Mayumi Watanabe: Long Working Hours Are Complex

2018/10/29

Many people in Japan today suffer from long working hours. Long working hours damage the physical and mental health of workers and limit the careers of those who cannot work long hours. At my previous workplace, the normalization of long working hours was also seen as a problem. My colleagues all said it was "tough," and the head of the department struggled to reduce overtime. However, there was no sign of long working hours decreasing at all.

Looking closely, it seemed that even for the same overtime work, the reasons differed from person to person. While some were working overtime desperately because they couldn't keep up with the workload, others seemed to be working overtime simply because they wanted to be there. While some said, "It's unthinkable to go home on time if you're doing a proper job," there were new employees who were too intimidated by those seniors to go home. I realized that "working hours" are not determined by the amount of work alone. Each person has their own thoughts and views on work, which are reflected in their working hours. Moreover, it is influenced not only by individual ability but also significantly by relationships with surrounding people and the atmosphere of the department. It's complex, I thought. Most people working overtime probably don't clearly understand why they are doing it themselves. Unless this complexity is unraveled, long working hours cannot be reduced, and even if they were, dissatisfaction would only grow. I am currently struggling every day to somehow express this complexity of long working hours in numerical terms.

The results of two surveys showed that the reasons for overtime were diverse, including heavy workload, peer pressure, overtime pay, enjoyment of work, and the desire for self-growth. Furthermore, those with particularly long working hours were divided into those doing involuntary overtime due to heavy workload or peer pressure, and those doing voluntary overtime for the sake of work enjoyment or self-growth. Despite having almost the same working hours, these two groups differed significantly in terms of mental health issues and work motivation. This means that even within the same department, the reasons for overtime vary by individual, and the impacts and effective measures against long working hours are likely to differ as well.

I myself sometimes work overtime. On such days, I head home with a slight sense of accomplishment and fatigue. I sometimes wonder myself why I worked overtime.