Working Hard

When I came across this article I was quite surprised. Do managers in London really work that much overtime? I wonder how many people were involved in this survey and in which sectors they work.

Then I thought of my 'poor' Japanese friends who work at least two hours overtime for no extra pay every day. I'm sure they think that English people are slackers. In terms of giving good service to customers I can see why Japanese people sometimes think that English people lack professionalism.

What I'd like to know is the productivity of the average Japanese worker. Surely it cannot be possible to work close to maximum efficiency for 12-14 hours a day. Is being at work more important than doing work?

Comments

[SaffronSaris]

I used to be awed by the hours clocked by the Japanese at work. However, now I'm thinking. If the Scandinavians can go home on time to dinner and still have productivity, why does it seem to take the Japanese almost twice the number of hours in the office to achieve the output? Is there some problems with efficiency?
Personal experience tells me that it is more of "showing face" by staying late in the office. When you know you can't leave the office early despite finishing your core duties, you tend to take your own sweet time to complete your tasks. Worse are those who mi-interpret the concept of performance for pay and do a lot of extra, but unnecessary work to stay late in the office and still be there when the big boss saunters in at 9.30pm.

[E LinG]

Hi, Darren! I know this might be very crazy and unbelievable for me to leave you a message here. But I would like to try, to see whether you are my cousin brother who lives in UK. Uncle has called me just now, he said "Darren has sent you an email, have you got it?" I checked my inbox and of course, I can't see any mail from "my cousin, Darren". So I doubt, maybe uncle has just given the wrong email address. I search on net, I typed "Darren Cheng", and this blog has just appeared as the first result. And I was so surprised when I read your personal details, 27, male, from London as well, who has lived in Japan before! All the evidence show me that you might be my cousin brother. Do you have any cousins who live in Malaysia? Haha, well, I do hope you would be my cousin brother. Even if you are not, I would still be happy to know you :) Hope to hear from you soon, I will check this blog soon!

[Darren]

SaffronSaris,

I've spoken to Japanese friends about this on a few occasions and a lot of them say there just isn't enough people to do the work and so naturally the people who are in the office have to do more.

A friend of mine said that she stays late as she just wants to do that little bit extra before leaving. I replied by saying there will always be something to do however much you work.

I agree with you that some of the overtime is to do with showing that you're making an effort. Or perhaps, rather it's that leaving before other people wouldn't look good. An interesting question to ask might be, 'If you were the only Japanese person in the office, would you leave earlier?'

E Ling,
Yes, I'm your cousin ;) It's good to hear from you.

If you leave another message and type your e-mail address in the box provided then I'll send you an e-mail. Your e-mail address won't appear to anyone else on this website, so you don't have to worry. Please don't write your e-mail address in the main comment area.

[E LinG]

Haha, that's great. Hope to hear from you soon :)