February 2023 10th issue: Six issues of the Japanese labor market
A market is a place where trading takes place. The labor market is the market where job seekers and vacancies are matched. If there are many job offers and few job seekers, there will be a labor shortage, and if there are many job seekers and few job offers, there will be a labor surplus.
If supply and demand are adjusted by adjusting wages, wages should rise when there is a labor shortage, and wages should fall when there is a surplus. But it's not always so simple. Even if there is a labor shortage, there is a certain upper limit to the wages that employers can pay depending on the industry and occupation, and there are also cases where wages do not rise easily due to the tendency to be side by side. On the other hand, even if there are too many people, it is illegal to recruit for less than the minimum wage, and workers may not want to work if the wage is too low.
Here, let's take a look at six challenges facing the Japanese labor market.
(1) Workers have few opportunities to learn "how to increase their own value and wages in the labor market"
In Japan, "lifetime employment" and "seniority system" have long been the main forms of employment, and it has been considered "normal" that once you get a job, you will continue working at the same company until retirement. For this reason, it is said that there are few workers who are accustomed to "selling themselves high in the labor market." There are not many opportunities to learn how to sell yourself highly even if you change jobs. If you are not accustomed to "selling yourself at a high price", there is a risk that Japanese wages will tend to fall when the mobility of human resources advances.
In order to revitalize the Japanese labor market, it is important to increase opportunities for workers to learn "how to increase their own value and wages in the labor market." In some cases, it may be better to learn the skill of "selling yourself highly" from a student's age.
(2) There is a large wage gap between "regular employment" and "non-regular employment"
The expansion of "non-regular employment" is said to be one of the major reasons why wages in Japan do not rise. In fact, the wage gap between "regular" and "non-regular" workers is a major issue in Japan. Equal pay for equal work has been introduced, and the elimination of the unreasonable difference in treatment between regular and non-regular employment is required, and steady implementation will be required in the future. It may also be necessary to strengthen penalties for companies that are reluctant to respond to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Challenges for revitalizing side jobs
As part of work style reform, the revitalization of side jobs is attracting attention. In fact, revitalizing side jobs has effects such as workers being able to use their supplementary income and skills, and stimulating the expansion of personal networks outside the company. However, there are challenges in activating side jobs. For example, if you are busy with side jobs, you may panic and not be able to deal with troubles at work, you may not be able to switch between inside and outside the company, and you may lose your concentration, and you may neglect your main job. There is concern that confidential company information will be easily leaked. In addition, the disparity in treatment of workers is likely to widen between companies that have unpaid overtime work and find it difficult to have side jobs and companies that allow workers to do side jobs freely. In the future, whether a company is easy to do a side job may be an important factor in choosing a company when looking for a job.
It is said that there are organizations that recruit people to help with criminal activities on the Internet, etc., by calling it a "simple side job." There is a risk that more office workers will dabble in dubious side jobs and become complicit in crime without realizing it.
Regarding side jobs, it is also necessary to provide workers with appropriate information and to educate and enlighten them to prevent troubles.
(4) "Organizational rules" are strong, making it difficult to utilize "individual abilities"
Japan has traditionally been said to be a society that has strong "rules of organization" and that it is difficult to make the most of "individual abilities." In a society where organizational rules are strong, quitting a company is an act of betrayal, and people who quit are treated as failures. I don't want to be treated as a dropout, so I have no choice but to cling to the company even if I feel unreasonable.
It is said that Japan must promote the mobility of its human resources in an era of rapid change. It will be necessary to change the difficult atmospher.
(5) A culture of envy that does not allow "others' success"
A culture of envy that doesn't allow "others to succeed" can make people who have stepped up by changing jobs or who have had successes in side jobs become targets of attack. The life of a guy who changes jobs should fall. The guy who does a side job fails. In a society where people only think about such things, neither the job change market nor the sideline business will thrive. In order for job changes and side jobs to flourish and the labor market as a whole to revitalize, the culture of envy that does not allow "others' success" must change.
(6) Challenges of "foreign workers"
In a situation where the domestic labor force is insufficient due to the declining birthrate and labor shortage, the presence of foreign workers is becoming more and more important. However, when hiring foreign workers, there are various issues such as language and communication issues, issues of discriminatory treatment and wage disparity, and issues of mismatches with careers and skills. In addition, it would be better to consider the issues related to foreign technical intern trainees as one of the issues of "foreign workers". The issue of "foreign workers" is a big issue that could affect the future of Japan.
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