The Japan Labor Flash No.65
Email Journal July 17, 2006
Statistical Reports
Recent Statistical Survey Reports
Current Topics
Less Than 20% of Wives Combine Work and Child-Rearing During the
First Five Years of Their Marriage
When Selecting Companies to Work for, New Recruits Attach Importance
to Whether They Can Make Good Use of Their Abilities
Labor Union Established in Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan
Public Policies
Estimated Population of Teleworkers in 2005 Totals 25.21 Million
Acceptance of "Highly Skilled Human Resources" from Abroad Encouraged
19,000 Calls Made to Telephone Counseling Services by Workers with
Psychological Problems
News Clippings
Marubeni Adopts a Child-Care Leave of Two Years for Male Workers
even if Their Spouses are Full-Time Housewives
JR Tokai Gives up Reducing Basic Pay of Older Employees
Special Issue
Exhausted Office Workers
Statistical Reports
-Recent Statistical Survey Reports June 2006-
Features
Basic Survey on Human Resource Development (FY2005)
Basic Survey on Citizen's Life (2005)
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/estatis/esaikin/2006/e2006-06.htm
Current Topics
-Less Than 20% of Wives Combine Work and Child-Rearing During the
First Five Years of Their Marriage-
On June 27, the National Institute of Population and Social Security
Research published the results of the "13th Basic Survey of Childbirth
Trends - Nationwide Survey on Marriage and Childbirth."
The survey found that the trend of marrying late was intensified
by the rise in the age of both husbands and wives when they first
met and prolonged courtships. With regard to how married couples first
met, workplaces or work-related relationships, which had been the most
common in previous surveys, now accounted for less than 30 percent,
while the proportion of those who met each other via friends,
acquaintances, brothers or sisters exceeded 30 percent. The proportion
of wives rearing a child (or children) and working at the same time,
among those who had been married for less than five years, was 18.6
percent, while the proportion of those who took care of children while
working as regular employees was 11.0 percent. The survey showed that,
although a high proportion of regular employees took child-care leave,
the proportion was greater among workers in larger enterprises, with
increased gaps depending on the size of firms.
-When Selecting Companies to Work for, New Recruits Attach Importance
to Whether They Can Make Good Use of Their Abilities-
In June, the Japan Productivity Center for Socio-Economic Development
and the Junior Executive Council of Japan published the results of a
"Survey of Outlooks on Working Life" addressed to approximately
4,000
new recruits joining companies this year. The survey showed that, when
selecting companies to work for, the largest proportion of new recruits
surveyed focused on reasons related to personal ability, skills and
interest, e.g. "because I can make use of my abilities" (30.2%)
and
"because the work is interesting" (21.6%). On the other hand,
a smaller
proportion cited reasons related to the companies, e.g. "future
prospects of the company" (7.4%); "good management" (4.3%);
and "it's
a leading company" (4.3%). The Center and the Council in charge of
the survey explained that the results are a reflection of the recent
waning of the life-long employment system.
-Labor Union Established in Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan-
According to Kyodo News, on June 22, shop managers and employees of
Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan Ltd. established a labor union for the
first time in the company's history. Last month in the same industry,
employees at McDonald's Co. Japan established a labor union.
Public Policies
-Estimated Population of Teleworkers in 2005 Totals 25.21 Million-
In June, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport published
the results of its estimate of the number of "teleworkers" in
2005.
The proportion of workers who engage in telework for eight hours or
more per week was 10.4 percent, an increase from 6.1 percent in the
previous survey in 2002. At the same time, the proportion of workers
engaging in telework for less than eight hours per week increased from
9.5% in the previous survey to 28.5 percent. Accordingly, the Mministry
estimates the number of teleworkers in 2005 at 25.21 million (18.47
million working less than eight hours, and 6.74 million working eight
hours or longer).
-Acceptance of "Highly Skilled Human Resources" from Abroad
Encouraged-
In June, a project team of the Vice Ministers' Council published a
summary of its views on the acceptance of foreign workers. The Ccouncil
proposed that the acceptance of "highly skilled human resources"
- in
particular, able foreign workers among those classified as specialized
or technical workers - should be encouraged. It also gave its basic views
on the acceptance or otherwise of workers other than those in specialized
or technical fields; it also urged that the job opportunities for Japanese
workers in such fields should not be harmed, and that the social cost
involved in the settlement of overseas workers should be reduced.
-19,000 Calls Made to Telephone Counseling Services by Workers with
Psychological Problems-
On June 27, the Japan Labour, Health and Welfare Organization, an
independent administrative agency, reported the number of calls (and
the nature of problems involved) made in fiscal year 2005 to telephone
counseling services for workers provided by 20 hospitals across the
country specializing in industrial accidents.
The number of calls which workers themselves or their family members
made to the counseling services totaled 19,178, an increase of 17.0
percent from the previous fiscal year. By age, persons in their 30s
accounted for the largest proportion (19.9 percent), followed by
those in their 40s (19.5%), and those in their 50s (12.5%).
Regarding types of workplace problems reported, 1,685 cases
pertained to relations with superiors. As for psychological problems,
on the other hand, the largest number, 6,125 callers, complained of
feelings of insecurity about the future, followed by complaints
about anxiety (4,745 calls) and complaints about irritability (4,234
calls). With regard to physical problems, the largest proportion,
1,971 callers, complained of insomnia, followed by "get tired easily"
(1,181 calls) and "chronic fatigue" (1,054 calls). The number
of
calls related to suicidal thoughts totaled 599.
News Clippings
-Marubeni Adopts a Child-Care Leave of Two Years for Male Workers
even if Their Spouses are Full-Time Housewives-
Marubeni Corporation announced that from July 1, it would step up
its child- and family-care programs for approximately 3,600 employees
working in Japan and abroad.
Male employees are now able to take child-care leave for two years,
even if their spouses are full-time housewives. The company has also
adopted a program - a rarity among Japanese companies - to allow its
employees to take a leave of absence in order to accompany their
spouses who are to be relocated overseas.
Furthermore, the company has just established special holidays for
employees to attend childbirth or take care of family members, and a
paid-holiday program (for a maximum of five days per year) for child-
and family-care needs. Through such steps, it aims at both improving
the work environment so that women can work without worries and at
encouraging men to participate in child-rearing.
(Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun, June)
-JR Tokai Gives up Reducing Basic Pay of Older Employees-
The Central Japan Railway Company (JR Tokai) has announced that in
July it will abolish the system whereby the basic pay of workers aged
55 and older was cut by 15 percent. Now that the falling birthrate and
the graying of the population, together with the coming mass retirement
of baby-boomers, are making the securing of human resources a crucial
task for the company, it aims to further encourage experienced employees,
vitalize the work environment, and see that skills and knowledge are
passed on smoothly.
Employees aged 55 or older totaled 4,600, accounting for just over
20 percent of all employees. The system of cutting 15 percent of their
basic pay was introduced in 1990.
The recent abolishment of the system was in line with personnel and
wage reform within the company, which will also adopt a full-fledged
grade-skipping wage system, and revise the retirement allowance system
so as to give bigger allowances to those who have been promoted more
quickly.
(Nihon Keizai Shimbun, June)
Special Issue
-Exhausted Office Workers-
The organizing body of the "Forum for Health with Soy Peptide,"
an
internet-based forum, carried out an online survey targeted at 1,032
men and women in their 30s or 40s, married, and working in Tokyo,
Osaka or other large cities: the results are suggestive.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2003/no.65/65_si.html
