Working Conditions
Working conditions vary from firm to firm. On average, employees worked a forty-six-hour week in 1987; employees of most large corporations worked a modified five-day week with two Saturdays a month, while those in most small firms worked as much as six days each week. In the face of mounting international criticism of excessive working hours in Japan, in January 1989 public agencies began closing two Saturdays a month. Labor unions made reduced working hours an important part of their demands, and many larger firms responded in a positive manner. Japanese working hours have been gradually decreasing. In 1986 the average employee worked 2,097 hours in Japan, compared with 1,828 hours in the United States and 1,702 in France. By 1995 the average annual hours in Japan had decreased to 1,884 hours and by 2009 to 1,714 hours. The average Japanese worker is entitled to fifteen days of paid vacation a year but usually takes only seven days.
Read more about this topic: Japanese Work Environment
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