Although Japan has long been known for its excessively long working hours, there has been a lot of change in recent years.
For example, an interesting new study on sleep deprivation among Japanese employees from June 2024 states that the number of Japanese employees who sleep five hours or less per day will be around 11.5 percent in 2024. That number was almost twice as high 25 years ago. (1999 survey: 22.8 percent)
One reason for this positive trend is the transition to more flexible work time models and “work from home”, which have mostly been introduced since the pandemic.
Before 2020, management in Japan was usually very reluctant when asked about the option of not coming to the office every day. In 2024, most companies offer a WFH option.
As a result, the reduction in “sleep debt” in Japan is in part due to the fact that employees no longer have to commute for 1-1.5 hours to and from the office every morning.
We at JCO also experience a greater emphasis on work-life balance and “family time” in Japan.
In recent years, we did have quite a few online meetings with Japanese customers where someone from HR was balancing a baby on their lap or where a clothesline was visible in the background of a call. (Probably the virtual background was not switched on…)
These current changes in Japan represent a very positive development towards a more human-centric business culture.
Find out more about modern Japanese business culture on the JCO blog and the best ways to work together in our open seminars!
