Re: work times & accommodation @tokyo, WAS: Re: [tlug] Embedded linux dev wanting to find work in Tokyo.. Seeking advice.

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

Edward Middleton writes:

 > Alternatively work for a Japanese company with a predominantly young 
 > workforce and don't accept this sort of poisonous corporate 
 > environment.

There are enough such jobs to keep gaijin happy, but the story about
the young man whose mother encouraged him to play pachinko because he
was getting home too early and the neighbors were talking is no joke.
It's not just a matter of the workers' own preferences.

 > In the 7 years I have worked for a Japanese company I have never
 > been expected to work for free.  There have been situations where
 > overtime was necessary but it has always been paid at a premium.
 > Most of my colleagues have families and have time to pursue
 > hobbies.  I don't know what the situation is in most Japanese
 > companies, does anyone have concrete data?

Well, the best I can do is to point out that the U.S. and Japan lead
the world (as of 1998 or so, I haven't looked at the most recent
survey) with nearly 2100 hours/year reported paid time on job, but the
Japanese statistics do not count time spent on mandatory company
functions like drinking with the boss for sarariman and after hours
facility maintenance for line workers (at the export-oriented
manufacturers they customarily punch out if their work is maintenance,
not direct production), and they average 45 min a day more commute
time.  Historically such figures are quite stable, so I don't know if
the decade since 1998 would make a big difference.

Also, you should be aware that software engineering and finance were
targets of special studies and directives by Roadshow (Min of Labor)
in the '90s.  The basic tenor was the that development of a "free
agent" labor market was undesirable in general but necessary because
of special circumstances in those markets, and companies should
refrain from enabling labor mobility unless absolutely necessary.  So
as a software engineer, you're in a relatively pampered sector.

I think I've heard studies that show Japanese salaried workers are
spending more time away from work, but these trends coincide with
rather adverse economic trends.  Ie, they might be demand-driven by
employers, rather than "free" choices of the workers themselves.