On Nov 30, 9:36 pm, cn72...@gmail.com wrote:
> I am working at a Tokyo office, and the attitude towards work here
> sickens me.
>
> WHY do people here think it appropriate to be working past 9 or 10
> PM ? I even got the last train home a few nights ago.
>
> I will quit after doing one year, but there are many Japanese staff at
> my company who have been working 14 hours days for years, and will do
> so until they retire (or maybe die of koroshi). Why do they accept it?
> If that was my permanent lot in life, I would suicide.
>
> Also, my company thinks it appropriate to house me 1.5 hours commute
> from the office. There are salarymen on my train every morning who are
> obviously doing 2+ hour commutes each way - any they accept it? It is
> not acceptable.
>
> Japanese people say they don't mind a long commute because they can
> catch up on some sleep, or reading etc. Well maybe it would be better
> to get an appropriate amount of sleep AT HOME, instead of sprawled out
> on a train with your mouth gaping open. I even see people trying to
> sleep standing up... maybe if they worked appropriate hours, such
> exhaustion would be avoided.
>
> It is beyond my comprehension how people can accept this sleep-commute-
> work-sleep-commute-work lifestyle, their only reprieve being the
> occasional holiday, where they can get on an organized tour bus and go
> to an overcrowded destination at peak holiday time.
>
> Why don't people go insane and rebel against the system??

I know many who do. You know, you don't HAVE to work that late. If
you've done all you need to do in that day, go home. If you still have
work to do, stay and do it. It's no different in the US; I've been in
jobs where I worked endless long days, and without overtime (as many
in Japan get which, incidentally, is one reason they work those long
days; don't let their 'dedication' fool you).

One of my oldest friends in Japan works for a prefectural government
office (not in Tokyo). His hobbies are rock climbing and ultimate
frisbee, among other thngs. He has ample free time to spend doing what
he loves, spends every evening with his family, and proudly leaves
home at 5:30 or so every day. He says he has been told that he has to
work longer hours but he doesn't. He knows he does his job well,
doesn't need the money from overtime, and would rather spend the time
with his family. It's a choice, just like anyplace else, despite what
the books/old men might tell you.

John W.