Japanese Workers.

This part of the blog is in response to a question by Jan Presnell about Japanese worker's holidays and I thought others who read the blog may also be interested.
As a rule, Japanese people only get one week's annual leave and it is not unusual for them not to take it if they are feeling under pressure at work. But unlike us their leave is not cumulative. If they don't take the week, they lose it!!
Teachers only get 10 days leave per year. They spend school holidays running clubs for students like Sporting clubs such as Baseball, Volleyball etc or doing Band practice with the school brass band or other school related tasks. If teachers do not come to school during the term breaks, they do not get paid!!
Japanese workers do however get more public holidays than us and workers on full time contracts are paid bonuses twice a year. This includes teachers! The bonuses are taxed but are the equivalent of two payments each to the value of 2 months wages!! Not bad is it??
Japanese workers think we get a good deal getting 3 months long service after 15 years. After 15 years with a company or in a teaching position, Japanese workers will have recieved the equivalent of 60 months wages in bonus payments!! It would be nice to get 2 months pay around Christmas time or in the middle of the year, wouldn't it??
Mind you, I think I'd take the holidays we get in preference to the Japanese bonuses, but they do not do too badly, especially as teacher's wages are higher than ours in Australia.
There is also no emergency teaching provision for teachers in the Japanese system. If a teacher is away, classes are split or Assistant Principals take the class. As absenteeism is inconvenient to other staff, teacher absenteeism is a rare occurrence.
The work ethic is very different to Australia and loyalty to the company, the boss and the job is very high.
People are amazed that at 56 I have retired and really have no driving urge to work. For them work seems to almost be their reason to exist, hence the need to never be absent and to forgo holidays if they feel the job requires their presence.
I have made friends, through swimming, with a manager of an oil distribution company in Shunan. He and his wife are learning English and I have started socialising with them a bit to help them with their English and to broaden my experiences of Japanese life.
He was telling me today about the pressure he is under and the stress it is causing him. He is quite well off, having a house in Shunan and one Hiroshima. He is 68 years old and I'm sure he doesn't need to work for financial reasons, but he will probably continue to work into his 70's. It is a very different mind set to Australia and although the Japanese people I have met often profess to envy my lifestyle, I do not believe any of them would trade places with me. They would be lost without their job.
Interesting isn't it? One of the many cultural differences I find absolutely intriguing. Hope you enjoy reading about it too.