Japan Hopes “Go Home” Drones Will End Country’s Overtime Binge

Megalith

Megalith

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Japan has struggled with a work culture that consists of excessive overtime. To curb that behavior, one firm is planning to use drones that fly around the office blasting music to get employees to realize it’s time to go home. They will also record footage of what they see to identify employees who remain in the office after standard work hours.

The “T-Frend” buzzes over those trying to work late, blasting out strains of “Auld Lang Syne” — a Scottish tune typically used in Japan to announce that a store is closing. The drone is equipped with a camera, which stores footage on an SD card. Office scenes can also be monitored almost in real time from a remote location.
 
Lol that’s pretty ridiculous. These people’s priorities in life are way out of whack if they need drones to remind them to stop working.
 
5150Joker said:
Lol that’s pretty ridiculous. These people’s priorities in life are way out of whack if they need drones to remind them to stop working.
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It's a cultural thing. It's just like how people who take naps, at work, is seen as favorable instead of lazy. Taking a nap is a sign that someone's working hard.
 
RogueTadhg said:
It's a cultural thing. It's just like how people who take naps, at work, is seen as favorable instead of lazy. Taking a nap is a sign that someone's working hard.
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Well Japan is famous for people being worked to death and a rapidly aging population so it seems like they need to reassess their modern culture.
 
This is crazy. Whats more crazy is Japan's workers that use those tiny little places (10ft x 5ft) rooms they rent overnight so they can stay close to work.

Here in the good ole USA, we are exactly the same. Not by our choice, working 60hrs a week (IT industry) stressed out of our minds, don't see our families. It needs to stop!
 
Megalith said:
Japan has struggled with a work culture that consists of excessive overtime. To curb that behavior, one firm is planning to use drones that fly around the office blasting music to get employees to realize it’s time to go home. They will also record footage of what they see to identify employees who remain in the office after standard work hours.

The “T-Frend” buzzes over those trying to work late, blasting out strains of “Auld Lang Syne” — a Scottish tune typically used in Japan to announce that a store is closing. The drone is equipped with a camera, which stores footage on an SD card. Office scenes can also be monitored almost in real time from a remote location.
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I CAN'T HEAR ANY MUSIC OVER THE SOUND OF THE PROPS
 
5150Joker said:
Well Japan is famous for people being worked to death and a rapidly aging population so it seems like they need to reassess their modern culture.
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Worked to death with no pay to boot. Which is why they had to make that shit illegal.
 
The worse part is Japan's productivity isn't better than countries who work less, all that time at work is basically utterly wasted. Japan should institute a ban on working overtime and enforce it with jail and fines. Make it impossible for workers to stay to look good, and impossible for the boss who wants "hardworking, loyal" workers to decide basing on time in the office.
 
SighTurtle said:
The worse part is Japan's productivity isn't better than countries who work less, all that time at work is basically utterly wasted. Japan should institute a ban on working overtime and enforce it with jail and fines. Make it impossible for workers to stay to look good, and impossible for the boss who wants "hardworking, loyal" workers to decide basing on time in the office.
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Not sure about the jail time, but fining employers that don't work to address this issue among its employees is reasonable. France had to ban using work email after work hours in their 'right to disconnect' law. It was criticized by pro-business crowds, however, it has reduced stress leading to healthier and more productive workers. Those same criticisms no longer exist. Hopefully, Japan can learn from other nations like France and create a healthier environment, same goes for South Korea which suffers from overworked citizens as well. As for America, we might get to the 21st century one day...
 
Its really pretty simple.... Force employers to always pay 1.5x or 2.5x someones wage and they will deeply regret (and see to it) that no one works overtime.

Economically speaking, this whole work culture thing (and it's spilling over into the US) is overall very deadly. While a lot of people might go shopping, or spend some money after work, the majority are simply too exhausted to do it. As such, they go home, resulting in not spendig money, whioch results in an economy that spends less money. That isn't healthy overall for GDP growth.
 
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5150Joker said:
Well Japan is famous for people being worked to death and a rapidly aging population so it seems like they need to reassess their modern culture.
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They're working on it but those ideals are burried so deep in their cultural identity that its hard to change and will take a long time. Likely it will be a problem for many generations unless serious action is taken.

Cyraxx said:
Its really pretty simple.... Force employers to always pay 1.5x or 2.5x someones wage and they will deeply regret (and see to it) that no one works overtime.

Econonmically speaking, this whole work culture thing (and it's spilling over into the US) is overall very deadly. While a lot of people might go shopping, or spend some money after work, the majority are simply too exhausted to do it. As such, they go home, resulting in not spendig money, whioch results in an economy that spends less money. That isn't healthy overall for GDP growth.
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They already do. Japan has had overtime protection laws in place since the late 80s. Over 40s hours, holidays, or more than one weekend entitles a worker to overtime pay. Any amount of time over 60 hours requires a 50% pay increase for that time. Companies have been trying to get people to go home after work is done. Employees are refusing to leave.
 
Turn off their network access after 50 hours a week. How hard is that.
 
SighTurtle said:
The worse part is Japan's productivity isn't better than countries who work less, all that time at work is basically utterly wasted. Japan should institute a ban on working overtime and enforce it with jail and fines. Make it impossible for workers to stay to look good, and impossible for the boss who wants "hardworking, loyal" workers to decide basing on time in the office.
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Nah, can’t 100% ban OT. I work construction and yeah 40 hours is plenty most of the time, but there are certain times such as shutdown periods at power plants or refineries when working OT (and often two shifts) results in a lot of extra production. And it’s more economically feasible for everyone to have the plant down for a lesser period of time.
Cyraxx said:
Its really pretty simple.... Force employers to always pay 1.5x or 2.5x someones wage and they will deeply regret (and see to it) that no one works overtime.

Econonmically speaking, this whole work culture thing (and it's spilling over into the US) is overall very deadly. While a lot of people might go shopping, or spend some money after work, the majority are simply too exhausted to do it. As such, they go home, resulting in not spendig money, whioch results in an economy that spends less money. That isn't healthy overall for GDP growth.
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I can attest to the being too tired after work thing. If I’m working 10s (even on 40 hours) I’m often too exhausted to do anything. Labor fought for an 8 hour day for a reason.
However, plenty of people not going out shopping after work are just shopping online regardless. I can attest to doing that as well.
 
Nolan7689 said:
Nah, can’t 100% ban OT. I work construction and yeah 40 hours is plenty most of the time, but there are certain times such as shutdown periods at power plants or refineries when working OT (and often two shifts) results in a lot of extra production. And it’s more economically feasible for everyone to have the plant down for a lesser period of time.


I can attest to the being too tired after work thing. If I’m working 10s (even on 40 hours) I’m often too exhausted to do anything. Labor fought for an 8 hour day for a reason.
However, plenty of people not going out shopping after work are just shopping online regardless. I can attest to doing that as well.
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Yeah, i was speaking in really broad terms.
 
I work for a Japanese company and some of our Japanese members come in at 7:00 to 7:30 AM and stay from anywhere between 10:00 PM to 2:00 AM the next day. Then they get up and do it again the next day, every single day. Many of them have a spouse and kids at home that I can't imagine they ever see. Definitely part of their culture. Luckily, they don't pressure everyone else to do the same.
 
This is hilarious how they pretend that people are working long hours because they choose too. The reason people do it is because they're afraid not to. The slacker who strolls past his overworked boss every day at 4:59 is going to be the first to be replaced in most cases. A drone isn't going to change this.
 
Wrecked Em said:
This is hilarious how they pretend that people are working long hours because they choose too. The reason people do it is because they're afraid not to. The slacker who strolls past his overworked boss every day at 4:59 is going to be the first to be replaced in most cases. A drone isn't going to change this.
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Yes, they do want to. Japanese employees will refuse to leave work at the end of day. Not out of fear, but because the Japanese culture values hard work and dedication. That commitment to work has been part of the culture for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Many generations have grown up with those values instilled in them and passed them on to their children. A lot of Japanese people believe that working that hard is good and what they should be doing. This cultural idea is so harmful to the Japanese people that it is putting their entire race in danger of dying out because less and less children are being born each year.
 
SolarisGuru said:
I work for a Japanese company and some of our Japanese members come in at 7:00 to 7:30 AM and stay from anywhere between 10:00 PM to 2:00 AM the next day. Then they get up and do it again the next day, every single day. Many of them have a spouse and kids at home that I can't imagine they ever see. Definitely part of their culture. Luckily, they don't pressure everyone else to do the same.
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So their entire life is in the service of a corporation basically. It pretty much defeats the purpose of living and it’s something I bet US companies would love to do to Americans.
 
5150Joker said:
Lol that’s pretty ridiculous. These people’s priorities in life are way out of whack if they need drones to remind them to stop working.
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Derangel said:
Yes, they do want to. Japanese employees will refuse to leave work at the end of day. Not out of fear, but because the Japanese culture values hard work and dedication. That commitment to work has been part of the culture for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Many generations have grown up with those values instilled in them and passed them on to their children. A lot of Japanese people believe that working that hard is good and what they should be doing. This cultural idea is so harmful to the Japanese people that it is putting their entire race in danger of dying out because less and less children are being born each year.
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Dont conflate the honor culture with hard work. They aren't actually doing a whole lot of work. That's the problem. It's all about honor and appearance, you aren't supposed to go home before the boss, and a good boss has to be 'working' constantly.

The result is Japanese workers pull insane hours doing a whole lot of nothing. Paperwork, sleeping at the desk... Their worker productivity lags behind most of the western world and has for a long time.
 
SighTurtle said:
The worse part is Japan's productivity isn't better than countries who work less, all that time at work is basically utterly wasted. Japan should institute a ban on working overtime and enforce it with jail and fines. Make it impossible for workers to stay to look good, and impossible for the boss who wants "hardworking, loyal" workers to decide basing on time in the office.
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That's what I always thought of whenever I read a story about Japan's insane work culture. It isn't like their economy is world-beating these days, so they're killing themselves for naught.
 
This is what has stopped me from wanting to work in a place like Japan. It seems like a wonderfully unique culture (Trains!!) and island. But dear lord the work hours.
 
Motley said:
This is crazy. Whats more crazy is Japan's workers that use those tiny little places (10ft x 5ft) rooms they rent overnight so they can stay close to work.

Here in the good ole USA, we are exactly the same. Not by our choice, working 60hrs a week (IT industry) stressed out of our minds, don't see our families. It needs to stop!
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I hear you loud and clear. My current job is a walk in the park (usually) compared to my last job. I only do 45-50 hours (and we do not get bonuses, rarely any raises, etc) a week. More time with the family, but less financial incentives.
My last job - 60 hours a week was minimum. I clocked in a few weeks in the 90's+ before. We even had cots at our office - that's a bad sign. This job (with terrible hours) did have raises, bonuses, and some promotions.
 
I cant imagine the culture shock if a Japanese worker went to work in a Central American facility :)

I know people who work in the US at auto assembly plants who work 50-70 hours per week just for the extra money, usually the younger workers who have completely over spent on houses and cars and other toys that they then have to pay off. Then you have people like me working in the laboratory where even salary people are expected to work overtime simply because we have more work than can be done with the amount of people but the profit margins are so low they cant afford to put on more people to cover sporadic overloads.
 
They could save a few bucks and just have Terry Tate send them home.

"It's six o'clock!! Take yo' ass home baby!! WHOOOO!!!"

 
DeathFromBelow said:
The result is Japanese workers pull insane hours doing a whole lot of nothing. Paperwork, sleeping at the desk... Their worker productivity lags behind most of the western world and has for a long time.
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The fact that portable gaming consoles are so insanely popular in Japan suddenly makes a lot of sense. They must be playing games during long work hours!

I mean, when I was a kid portables were the shit, you could play anywhere you wanted. But as an adult, I see little reason to have one (my 3ds has been collecting dust for years). At work I DEFINETLY do not have time to play and at home I have PC and home console. And during trips I usually have something else to do, like socialising and drinking beer.
 
Motley said:
This is crazy. Whats more crazy is Japan's workers that use those tiny little places (10ft x 5ft) rooms they rent overnight so they can stay close to work.

Here in the good ole USA, we are exactly the same. Not by our choice, working 60hrs a week (IT industry) stressed out of our minds, don't see our families. It needs to stop!
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It is not the same thing. These people get no overtime pay or any kind of compensation period. Majority work 70+ hours a week. They are kinda forced to do it also if they ever plan to get promoted.
 
5150Joker said:
Lol that’s pretty ridiculous. These people’s priorities in life are way out of whack if they need drones to remind them to stop working.
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Yeah, here in the old USA, we only work ourselves half to death for fear of keeping our job and / or paying rent.
 
vegeta535 said:
It is not the same thing. These people get no overtime pay or any kind of compensation period. Majority work 70+ hours a week. They are kinda forced to do it also if they ever plan to get promoted.
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If an hourly worker in Japan is not getting paid OT then their employer is breaking the law. The Japanese government is cracking down, pretty hard, on illegal overtime. Just last month an advertising firm was forced to pay employees 2.4 billion yen due to illegal overtime.
 
I worked for a company here in Virginia that was owned and operated by the Japanese. There were 3 or 4 of them, and they'd get there about 7 am and would stay long after we left at 4 pm.

We also weren't supposed to talk the entire 8 hours.
 
MrBonk said:
This is what has stopped me from wanting to work in a place like Japan. It seems like a wonderfully unique culture (Trains!!) and island. But dear lord the work hours.
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From what little I've read, foreigners aren't held to the same standards as Japanese people. So you wouldn't be held to these standards of work. Of course, apparently foreigners never are allowed to mesh with Japan in certain other ways either.
 
For many japanese, its not that they like to work more, they just don't want to go home. Its like they have nothing to go back to.
 
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