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Working hours in Japan. Is there a vacation in Japan? Retirement in Japan. working day in japan length working day in japan

Japan is one of the most highly developed countries. It is not rich in resources, its territory occupies only two islands in the Pacific Ocean. But why does this country have a high standard of living, modern technologies and people live quietly up to 80 years? Perhaps they have special working conditions? Or do they work every day, without breaks? And why are many of our compatriots so stubbornly rushing to the Land of the Rising Sun?

History of the labor process

The history of the features of the labor process dates back to the 70s of the twentieth century, as people actively tried to raise their earnings. Then, in the 80s, the features were preserved, and already at that time Japan rose to second place in the world economy. The crisis and the end of the 90s led to the restructuring of large companies and the active work of employees, as everyone fought for a vacant place.

About foreigners in Japan

Many people think that it is very good to work on this island nation. This opinion comes primarily from those who work in foreign companies, where employers are trying to create all the most comfortable conditions for foreigners. However, in ordinary factories or local firms, the labor process is organized in a very specific way, and it is rather problematic to work productively. It is for this reason that you are unlikely to see a foreign careerist in a traditional (for a Japanese) workplace.

appearance requirements

If you are from the Russian Federation, then you will have to get used to more stringent dress code requirements. Undoubtedly, everything here depends on the company itself, but in general, the rules for appearance are stricter. Their violation will incur substantial consequences, which does not exclude instant dismissal.

In ordinary firms, a black suit is an obligatory element of the dress code. You should wear it in any weather, be it hot summer or cold winter. For us it seems wild, but the Japanese already in childhood begin to harden very carefully. Not so long ago, a decree appeared that allows you to wear short-sleeved shirts on the working day. Japan decided to take pity on the workers? No, this is how energy is saved: air conditioners are not turned on even in the hottest heat.

There are companies in which female representatives are prohibited from wearing fitted and tight outfits. Straight cut only. And the skirt should cover the knees.

In addition, any jewelry is prohibited - only wedding rings.

There is a minimum of cosmetics on the face, although Japanese women themselves love bright makeup: pink blush and false eyelashes. In the labor process, the girl should become, as it were, neutral so as not to attract male attention.

There is also such a rule: the hairstyle of the girls should be short, which does not cover the ears. But the hair color should always be black. If you have gorgeous blond hair, prepare black paint.

However, not only women, but also men have their limitations. For example, they are prohibited from having a beard and mustache.

Behavior at work

How do the Japanese work and how do they behave at work?

• Before starting work, the Japanese sign a lot of papers, where they undertake not to discuss the work process with either their family or colleagues. You can't even discuss the weather, let alone personal matters.

And after all, the work is not secret, but they are still forced to keep the secret: such is the agreement.

The working process

Before entering your office, you will need to hand over your personal belongings at the checkpoint and take only what is needed for work. For example, a pen and necessary papers.

In addition, if in Russia we are always given a setting for the day, then in the Land of the Rising Sun there is no such thing. We can finish work early and go home, but here, if you work 8 hours, work 8 hours and do what you are told.

How do the Japanese work? How many hours? Indeed, the Japanese work hard. However, the principle of organizing the work process is different for them. For example, in the Russian Federation they pay for quality. If you don't work hard enough, you get paid accordingly. And you did everything - you have the opportunity to leave early or get an additional task, career growth is ensured in the future.

But how do they work in Japan? Here they pay for hours of work, so almost all the inhabitants of the country take on overtime tasks. However, it is not uncommon for them to stretch out one two-hour errand for an entire week. The companies themselves set deadlines that do not correspond to the degree of complexity of the task. The Russians regard this type of work as lethargy, while the Japanese, in turn, believe that they carry out instructions very carefully and carefully. And that is why it is very difficult for our compatriots to work in ordinary Japanese companies.

This phenomenon of inhibition drives Japan into a trap. Indeed, in essence, work is not designed for quality, but for the amount of time spent in the office.

So we explained why the Japanese work hard.

Conversations not relevant

Russians working for the Japanese, in their reviews, note that the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun do not know how to speak briefly and to the point. For them, brevity of speech is a sign of low intelligence. They can explain in such a way that even the most narrow-minded person understands what the conversation is about. Such a dialogue can drag on for an indefinite number of hours. Residents of Japan believe that their detailed and long conversations are a sign of respect for the interlocutor.

Division of labor and stratification of society

In order to grow a seed, you need a lot of work and a clear organization of your actions. For this reason, a concept has been formed in Japan with a very strict stratification of people. Each person has his own direct duties and his own role in the production process.

The communities of Japan have always been well organized. For example, a samurai never prepared food for himself and could easily die of hunger if the peasants did not feed him.

Because of this mindset, it is very difficult for every Japanese to make independent and independent decisions that are not characteristic of his social status. They cannot take on any responsibility that is in any way outside the scope of their "normal" life. Putting or not putting a comma is a difficult decision for the Japanese, dragging on for half a day. The preparation of ordinary papers is a process of endlessly long, slow consultations and negotiations. It is worth noting that if an employee has the courage to make a decision that does not correspond to his status, then everyone without exception in the hierarchical chain will receive a reprimand. The principle of the system is this: "I am a simple person and I am obliged to do only what I am supposed to do."

However, such a rigid system is understandable: Japan is a small country with a large overpopulation. In order to keep people in the best possible way, strict frameworks and rules are needed here. It is necessary to clearly understand: here is my territory, and there is already the territory of another. And to respect the boundaries of the other is simply necessary.

The Russian Federation has a huge territory, so we are not so constrained in our actions.

Why are the Japanese less reserved?

In Japan, it is not particularly welcome when a person shows his achievements or advantages. The Japanese can perfectly pick up any idea and improve it several times so that the whole world will admire. And they really do it! But creating something of your own is very problematic. Creativity is not the most important feature of the Japanese. The ability to improve is especially valued here.

In Russia, without a creative approach, you can simply get lost in the crowd, so a creative mindset is very important for us.

Career ladder

In an ordinary Japanese firm, a career is built over a long period of time. Here promotion does not depend on your merits and awards, but on age. A young and talented specialist will always work in low positions with a low salary. Because of this organization of the labor process, Japan becomes less competitive in the world market. This type of business, although it retains the "Japanese quality", but rather slows down progress.

Wage

We figured out how the Japanese work, and it's time to raise the topic that people are most interested in - salary. Compared to the world wages in Japan are quite high. However, its size is reduced by 30 percent thanks to the current tax system. Young workers receive low wages. But the older the person, the higher his salary. And pensions in Japan are very decent.

How are salaries calculated in Japan? Each employee of a certain company has its own "time-ka-do". These are special forms that manually mark the time of your arrival at work and the time you leave it. There are also special cards. When you swipe this card over the required device, your arrival and departure are automatically entered into the electronic database.

At the end of the month, your salary will be calculated with the help of such cards. This will also include both basic wages and overtime.

Weekend

In the Land of the Rising Sun, people work without holidays. The only rest days are Saturday and Sunday. Different companies provide the opportunity to take additional days off. For example, a company gives 8 days off. They need to be broken down in parts, that is, you won’t be able to take 8 days off at once. You must notify your intention to take a mini-vacation 1 month in advance. This is due to the fact that employees must have time to cooperate so that your absence does not incur any damage to the company. In some firms, you need to warn about the day off even earlier. Therefore, if you have an unforeseen situation, then you will not be able to leave work.

Another feature of work in Japan: if your temperature rises in the morning, no one will consider this a significant reason for skipping. In Japan, people go to work even if the thermometer shows "38".

Days off are the days of official holidays and Obon (the day when the dead are commemorated). However, a young specialist in the first two years does not have the opportunity to get an extra day off.

On the main holiday, the New Year, 1-3 days are allotted. But if these additional holidays fell on Saturday and Sunday, then no one will transfer them.

In addition, there is also a "golden week", which consists entirely of holidays. To arrange a day off or not is the business of the company. How much do Japanese people work per week? All 5 working days.

Working day

How long do the Japanese work? Residents of Japan are engaged in labor activities for about 10 hours. Therefore, the statement that the Japanese work 18 hours a day is a myth. The working day starts at 9 am and ends at 7 pm. However, there is such a rule: you cannot come exactly at the appointed time. You must be at the workplace half an hour in advance, as Japanese firms believe that the remaining 30 minutes are necessary for moral and physical preparation for work.

You already know how many hours a day the Japanese work. Another interesting feature: you cannot go home until your boss leaves his seat. As long as he works, everyone else must work. And it doesn’t matter how long you will be detained - 15 minutes or 2 hours: no one will pay for this time. Thus, we dispelled the myths about how much the Japanese work.

Communication with colleagues

In Japan, there is a special tradition called nomikai. It means "to drink together". Most often, this concept refers to companies and firms where employees have to drink every day (or less often) with their colleagues. For us, this seems wild, because in Russia there is a rather negative attitude towards alcohol, but in Japan such drinks are only welcome. Even doctors recommend using them, but they are silent about the quantity and frequency of use.

The inhabitants of the country do not know how to drink, so they get drunk very quickly. Alcohol will not cost you anything, as it is paid for by the boss or the company itself.

Some companies have even introduced payment for nomikai. If you work together, then you drink together - this is the Japanese tradition. In the end, it turns out that the Japanese spend almost their entire lives in the office, surrounded by their colleagues.

Conclusion

In this article, you got acquainted with how the Japanese work. That is, they practically learned their ordinary way of life.

No one argues: working in Japan is hard. There are situations when people begin to have health problems against the background of stress, and often such sores lead to death. There are those who morally can not cope with the load and bring themselves to suicide. Moreover, this will not surprise anyone, and everyone around will only think about going to work as soon as possible.

How much do the Japanese work a day? Let's summarize a little and make an approximate daily routine. For example, a resident of Japan wakes up at 6 am and leaves his apartment at 7 am. The road to work, a working day (the boss was late for one hour) and "nominkai". That is, an ordinary hard worker returns home late at night, and he spends the weekend on sleep and simple human rest. There is practically no time for family.

How do the Japanese work in this mode? They just endure. After all, all these rules were not invented by someone, but developed over the centuries, under the influence of geographical and historical changes. From the cradle, people are instilled with such qualities as mobility and readiness for any circumstances, because Japan is not at all protected. A small territory, constant natural disasters and a large population only aggravate the condition of people. They must always survive on their small piece of land and be competitive in Japanese society.

Undoubtedly, more comfortable working conditions are arranged for foreign citizens, but the usual Japanese way of life is not going anywhere. Therefore, when going to work in the Land of the Rising Sun, think carefully.

Undoubtedly, such a mode of work will instill in you discipline and the ability to work competently in society. But sometimes health and a free life are much more important than money.

So, the eight-hour working day came to an end. The most important work for today is done, and everything else can wait until morning. Almost every employee thinks so when leaving the office in the evening. But not the millions of employees of Japanese corporations, for whom leaving work to be home in time for dinner can lead to serious accusations of lack of loyalty to their company.

According to 2016 data, almost a quarter of Japanese employers allow their employees to work 80 hours a month. Moreover, these overtime working hours are not paid, because employees go for it of their own free will. In addition to everything, the Japanese do not rest for the time set for them by law, and if they take their legal paid vacation in full, they feel guilty.

How many work in different countries of the world?

The latest labor market surveys by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) cover the number of official working hours per year in 38 countries around the world. It is noteworthy that countries such as Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria and Luxembourg are among the last positions in the list, while the leaders are Mexico, Costa Rica and South Korea.

Table of working hours in some countries of the world

The country	Working hours per year	The country	Working hours per year
Mexico		Spain
Costa Rica		Great Britain
South Korea		Australia
Greece		Finland
Russia		Sweden
Poland		Austria
Israel		Switzerland
Turkey		Luxembourg
USA		France
Czech		Norway
Italy		Denmark
Japan		Germany
Canada

According to official figures, Japan is not in first place in the world in terms of the number of working hours, but this is official. If you add overtime of 80 hours a month to them, you get more than 2,500 hours a year. So Japanese employees will leave workers from other countries far behind.

"Death by Recycling"

The term "karoshi" means "sudden death from work fatigue". "Karoshi" in Japan may be officially listed as the cause of death in documents.

An employee of the largest Japanese advertising holding Dentsu died suddenly at the workplace in 2015. The cause of death was then recognized as depression due to work overload. This incident attracted widespread attention and public condemnation of Japan's usual endless overtime.

Dentsu was fined for gross violations of labor laws, as facts of 100-hour monthly overtime were revealed. Later, Dentsu changed the approach to the working hours of its staff. So, for example, blackouts were introduced in offices after 22:00 so that employees would not stay late.

Now the Japanese authorities and employers are actively working to combat "karoshi". The government has legally limited the number of hours spent in offices and introduced mandatory rest between the end of the previous and the start of a new working day.

In 2016, a new holiday appeared in Japan - Mountain Day. It is dedicated to the numerous mountains of this country, and by decision of the authorities has become an annual official holiday. Thus, the number of public holidays per year for the Japanese will increase to 16. Holidays in Japan are considered a generous gift from the government to dedicated workers. In May, for example, during the so-called Golden Week, three holidays are celebrated: Greenery Day, Constitution Day and Children's Day. At this time, business life in the country practically freezes.

Not so long ago, the government of the country introduced the so-called "Premium Friday", when employees are allowed to leave work at 15:00 on the last Friday of each month. However, according to polls, only 4% of Japanese employees leave their jobs so early. As a rule, office workers in Japan come to work half an hour earlier, at 8:30, and finish work late in the evening. For them, special shops are common in this country where you can buy a clean shirt, and capsule hotels where you can spend the night if it makes no sense to go home after work.

Working people in Japan avoid taking long vacations, unlike people in European countries who usually like to go on vacation for a few weeks. Some Japanese employees admit that they experience anxiety and anxiety when they leave their workplace for a long time. The Japanese do not count their holidays in weeks, but only in days. In the same way that they try to extend their own working hours by working late, so they do with vacations, reducing them to the maximum in order to get back to work as soon as possible.

Instead of summer holidays, they prefer to take a few days of rest in August during the traditional three-day Obon festival and New Year holidays, which in Japan last from December 29 to January 3.

The power of tradition

The main reasons why the inhabitants of the Japanese islands are workaholics are the seniority system and commitment to the team. The amount of time worked determines the possibility of further promotion and is often more important than the quality of the work performed.

In Japan, open offices are insanely popular, when desktops are grouped in such a way that employees form separate teams. Each such team has a leader who determines the tasks for the day. Every Japanese office has two meetings every day, one by the top manager and the other by the leader of each group of employees.

The management style in Japan is based on the concept of "group accordion". The main thing is to achieve agreement among employees, in which any idea submitted for consideration by senior management is first thoroughly studied and discussed in the group. The approval of the proposal by the working group helps to avoid the condemnation of the employee by the management, because any even the smallest public condemnation for the Japanese is considered a disaster.

12.01.2017 109 904 42 Reading time: 15 min.

Today I decided to collect and publish data on how long working day, working week and working hours around the world, as well as to analyze how these indicators affect the level of economic development of countries. This idea prompted me to end recently in Russia, the so-called. "New Year holidays", during which many employees rested. There are many other holidays that are not celebrated in other countries, and I have heard opinions more than once that Russians have too much rest, but they need to work, they say. After digging into the statistics, I came to the conclusion that all this is an absolute delusion: in fact, Russians are among the people who work the most in the world! Well, residents of neighboring CIS countries are also not far away. And now more…

There is such an international Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which is engaged in the calculation and comparison of statistical data in various fields. So, among other things, she counts the hours actually worked (including official part-time jobs and overtime).

According to the OECD, in 2015 the average Russian resident spent at work, attention, 1978 hours! This means that he worked 247 8-hour working days, that is, he worked all the working days of the year according to the norm, without reduced days and no vacation at all. And this is only according to official data! Is it worth mentioning how much people recycle unofficially?

According to this indicator, Russia in 2015 ranked 6th in the world. The top five countries where workers worked the most hours looked like this:

1. Mexico.
2. Costa Rica.
3. South Korea.
4. Greece.
5. Chile.

Please note: these are predominantly “middle” and “below middle” countries, not the most developed, but not the most backward either. In general, it is not entirely clear why many Asian countries did not get into this TOP, where it is considered good form to work hard, people basically do not rest and do not take vacations. However, this is the report. Do you know which countries, according to the OECD, had the least hours of work?

1. Germany.
2. Netherlands.
3. Norway.
4. Denmark.
5. France.

In general, the entire top ten is occupied by European countries. For example, the working time of an average German resident in 2015 was 1371 hours, which is one third less than in Russia! In fact, all European countries included in the top 10 countries with the minimum hours worked are at a very high level of development.

Where did such a difference between the hours worked by Russians and residents of Western Europe come from? There are 3 main reasons:

1. Shorter working day and working week.
2. Longer holidays.
3. A more rigorous approach to processing, working after hours.

Moreover, interestingly, the length of the working day and the working week does not have the strongest influence on the actual hours worked per year. Because according to the results of the OECD study, it is clear that countries with approximately the same length of the working day and working week can take diametrically opposite positions in terms of the average worker's actual working hours.

Let's look at the length of the working day and the working week in different countries of the world:

• Netherlands- the minimum working week in the world. The working day is on average 7.5 hours, the working week is 27 hours.
• France, Ireland- Working week 35 hours.
• Denmark- working day 7.3 hours, working week - 37.5 hours. It is noteworthy that at the same time, the average hourly wage in Denmark is 30% higher than in the EU as a whole - 37.6 euros per hour.
• Germany- Working week 38 hours. Despite the fact that the Germans are traditionally considered workaholics, the annual working time is the minimum in the world!
• Russia Ukraine- working day 8 hours, working week - 40 hours. However, due to overtime (even official!) and short, often non-observed holidays, these countries are among the top ten countries with the longest hours worked per year.
• USA- maximum working week - 40 hours. In fact, in the private sector, workers work an average of 34.6 hours per week.
• Japan- 40 hour work week. Everyone has heard about the workaholism of the Japanese, however, the official working week there is no different from the Russian one. In this country, it is customary to unofficially stay at work to move up the career ladder; this does not fall into official statistics. In fact, the work week often lasts up to 50 hours.
• Great Britain— working week — 43.7 hours.
• Greece- working week - 43.7 hours, actual hours worked - the maximum in Europe.
• Mexico, Thailand, India- working week up to 48 hours, six days.
• China— the average working day is 10 hours, the average working week is 60 hours. Lunch time in China is 20 minutes, and the average vacation time is 10 days.

In addition to the length of the working day and extracurricular work, the duration of the vacation also affects the total hours worked, in European countries things are also better than in Russia, Ukraine and other countries of the post-Soviet space.

So, for example, the average duration of paid vacation in different countries of the world is:

• Austria- 6 weeks vacation (from 25 years old);
• Finland- vacation up to 8 weeks (including "bonuses" up to 18 days for a long service at one enterprise);
• France- up to 9.5 weeks of vacation;
• UK, Germany- 4 weeks vacation;
• European average— 25 working days of vacation (5 weeks);
• Russia- 4 weeks vacation (28 days);
• Ukraine— 24 days of vacation;
• USA- there are no legislative norms for the duration of the vacation - at the discretion of the employer;
• Japan- 18 days a year, taking a vacation is considered bad form, on average, the Japanese rest 8 days a year;
• India- 12 days a year;
• China- 11 days a year;
• Mexico- 6 days a year;
• Philippines- 5 days a year (minimum).

As for the "stretched" New Year holidays, in Western countries they actually get even longer. Although there are not so many official holidays there, in reality, since December 20, business activity there has practically been reduced to zero, since December 25, almost all enterprises are closed, and they open from January 9-10.

In general, if we consider the trend, then working hours in most countries of the world are gradually decreasing. In the early 1900s, people in many countries put in 3,000 hours of work a year (!), but now the world average is 1,800 hours, and even lower in the most productive and economically developed countries.

Back in 1930, economist John Keynes, the author of the famous theory of Keynesianism, predicted that in 100 years, in 2030, the working week will last an average of 15 hours. Of course, he was most likely wrong in the numbers, but not in the trend: working hours have indeed been steadily declining since then.

If you analyze the data on labor provided by the OECD, you can clearly see that for a strong economy, you need to work not hard, but efficiently. They also have such an indicator as the productivity of working hours, so, for example, if we compare two European countries with the maximum and minimum working hours - Greece and Germany, then in Germany productivity is 70% higher than in Greece. This example perfectly demonstrates the now popular expression: “you need to work not 12 hours a day, but with your head!”.

Fans of workaholism often cite as an example Asian countries, such as China, India, where working hours are very long, and these countries demonstrate high rates of economic growth. I propose to look at Asia a little from the other side.

It is in Asia that there is a special term "karoshi", which means "death by processing." Because such cases are far from uncommon there: people literally die at their workplaces, as their body cannot withstand such a strong load. For example, in Japan, official karoshi statistics are kept, and many believe that they are underestimated.

In general, I think that in terms of the length of the working day, the working week and working hours in general, we need to focus on Europe, and not on Asia. The economies of European countries perfectly demonstrate that labor productivity is much more important than hours worked. Here are just the most important advantages of a shorter working day and working week:

• A person is less tired at work, which means that he can work more efficiently;
• Limited working time leaves no room for distraction on the so-called. - the employee is fully involved in the work process;
• The less working time, the more a person can concentrate on work;
• The employee spends more time at home, with his family, with relatives and friends, devotes more time to his hobbies, rests, which means that he has more energy and strength for work;
• A person who works less has fewer health problems, which means that he again has more strength and energy to do work.

Summing up all of the above, I can conclude: we need to look closely at positive examples and keep the course towards reducing the working day, working week, working time in general. To begin with, at least exclude constant processing from practice. Because when - this, I assure you, will not lead to anything good, neither for employers, nor for employees. Normal civilized labor relations will definitely help to increase labor efficiency, and it will be better for everyone.

In conclusion, for the sake of persuasiveness, I will give a personal example: I devote less than half of the traditional working time to working on this site. And it didn't make him any worse, did he? And achieved quite good. That is, in order to, it is not at all necessary to work a lot. Be sure to work efficiently!

Now you know what the working day, working week and working hours are like in the countries of the world, what results it brings, you see my conclusions and you can draw your own. I hope that this information will be useful to you, perhaps it will make you take a different look at things that seemed obvious.

Take care of your time - it is your limited and exhaustible resource. See you at!

Estimate:

29.08.2018

7-hour working day in France and 5 days of vacation in Japan - how they work in different countries

Alina Dorofeeva, 28 years old, hometown - Yaroslavl, Russia, linguist-translator, teacher

@alinadorof

About France

I was born in Russia, where I lived for 26 years. During this time, I graduated from the university, learned three foreign languages ​​and managed to change seven jobs.

I moved to France in June 2016. I moved to France for love. France is a dream country for many of my compatriots. It is fanned by a mass of stereotypes that do not always have the right to exist. The first thing that surprised me was the appearance of French women: it is more casual than elegant. And no matter what she wears, the Frenchwoman always feels confident and relaxed.

About the peculiarities of working in France

In France, I work as an English teacher in a language course for French adults. Despite all the frightening stories about how difficult it is to find a job in France, I found a suitable vacancy after a couple of weeks of searching - it was a vacancy for an English-speaking nanny. And in order to get a teaching position, I just randomly brought a resume to the company.

In France, working conditions, working hours, holidays - it all depends on the specific place of work. The typical work week is only 35 hours. It also depends on the type of contract. I am familiar with three: permanent, temporary and permanent "seasonal". The contract specifies the number of paid working hours per year, the conditions for going on vacation and other important details.

The biggest difference was that the letter of resignation must be submitted two months before leaving, instead of two weeks.

Interestingly, in France it is customary to greet acquaintances with kisses on the cheek, and the same rule applies at work. Therefore, any working day begins with kisses. The authorities are different, so in this case, kisses can be replaced by a handshake. In any case, physical contact must be established. Just come and say "Hello" from afar will not work. A Frenchman at work always tries to be polite and keep calm. If this is your colleague, he will always say hello, shake your hand, ask how you are, talk about the weather.

The attitude towards working time depends on the individual, but most likely you will not see a Frenchman who is often late at work, especially if these additional hours are not paid. Most often, the French go home as soon as they work out the allotted time.

In business relations, the French can be responsible and scrupulous, but often their attitude to work is quite even, without fanaticism and excesses. Here everyone understands that work is part of life.

About plans

Now I only teach English in language courses, but I plan to teach other languages ​​in the future. I also have some ideas about tourism.

Anastasia Pripoltseva, 22 years old, hometown - Vidnoe, Russia, employee of the reception and accommodation service

About Japan

I graduated from college with a degree in hospitality and work at a chain hotel in Kyoto at the front desk. I am a permanent employee with a work visa valid for five years and renewable. In addition to work, I regularly go to the gym, moonlight as a model, I am fond of cooking, I study Japanese home cooking.

I have been dreaming of moving to Japan since I was ten years old. And I knew for sure that a simple tourist trip would not satisfy me. I was looking for different ways, but the chance turned up by itself. I attended free Japanese language courses at Moscow State University. And on the site I saw an ad that a Japanese company is looking for employees in a hotel chain. I came to a seminar where we were first told about the company and then had a group interview. After that, I had two more Skype interviews and was hired.

I came to Japan about a year ago, in September 2017. From the first vivid impressions - excellent service at Japan Airlines and the heat upon arrival in Tokyo, clean trains, no garbage, polite people. On the way to Kashihara, for the first time in my life, I saw mountains, real bamboo thickets, rice fields and fell in love with this country.

About working in Japan

The hiring process was pretty stressful. The procedure was unusual and lasted a whole year. Even when I was accepted, I still had to get a visa, but I had a certificate from the employer, so everything went quickly.

In my position, I have to work 160 working hours a month, and at the same time, every overworked minute is paid. Evening and night shifts are also paid on top. The company itself selects housing for each employee who came from afar. As a rule, this is a small apartment within walking distance from the place of work. The employee pays only 10,000 for renting an apartment, the rest is paid by the company. Also, twice a year, a cash bonus is provided for employees.

For employees there is an increase for knowledge of Japanese. With a score above 900 for the English exam, the employee receives a bonus of 100,000 yen. After that, he can pass an interview in English and receive another 15,000 yen every month. If you know other languages ​​and have other qualifications, cash bonuses are also provided.

The working day usually lasts nine hours, there is an hour break. There is also a double night shift, which lasts from 15:00 to 09:00 the next day. I also worked such shifts in the first six months. If, for health reasons, night shifts are contraindicated for you, then the boss will try to meet halfway and facilitate working conditions. They give only five paid vacation days a year, and there are no sick days. If you are ill, then you need to take one of the five vacation days or an unpaid day off.

In our hotel, the vast majority of employees are foreigners. And although we generally work according to Japanese rules, everyone still has their own characteristics. For example, the Italians talk loudly while working, while the French often complain and protest. The typical Japanese principles of "boss - subordinate" do not work in our relationship. But he is higher than us in position, status and age, and this quite naturally makes us yield and indulge him.

We leave work on time only if there really is no work to be done here and now.At the same time, Japanese colleagues at any second feel obliged to look like they are up to their ears at work. Even when there is no work, they are frantically looking for something to do. The boss sometimes remains to work for another five or six hours after the end of the shift. He has a job that only he can do, but even the little things he never trusts us, he works seven days a week from morning to night.

The Japanese never complain and do not throw their work on others, while they are always ready to help. They are patient and do not give up work, they do everything efficiently and to the end. At work, they do everything for the benefit of others and to the disadvantage of themselves, especially when it comes to a guest or client.

About plans

They say that after a year in Japan you begin to notice significant disadvantages. But at the moment I don't want to go back to Russia. For me, life here seems easier. The only difficulty of life in Japan is imperfect knowledge of the Japanese language. But this problem will go away with time.

Yana Bublei, 25 years old, hometown - Kiev, Ukraine

About Denmark

I was born and lived all my life in Kiev. I am a lawyer by training, but I have never worked in this field. My work has always been related to organization and leadership.

My husband and I moved to Denmark about a year ago because we both love to travel. The winter before last, we lived in Thailand for three months. We heard about Denmark in May 2017, when my friend started processing documents for a work visa. We became interested, and already in July all our documents were ready.

We live and work in the north of Denmark. There is beautiful nature, two seas, and the nearest town from the house is four kilometers away. The whole of Denmark is a huge field where houses are scattered at a distance from each other. It is interesting. We liked the local architecture, cleanliness and tidiness. We were also surprised that Denmark has a well-developed postal system, and people still receive paper letters, although every important letter is duplicated in e-mail.

About the peculiarities of working in Denmark

It is legal to work in Denmark if you do not have an EU passport, you can only work as a student in the agricultural sector. These are all kinds of animal farms, greenhouses and fields. I work on a chicken farm and my husband works on a cow farm. My schedule is 12 working days and two days off. I work from six in the morning until two in the afternoon. My duties include egg collection, washing, cleaning, sorting, work on the conveyor. You need to make sure that everything works and control the whole process.

In Denmark, in our field of work, the employer provides accommodation for its employees. Your conditions, schedule and salary depend on the contract. Different farms have different work schedules. There is a certain norm - 37 working hours a week, for processing they must either pay extra or give additional days off. They charge 10% of the annual salary for vacation per year and give four or five weeks for vacation. There is also compulsory health insurance and free medicine for everyone. But taxes must also be paid on a par with the Danes - from 38%.

The Danes have a completely different mentality, they think differently. Therefore, in relations with superiors, everything depends on the employer. There are adequate and respecting the law, but there are those who do not care. In general, Ukrainians are hardworking, and it happens that they use us and do not pay for processing. But my farmer is a great person, we don't have any problems.

The Danes, especially farmers, are accustomed to hard physical work. They do not have a division between male and female work. They do not get sick and do not understand what it means to be sick. For them, the temperature of minus 38 is not a problem, and you can go to work.

About plans

My contract ends in December. And if my husband's contract is extended, then I would like to quit my job and just be a housewife here in Denmark. And if there is no work here, we are planning to move to Finland, I have always dreamed of seeing the northern lights.

Nastya Nemtsova, 23 years old, PR manager of Chocofamily of the Rakhmet project

About the peculiarities of working in Kazakhstan

I live and work in Almaty, in the Chocofamily holding. In the company, I am engaged in PR-direction - I am responsible for PR in the holding and for the promotion of individual projects of the company. I am the only PR manager, so I deal with those projects that need it most. At the moment, this is our new project - the Rakhmet mobile application. In addition, there are tasks that are associated with building the image of the holding as a whole, and this is also a separate job. The duties of a PR manager also include communication with journalists, publications, bloggers, organization and holding of events.

When you really want to get a job in a certain company, everything is not so difficult. The specifics of the selection and interview stages depend on the position for which you are applying. Each employee in our company goes through at least two stages - an interview with an HR manager and a project manager. Personally, I first had to write a number of materials, later there was an interview with an HR manager who checks whether the person fits the company's values. And if a person is suitable, then the next stage goes - I had an interview with the marketing director, as well as with the project director. And the last interview was with the founder of the holding - Ramil Mukhoryapov.

If we talk about working conditions, it is worth noting that last year we moved to a new office, which is located in SmartPoint. SmartPoint is a point of attraction for cool Internet companies, parties, meetings, seminars are constantly taking place here. And when you are in this atmosphere, you have a constant motivation to create something new. We have lounges, a large kitchen, lots of workspaces and spaces.

The working day lasts from nine in the morning to six in the evening - nine hours, but in fact we work more. This suits everyone, because we all understand that we are moving towards a common goal. We also have a standard vacation - two weeks twice a year.

We also have our own internal motivation program. Every season each employee is given a plan for his professional and personal development. And at the end of the season, we see which of the employees scored the most points, and we reward the best. In addition, each department also has its own motivational program.

I had experience in different companies. And there is a certain stereotype that we, Kazakhstanis, can afford not to meet deadlines, to be late. And indeed there are companies that allow themselves to work in such a rhythm. But at the same time, there are many companies that have a philosophy, a corporate culture, a certain rhythm. And this is the peculiarity of our country, we have different companies and different approaches to work.

About plans

The plans are always only growth. In fast-growing companies, only those people who are focused on growth can take root.

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29.08.2018

7-hour working day in France and 5 days of vacation in Japan - how they work in different countries

Alina Dorofeeva, 28 years old, hometown - Yaroslavl, Russia, linguist-translator, teacher

@alinadorof

About France

I was born in Russia, where I lived for 26 years. During this time, I graduated from the university, learned three foreign languages ​​and managed to change seven jobs.

I moved to France in June 2016. I moved to France for love. France is a dream country for many of my compatriots. It is fanned by a mass of stereotypes that do not always have the right to exist. The first thing that surprised me was the appearance of French women: it is more casual than elegant. And no matter what she wears, the Frenchwoman always feels confident and relaxed.

About the peculiarities of working in France

In France, I work as an English teacher in a language course for French adults. Despite all the frightening stories about how difficult it is to find a job in France, I found a suitable vacancy after a couple of weeks of searching - it was a vacancy for an English-speaking nanny. And in order to get a teaching position, I just randomly brought a resume to the company.

In France, working conditions, working hours, holidays - it all depends on the specific place of work. The typical work week is only 35 hours. It also depends on the type of contract. I am familiar with three: permanent, temporary and permanent "seasonal". The contract specifies the number of paid working hours per year, the conditions for going on vacation and other important details.

The biggest difference was that the letter of resignation must be submitted two months before leaving, instead of two weeks.

Interestingly, in France it is customary to greet acquaintances with kisses on the cheek, and the same rule applies at work. Therefore, any working day begins with kisses. The authorities are different, so in this case, kisses can be replaced by a handshake. In any case, physical contact must be established. Just come and say "Hello" from afar will not work. A Frenchman at work always tries to be polite and keep calm. If this is your colleague, he will always say hello, shake your hand, ask how you are, talk about the weather.

The attitude towards working time depends on the individual, but most likely you will not see a Frenchman who is often late at work, especially if these additional hours are not paid. Most often, the French go home as soon as they work out the allotted time.

In business relations, the French can be responsible and scrupulous, but often their attitude to work is quite even, without fanaticism and excesses. Here everyone understands that work is part of life.

About plans

Now I only teach English in language courses, but I plan to teach other languages ​​in the future. I also have some ideas about tourism.

Anastasia Pripoltseva, 22 years old, hometown - Vidnoe, Russia, employee of the reception and accommodation service

About Japan

I graduated from college with a degree in hospitality and work at a chain hotel in Kyoto at the front desk. I am a permanent employee with a work visa valid for five years and renewable. In addition to work, I regularly go to the gym, moonlight as a model, I am fond of cooking, I study Japanese home cooking.

I have been dreaming of moving to Japan since I was ten years old. And I knew for sure that a simple tourist trip would not satisfy me. I was looking for different ways, but the chance turned up by itself. I attended free Japanese language courses at Moscow State University. And on the site I saw an ad that a Japanese company is looking for employees in a hotel chain. I came to a seminar where we were first told about the company and then had a group interview. After that, I had two more Skype interviews and was hired.

I came to Japan about a year ago, in September 2017. From the first vivid impressions - excellent service at Japan Airlines and the heat upon arrival in Tokyo, clean trains, no garbage, polite people. On the way to Kashihara, for the first time in my life, I saw mountains, real bamboo thickets, rice fields and fell in love with this country.

About working in Japan

The hiring process was pretty stressful. The procedure was unusual and lasted a whole year. Even when I was accepted, I still had to get a visa, but I had a certificate from the employer, so everything went quickly.

In my position, I have to work 160 working hours a month, and at the same time, every overworked minute is paid. Evening and night shifts are also paid on top. The company itself selects housing for each employee who came from afar. As a rule, this is a small apartment within walking distance from the place of work. The employee pays only 10,000 for renting an apartment, the rest is paid by the company. Also, twice a year, a cash bonus is provided for employees.

For employees there is an increase for knowledge of Japanese. With a score above 900 for the English exam, the employee receives a bonus of 100,000 yen. After that, he can pass an interview in English and receive another 15,000 yen every month. If you know other languages ​​and have other qualifications, cash bonuses are also provided.

The working day usually lasts nine hours, there is an hour break. There is also a double night shift, which lasts from 15:00 to 09:00 the next day. I also worked such shifts in the first six months. If, for health reasons, night shifts are contraindicated for you, then the boss will try to meet halfway and facilitate working conditions. They give only five paid vacation days a year, and there are no sick days. If you are ill, then you need to take one of the five vacation days or an unpaid day off.

In our hotel, the vast majority of employees are foreigners. And although we generally work according to Japanese rules, everyone still has their own characteristics. For example, the Italians talk loudly while working, while the French often complain and protest. The typical Japanese principles of "boss - subordinate" do not work in our relationship. But he is higher than us in position, status and age, and this quite naturally makes us yield and indulge him.

We leave work on time only if there really is no work to be done here and now.At the same time, Japanese colleagues at any second feel obliged to look like they are up to their ears at work. Even when there is no work, they are frantically looking for something to do. The boss sometimes remains to work for another five or six hours after the end of the shift. He has a job that only he can do, but even the little things he never trusts us, he works seven days a week from morning to night.

The Japanese never complain and do not throw their work on others, while they are always ready to help. They are patient and do not give up work, they do everything efficiently and to the end. At work, they do everything for the benefit of others and to the disadvantage of themselves, especially when it comes to a guest or client.

About plans

They say that after a year in Japan you begin to notice significant disadvantages. But at the moment I don't want to go back to Russia. For me, life here seems easier. The only difficulty of life in Japan is imperfect knowledge of the Japanese language. But this problem will go away with time.

Yana Bublei, 25 years old, hometown - Kiev, Ukraine

About Denmark

I was born and lived all my life in Kiev. I am a lawyer by training, but I have never worked in this field. My work has always been related to organization and leadership.

My husband and I moved to Denmark about a year ago because we both love to travel. The winter before last, we lived in Thailand for three months. We heard about Denmark in May 2017, when my friend started processing documents for a work visa. We became interested, and already in July all our documents were ready.

We live and work in the north of Denmark. There is beautiful nature, two seas, and the nearest town from the house is four kilometers away. The whole of Denmark is a huge field where houses are scattered at a distance from each other. It is interesting. We liked the local architecture, cleanliness and tidiness. We were also surprised that Denmark has a well-developed postal system, and people still receive paper letters, although every important letter is duplicated in e-mail.

About the peculiarities of working in Denmark

It is legal to work in Denmark if you do not have an EU passport, you can only work as a student in the agricultural sector. These are all kinds of animal farms, greenhouses and fields. I work on a chicken farm and my husband works on a cow farm. My schedule is 12 working days and two days off. I work from six in the morning until two in the afternoon. My duties include egg collection, washing, cleaning, sorting, work on the conveyor. You need to make sure that everything works and control the whole process.

In Denmark, in our field of work, the employer provides accommodation for its employees. Your conditions, schedule and salary depend on the contract. Different farms have different work schedules. There is a certain norm - 37 working hours a week, for processing they must either pay extra or give additional days off. They charge 10% of the annual salary for vacation per year and give four or five weeks for vacation. There is also compulsory health insurance and free medicine for everyone. But taxes must also be paid on a par with the Danes - from 38%.

The Danes have a completely different mentality, they think differently. Therefore, in relations with superiors, everything depends on the employer. There are adequate and respecting the law, but there are those who do not care. In general, Ukrainians are hardworking, and it happens that they use us and do not pay for processing. But my farmer is a great person, we don't have any problems.

The Danes, especially farmers, are accustomed to hard physical work. They do not have a division between male and female work. They do not get sick and do not understand what it means to be sick. For them, the temperature of minus 38 is not a problem, and you can go to work.

About plans

My contract ends in December. And if my husband's contract is extended, then I would like to quit my job and just be a housewife here in Denmark. And if there is no work here, we are planning to move to Finland, I have always dreamed of seeing the northern lights.

Nastya Nemtsova, 23 years old, PR manager of Chocofamily of the Rakhmet project

About the peculiarities of working in Kazakhstan

I live and work in Almaty, in the Chocofamily holding. In the company, I am engaged in PR-direction - I am responsible for PR in the holding and for the promotion of individual projects of the company. I am the only PR manager, so I deal with those projects that need it most. At the moment, this is our new project - the Rakhmet mobile application. In addition, there are tasks that are associated with building the image of the holding as a whole, and this is also a separate job. The duties of a PR manager also include communication with journalists, publications, bloggers, organization and holding of events.

When you really want to get a job in a certain company, everything is not so difficult. The specifics of the selection and interview stages depend on the position for which you are applying. Each employee in our company goes through at least two stages - an interview with an HR manager and a project manager. Personally, I first had to write a number of materials, later there was an interview with an HR manager who checks whether the person fits the company's values. And if a person is suitable, then the next stage goes - I had an interview with the marketing director, as well as with the project director. And the last interview was with the founder of the holding - Ramil Mukhoryapov.

If we talk about working conditions, it is worth noting that last year we moved to a new office, which is located in SmartPoint. SmartPoint is a point of attraction for cool Internet companies, parties, meetings, seminars are constantly taking place here. And when you are in this atmosphere, you have a constant motivation to create something new. We have lounges, a large kitchen, lots of workspaces and spaces.

The working day lasts from nine in the morning to six in the evening - nine hours, but in fact we work more. This suits everyone, because we all understand that we are moving towards a common goal. We also have a standard vacation - two weeks twice a year.

We also have our own internal motivation program. Every season each employee is given a plan for his professional and personal development. And at the end of the season, we see which of the employees scored the most points, and we reward the best. In addition, each department also has its own motivational program.

I had experience in different companies. And there is a certain stereotype that we, Kazakhstanis, can afford not to meet deadlines, to be late. And indeed there are companies that allow themselves to work in such a rhythm. But at the same time, there are many companies that have a philosophy, a corporate culture, a certain rhythm. And this is the peculiarity of our country, we have different companies and different approaches to work.

About plans

The plans are always only growth. In fast-growing companies, only those people who are focused on growth can take root.

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