在日本长时间的工作是种生活习惯
Working long hours isa way of life in Japan.
因此有些人死于这种情况
So much so, that someoccasionally die from it.
过劳死指的是因工作过度而死
Karoshi is a term thatmeans death by overwork.
那为什么人们如此努力工作呢？
So why are people working so hard?
能解决它吗？
And can it be fixed?
为什么日本这么努力工作？
日本有在世界上最长的工作时间
Japan has some of the longestworking hours in the world.
将近四分之一的公司员工每月
Nearly a quarter of Japanesecompanies have their employees
工作超过80小时的加班时间
work more than 80 hoursof overtime per month.
这些额外的时间通常是无报酬的
Those extra hours are often unpaid. Today,
如今日本的企业文化是由所谓的工薪族推动的
Japan’s corporate culture isdriven by the so-called salaryman.
工薪阶层的定义是他对公司的忠诚
The salaryman is defined byhis loyalty to his company
和将他全部的职业生涯花费在同一企业
and expected to spend his entire career working for the same firm.
他不仅在办公室工作时间长
Not only does he work long hours in the office,
而且也要接受
but it ’ s also assumed
在下班后参加活动 像和同事喝酒
he’ll participate in after-work activitiestoo, like drinking with colleagues.
他们不会花足够的时间休息
And they’re not taking enough time off.
2017年的一项调查发现
In 2017, one survey found
尽管日本工人每年有20天的假期
that despite being entitled to 20 days off per year,
却有10天假期未休
Japanese workers left 10 of those days unused –
在这份调查中远超其他国家
topping every other country in the survey.
你不用局限于企业的围墙
You don ’ t have to be in the confines
感受它的工作文化的影响
of corporate walls to feel the impact of its work culture.
现在是东京时间凌晨3点
It ’ s 3am Thursday morning right now in Tokyo,
我在银座地区
I’m in the area of Ginza.
每隔几分钟 我就看见有穿套装 拿着公文包的人
Every few minutes I see a man wearing a suit, holding a briefcase.
这国家的职业道德要追溯到
The nation ’ s work ethic dates back to what ’ s referred to
所谓的日本经济奇迹
as Japan ’ s economic miracle,
这戏剧性的经济在1950年开始发展
which was its dramatic economicgrowth beginning in the 1950s,
它驱使日本成为世界第二大经济国
which propelled it to become theworld’s second-largest economy.
日本的企业文化里着重强调
Inside Japan’s corporations, theculture emphasizes the success of
公司整体的成就
a company as a whole to
比任何个体的成就更为重要
be more important than any single individual,
这能解释为什么63%的日本人认为
which might explain why one study found that 63 %
一个人带薪休假是有罪的
of Japanese felt guilty for taking paid leave.
但也许更多的是涉及这个
But perhaps more concerning is this:
工作时间长不一定意味着高生产率
Long work hours don’t necessarilymean high productivity.
事实上 日本是7国集团中生产率最低的
In fact, Japan has the lowest productivityamongst the G7 nations.
之前我提到的过劳死 是指过度工作致死
Earlier I mentioned the term karoshi – it means death by overwork.
政府认为过劳死在法律上表现为
It’s legally recognized by thegovernment and usually is marked
心脏病发作 中风或由于压力自杀
by a heart attack, strokeor suicide due to stress.
每年有上百例过劳死的报导
There ’ s hundreds of cases of karoshi reported annually,
尽管有人争论这些事
although some argue these cases
实际数字可能超过这个数字的
are underreported and that the real number could exceed
10倍
that by up to 10 times.
2015年 广告公司电通的一名员工跳楼自杀
An employee of the advertising firm Dentsu jumped to her death in 2015.
据说缘由是由于过度工作引起的抑郁症
The cause was said to have beendepression caused by overwork.
这起事件引起了广泛的关注
The case generated widespread attention and
并再次呼吁改变长时间工作机制
renewed calls to change the long working hours
和在日本非常常见的非法无薪加班
and illegal unpaid overtimehighly common in Japan.
公司因违反了劳动标准而被罚款
The firm was fined for violating labor standards
据报道因为她被迫每月
because she was reportedly forced
加班超过100小时
to work more than 100 hoursof overtime per month.
公司的总裁甚至因过度的争议而辞职
The company’s CEO evenresigned over the controversy.
她死后 电通公司内部做了一些调整
After the death, Dentsu madesome changes within the company.
有哪些呢
One of them?
现在办公室的灯每晚10点关闭
The lights in the office now turn off at 10pm every night
迫使员工离开
in an effort to force employees to leave.
如今日本政府和企业都
Both the government andcompanies are now
积极地尝试减少工作时间
actively trying to reduce thenumber of working hours here.
出现了一些早期的希望迹象
And there are someearly signs of hope.
日本政府曾数次考虑
Japan ’ s government has considered
倡议抑制在公司工作时间的长短
several initiatives to curb the number of hours spent
包含强制公司的员工
at the office, including making it mandatory to take
每年至少有五天的假期
at least five vacation days a year
以及要求在一天的结束
and requiring a “ rest ” period between the end
与另一天开始之间有休息期
of one day and the start of another.
在2016年 新的假日“登山节”开始了
In 2016, a new holiday“Mountain Day” was started,
使日本每年的公定假日延至16个
bringing Japan’s number ofannual public holidays to 16.
而在2017年 政府自发的启动一个倡议
And in 2017, the government launchedan initiative called Premium Fridays,
就是鼓励公司容许
in which it encouraged companies to
员工月末的星期五下午
allow their employees to leave at 3pm
3点下班的“超值星期五”
on the last Friday of the month,
促使消费者花费和待在公司时间少一些
promoting consumer spending and less time in the office.
但有研究发现日本
But one study found that less
不到4%的工人
than 4 % of employees in Japan
在第一个“超值星期五”真正的早下班
actually left early on thefirst Premium Friday.
文化挑战依然若隐若现 因此那些公司无视这些自发的活动
Which is why despite these initiatives,a cultural challenge still looms.
由于日本的文化强调团体大于个人 因此
Since Japan’s culture emphasizesthe group over the individual, well,
没有人想第一个离开公司
no one wants to be the first one to leave the office.
而另一个缘由它迫使
And there ’ s another reason that there ’ s pressure
人们努力工作
on people to work hard.
日本经济处于危险之中
Japan’s economy is in danger.
为了维持它庞大的金融体系
And in order to maintain its massive size,
日本需要投入时间
Japan needs to put in the hours.
在2011年
Japan lost its spot
中国取代了日本成为世界第二大经济国
as the world ’ s second-largest economy to China in 2011,
它在之前保持这个称号42年之久
a title that it had previouslyheld for 42 years.
日本面临劳动力危机
Japan is dealing witha labor crisis.
加速的人口老龄化 以及下降的出生率
Its population is aging fast and its birth rate is in decline.
这意味着它总人口在下降
That means its totalpopulation is going down.
而在未来50年
And in the next 50 years,
它的人口几乎是现今的三分之一
it ’ s projected to shrink by nearly a third.
在2015年人口预期达到1.27亿
The population is expected to go from 127 million in 2015,
而到2065年 仅为8千8百万
to just 88 million by 2065.
有两种方式可能补救日本劳动力短缺
There ’ s two likely ways the nation can compensate for the labor shortage –
劳工移民或机器人
immigrants or robots.
日本一直都不太倾向于移民
Japan has always been less inclined to accept immigrants.
事实上 日本的外籍工作者所占比率
In fact, its percentage of foreign workers is tiny
相对于其他经济大国来说 少得可怜
compared to other nations of large economies.
所以没有更多的移民
So without more immigrants,
他们期望于机器人来填补这个空缺
it ’ s looking to robotics to fill in the gap.
它的机器产业从酒店业到制造业
Its robotics industry has spannedfrom hospitality to manufacturing,
如今甚至通过机器人去挤奶牛 从而发展到农业
and now even reaching farmsby creating robots that milk cows.
但对日本的劳动力来说
But whether technologycould open the door for
技术是否可以为更好的工作与生活平衡打开大门 这仍有待观察
a better work-life balance for Japan ’ s workforce still remains to be seen.
嘿朋友们 这里是Uptin 感谢观看
Hey guys, it’s Uptin, thanks for watching.
想看更多的视频
For more of our videos,
在这里查看“（男女）同工同酬对经济而言 意味着什么？＂
check out’What does equal pay mean for the economy?’ here.
和“机器人将会替代我们工作吗？”
And’Will robots take our jobs?’ here.
我们也在为之后的CNBC提供建议
We’re also taking suggestions for future CNBC Explains,
在下方评论栏中留言吧
so leave your comments in the section below.
这个时候你还在的话 订阅我们的频道
And while you’re at it,subscribe to our channel.