The Japanese Way of Working Seen in a JILPT Survey

This issue of the Japan Labor Flash introduces the interesting results of a "(1st-round) Survey on the Working Life of the Japanese amidst the Diversification of Employment Patterns" published at the end of March by the Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training. The survey was carried out in August and September 2005, addressed to 8,000 persons across the country, aged 20 or older but under 65. Effective answers were returned by 4,939 persons (effective rate of return, 61.7%).

The survey finds that approximately 40 percent of the persons surveyed are content with their current jobs: a large proportion of the executives and employers surveyed are satisfied specifically with their income levels and the nature of their jobs; regular employees with income stability; and non-regular employees with working hours, holidays and days-off. These findings are in some ways quite natural, in that they are consistent with the reasons for choosing particular jobs: majority among regular employees choose "stable income," "working as regular employee," and "stable employment"; among non-regular employees "to supplement household income," "to work when it is convenient," and "commuting time is short"; and among executives and employers "to take advantage of own professional qualifications, etc.," "to engage in the job I really want to do," and "not be bound by any organization."

Asked about their ideal way of working in the coming five years or so, about 70 percent of the regular employees surveyed replied that they wish to continue working as in the current company. On the other hand, among part-timers and dispatched workers, a rather high proportion, some 20 percent, replied that they would like to work in a different way at a different company: this suggests that they are not satisfied with their current treatment.

Where ability and knowledge useful for work are concerned, about 80 percent of the persons surveyed feel that they would like to improve, while about half say that they actually make efforts to do so in everyday life. Among matters which make it difficult to acquire such abilities and knowledge, a majority (30.3%) say that they do not have time because they are too busy with work. As this shows, quite a few workers are fairly enthusiastic about their work.

On the other hand, while about 70 percent of non-regular employees are satisfied with their current working hours, about half the regular employees would like shorter working hours, which is consistent with the fact that some 70 percent of the regular employees, executives and employers strongly feel that there are some work-related worries and sources of stress.

As for the age until which they wish to continue taking jobs which generate income, a large proportion of the regular and non-regular employees replied "early 60s" while executives and employers replied "the latter half of the 60s."
We pause to realize that all the findings were quite reasonable.