The overwhelming majority (84%) of Japan’s professionals are working longer than their contractual hours and most of the respondents work in the financial services (44%) or the technology sectors (17%). Over half (52%) are working ten or more hours per week above those stipulated in their contracts which is the longest hours at the office compared to their Asia Pacific counterparts including Australia (45%), Hong Kong (40%) and China (26%).
Almost two thirds (62%) of Japan’s professionals who responded, say they do not feel obligated to work outside of office hours.
The Morgan McKinley Working Hours Survey 2014 revealed that a majority of the Japanese professionals (88%) responded that they feel some impact, or a heavy impact, upon their personal lives. Almost two thirds (62%) of Japan’s professionals who responded, however, say they do not feel obligated to work outside of office hours. This is in contrast to other parts of the Asia Pacific region, where the majority of professionals feel obligated to work beyond their contracted hours – Australia (77%)more so than anywhere else, followed by Hong Kong (70%), Singapore (65%) and China (54%).
The survey also shows that Japan’s professionals are less likely to work from home or on a mobile device once they have left the office when compared with their Asia Pacific counterparts. In Japan, 61% of respondents say they continue to work at home or on a mobile device, whereas in Australia 83% admit to this, followed by Hong Kong (76%) then by China (77%) and Singapore (71%).
With regards to flexible working arrangements available to them, survey findings show that Japan’s professionals are most aware of flexible hours (40%), followed by working from home (31%) and reduced hours (30%). The vast majority (91%) of respondents are unaware of plans to implement changes to working options.
Morgan McKinley surveyed professionals in Japan as part of the Working Hours survey questionnaire in August 2014. Respondents are all professionals on the Morgan McKinley database who are engaged in a range of sectors such as Financial Services , Finance & Accounting, Human Resources, Technology, Retail/FMCG, Manufacturing, Media, and Healthcare.
We hope you enjoy viewing the results of our Japan Working Hours Survey 2014 and you can view the press release here. The survey was also conducted in Australia, China, Hong Kong and Singapore. If you have any thoughts on current working hours and work-life balance in professional occupations in Japan, we would be very interested in hearing from you.
Japan Working Hours Survey infographic 2014
联系客服
