Japanese blue collar workers

Japanese Blue Collar Workers are not the stereotypical workers in Japan. In fact, many people do not even acknowledge or know that blue collar workers exist in Japan. The majority of stereotypes of workers in Japan refer to the white collar worker’s lifestyle. However, the blue collar worker (nihongo|Nikutai-rōdō-sha|肉体労働者 in Japanese) encompasses many different types of jobs, skilled and unskilled, including factory workers, construction workers, and agricultural workers. The blue collar worker not only exists, but may prove to be more a part of the Japanese society than the stereotypical white collar worker.

What constitutes a blue collar worker in Japan?

In the context of Japanese culture, the blue collar worker can be viewed in relation to its converse: the white-collar worker or the stereotypical Japanese “salaryman” (sarariman in Japanese). In Japanese culture, the salaryman is seen as someone whose goal is to be a successful businessman regardless of the impact on his family or on his own personal happiness; commitment and loyalties lie more with the company than the familyMatsumoto, David The New Japan: debunking seven cultural stereotypes. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, 2002] . The Japanese white-collar worker is generally University educated, while a blue-collar worker normally only has a high school diploma or has attended a trade or technical schoolRoberson, James E. (2003) Men and Masculinities in Contemporary Japan: Dislocating the Salaryman Doxa pgs. 129-130] . The Japanese blue-collar worker on average works 40 hours a week from 9am-5pm with occasional overtime work. The white-collar worker may work over 12 hours a day/60 hours a week and can spend the majority of his time working and commuting to work, as well as traveling for months at a time for his job. He rarely is able to have any time with family or friends and can be seen as absent in family lifeBurke] . Research shows that the amount of time a person is required to work can have a large impact on physical and psychological well-being. There are documented cases of karo-shi or a (death by overwork)Tamura, Takeshi.“The Development of Family Therapy Around the World” Ng The Family Journal.2005; 13: 35-42] and karojisatsu (suicide by overwork) in Japan. It is estimated that “more than 10,000 workers die annually owing to cerebral/cardio diseases caused by work overload.” Only a small percentage of these cases are that of blue-collar workers.

Family relationships

Unlike the traditional Japanese “salaryman”, Japanese blue collar workers enjoy the benefit of not having to be committed to a large company ideology. This allows blue collar workers to retain a certain kind of flexibility that a “salaryman” does not have access to. Blue collar workers can enjoy the freedom of not having their after-work time being infringed upon with pressures to socialize with co-workers and superiors over drinks and late-night meals, as well as a more understanding work environment in instances of emergencies, This flexibility and freedom facilitates more time at home with families, and in some cases allows workers to take care of family obligations (i.e. taking care of elderly parents).As previously stated, the amount of stress white-collar workers live under can and does cause major health problems, and in extreme cases death. Several studies analyzing stress levels of workers in Japan have shown that blue collar workers tend to show less signs of serious stress from overworking, allowing them to enjoy their home lives. With the support and love of a devoted family, blue collar workers tend to be more motivated when going back to work.Kanai, Watsuko and Wakabayashi Mitsuru. “Workaholism Among Japanese Blue-Collar Employees.” International Journal of Stress Management. April 04, 2001. Vol. 8, Issue 2. 129-145] This leaves the family structure of blue collar workers as a more unified and enjoyable relationship, that encourages parenting by not only mothers, but also fathers. Fathers, whether because of the amount of free time or lack of money, have been shown to spend more time with their children in their outside activities such as school clubs.Cole, Robert E. Japanese Blue-Collar; The Changing Tradition. Berkeley, University of California Press, 1971.] Surprisingly there do appear to be some outside activities and clubs, mostly related to the arts and music, that fathers do not approve of. Speculation as to where this disapproval comes from is that these clubs generally do not have any correlation with their father’s work, and therefore cause separation rather than a bonding affect.

Blue collar women tend to face a more troubling situation when it comes to their family lives. As is generally the case with women in Japan, whether it be by national ideology or social obligations, women are faced with the idea of being a “ryousai kenbou” meaning they focus on the domestic duties of a family ( i.e. cooking, cleaning, taking care of the kids etc.). By not working outside the home, women allow men to be the pillar of the household incomeRoberts, Glenda S. Staying on the Line: Blue-Collar Women in Contemporary Japan. United States: University of Hawaii Press, 1994.] . It is not uncommon for women to be required to ask their husbands permission to work, even if the money is needed in the household. Nevertheless, the working woman lifestyle only brings more responsibility because she is still expected to maintain all the domestic duties of cooking, cleaning and child rearing. Though the majority of these women are just “paato” workers, or part time workers, they can still be expected to work up to forty hour weeks. These long hours at work, commuting home, and then tackling the household duties places a large burden on these women to be both provider and nurturer. Overwhelming schedules like this often cause women to either become more distant from their children as they have no time or energy to invest in them at the end of the day, or to appreciate their children even more as the kids often start to help out with the household duties.

It is important to note that some women do receive help from their husbands in the household chores and even in helping the children with their schoolwork. However, this seemingly cooperation can lead these blue-collar women to feel extreme guilt and inadequacy. Although not as prevalent in Japan as in the past the “ryousai kenbou” idea, that women should handle the domestic sphere of a family, is still very much rooted in the culture.

Blue collar leisure activities

It can be said that much of the social composition of human interaction is seen through various leisure activities. When studying the various social components of the blue-collar sector of Japan, one has to pay specific attention to the activities that are considered popular amongst this demographic. Perhaps the most common stereotype of the blue-collar sector of Japan’s work force in respect to leisure activities is the belief that most of these workers spend their time either participating in social drinking or watching television shows. Although this assumption contains bits of truth, it is important not to generalize the characteristics of an entire sector of the population simply by pointing out certain stereotypical actions.

While it can be easy to overlook blue-collar workers’ community involvement, their sense of community is actually what drives the majority of their leisure activities. Most blue-collar workers are extremely dedicated not only to their own families but to the entire community as well. Examples of this can be seen in their overwhelming participation “ [in] community baseball teams, after-hours children’s soccer teams and other sports clubs”.Sugimoto, Yoshio (2003) An Introduction to Japanese Society pgs. 94-95] . In a broad sense, blue-collar workers “value family life and take an active part in community affairs” even more so than their white-collar counterparts. Due to the socially unsatisfactory status of their occupations, often “ [blue collar workers] pursue these leisure activities to compensate for their honne sense of cynicism, alienation, and dissatisfaction with their workplace”..

In contrast to the white-collar worker in Japan, the blue-collar worker is not defined by his work. Often his job is only a means to support his family and not a sign of his social status. Because of this, often, less after-hour activities are required of blue-collar workers. Without having to spend as much time juggling their career goals and maintaining their working relationships, many blue-collar workers are more family- oriented and therefore spend more of their leisure time with their families and communities. Although it may be tempting to view Japanese blue-collar workers as tv watching, beer drinking, run of the mill individuals, after a closer look into the lives of these workers, it can be determined that many of them actually spend their leisure time harboring quality relationships with their families and communities. In some ways, having a less socially demanding job, in comparison to their white-collar counter parts, allows blue-collar workers to spend their leisure time pursuing things in the community that require more time commitments.

Even though the act of drinking alcohol for business-related reasons is a large aspect of the white collared Japanese culture, it would be presumptuous to assume that blue collar workers do not engage in this part of society. However, the ‘after-work’ drink with co-workers is much less prevalent among the blue collar workers. Generally, only twenty percent of blue collar workers will stop to get a drink after work with their co-workers. With a growing number of women joining the workforce in Japanese blue collar jobs, one could infer that this pattern would carry over to the female workers as well. Surprisingly only seven percent of women reported to have engaged in an after-work drink before heading home. Critics may argue that these statistics are too old to be considered valid; however, “ [it] is very difficult to obtain reliable figures about these various activities, because many people prefer not to speak about their [leisure activities] ”.Hendry, Joy (1998) Interpreting Japanese Society: Anthropological Approaches pgs. 235-236] In this sense, even the most recent data will be tainted with immeasurable personal bias.

As demonstrated in the graph, according to the 2004 Japan Statistical Yearbook, the most popular leisure activities were movies and amusement parks. If the white-collar worker is completely consumed with his job, as numerous studies have shown, it must be the blue collar worker who has more leisure time. Considering the other types of leisure activities mentioned, it is interesting to note that the most prevalent activities are family-related activities. This further supports the idea of blue collar workers spending their leisure time with their families.

Educational background of the blue collar worker

In Japan working class men can have varying degrees of education. Graduates from junior high through college are not uncommon in the blue-collar workplace.Roberts, Glenda S. Staying on the Line: Blue-Collar Women in Contemporary Japan. United States: University of Hawaii Press, 1994.] However certain trends do exist. Most of the older men (men who went to school in the 1950’s and 1960’s) only graduated from junior high school. This reflects the broad trend at the time, young men seeking work in Japan’s fledgling economy. During these years, recruiters (often teachers and schools) sought after junior high school graduates. These graduates were referred to as “golden eggs” because they could be paid lower wages, saving companies money. In the 1960’s and 1970’s more students continued their education and these “golden eggs” were more difficult to find. The recruiters then began recruiting from industrial high schools and two-year postsecondary vocational schools. Students from academic high schools, junior colleges and four-year colleges also are found working at blue-collar jobs, although they are much less common than those who only graduated from junior high schools and industrial high schools.Chalmers] Although he has graduated college, it is not uncommon for a son of the company’s president to work a blue-collar job. The son will eventually become the next company president.

Women also work in blue-collar jobs, though their preparation and experience is quite different from men. Typically, women graduate from a vocational school or a junior college and then find work part-time or in the office of a company. In companies with mostly blue-collar workers, women can be the most highly educated of the employees. Still, women’s wages and working hours are less and shorter than the men. By their mid to late 20’s women usually marry and quit their job to raise children. After rearing their children, they may return to work as part-time or possibly full-time. This trend is seen in the well-known “M” curve in the trends of working women. Not all women do this, especially those who pursue a career and choose not to get married. Usually these women have a four-year university degree, as opposed to a two-year degree that blue-collar women workers often get.

References

*Statistics Bureau & Statistical Research and Training Institute: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan Statistical Yearbook, Culture http://www.stat.go.jp/English/data/nenkan/1431-23.htm
*Roberson, James E. Japanese Working Class Lives: An Ethnographic Study of Factory Workers. New York: Routledge, 1998.