Survey shows Japanese workers least likely to take vacation time, most likely to hate their job

Scott R Dixon
Dec 13, 2013

With the abundance of public holidays and an average of 18 vacation days per year, the stereotype of the overworked and exhausted Japanese worker may seem like a relic of the past. But a recent survey by Expedia Japan comparing the vacation schedules of 24 countries proves yet again that the stereotype is alive and well.

For the sixth year in a row, Japan came in dead last as workers are only taking an average of 39% of their annual paid leave. And perhaps unsurprisingly, Japan ranked last in worker satisfaction.