Why is there no labor union at Rakuten?
After finishing some company work in the morning, I finally got to sit down, read the news, and relax a bit on this fine Christmas day (well, like I said in the last post, before going off and getting drunk somewhere). But even as I am finally relaxing a bit, I know that some of my colleagues are still working hard at their desks, finishing certain documents for the Monday that seems so close from now. My immediate superior is certainly up to that, making some documents based my work for this morning and calling me a couple of times to clarify my wording in the little note I submitted.
And certainly, he is not the only one. Even for people who do not specifically have work like he does, there is never too much assurance that work will definitely arrive in the middle of a two-day weekend like any other (or not). A good example is the top of my department, who, even as he excitedly told about his weekend family trip, can only weakly muster an "I hope not" when asked if there is possibility of sudden work in the middle of that long-planned vacation.
Such is the life of a Japanese salary-man, working when he is not supposed to and forced to neglect his own family. An American colleague of mine here in Rakuten said it well, "the best way to piss off an American is to take away something s/he expected to have already received." When applied to holidays, the Japanese salary-man can only face the situation with dismay and force it down with a glass of beer or shot of warm sake. The individual is just to powerless to change the situation.
Or is he? Isn't there usually some kind of organization where employees can fight to retain their given benefits like work-free weekends? Isn't there an institution where the desires of the management to keep the employees at the wheel seven days a week kept in check? Can't the employees somehow collectively seek to maintain and even increase their benefits? Yes, it is called a "labor union," and funny enough, nothing like it exists in Rakuten.
Why doesn't it though? In my image, a union is as inseparable a part of a company as the management level, a force of legitimacy and justice that serves as the check-and-balance against the overwhelming decision-making powers of the managers, owners, and stockholders. And when the question was posed by another new grad during a training seminar, the answer was practically "just because" plus some incoherent BS.
Starting a union, to be honest, of course is not an easy thing. Several elements (none of which exists in abundance in this country, as you will see) are required for its ultimate success. (1) There needs to be one or a few leaders who are willing to put their necks on the line to become the ill-reputed initiator of open resistance to the management. In Japan, the neck on the line does not simply mean getting fired. It is possible the union leader here may forever be branded as an undesirable commodity, shunned by all other companies for fear of inciting popular revolt in their establishments.
(2) A large group (as a percentage of the total in the company) of employees who are willing to periodically come into open conflicts with their bosses for seemingly trivial concerns (for the bosses and the general audience outside the company). Considering that the Japanese are so indifferent to everything, those sacrifices made by the willing union members may be simply dismissed as trouble-making by everyone, leading to limited exposure and effects outside the company itself.
Now compare that to places like France, where it seems like strikes go up practically every other day. Strike leaders are never punished (legally or socio-economically) and the chances are that, they may be lauded as heroes pushing for socio-political changes when other segments of society joins in to make a small strike into a large social movement. Now, you just cannot imagine that happening in this conservative Japanese society.
And certainly, he is not the only one. Even for people who do not specifically have work like he does, there is never too much assurance that work will definitely arrive in the middle of a two-day weekend like any other (or not). A good example is the top of my department, who, even as he excitedly told about his weekend family trip, can only weakly muster an "I hope not" when asked if there is possibility of sudden work in the middle of that long-planned vacation.
Such is the life of a Japanese salary-man, working when he is not supposed to and forced to neglect his own family. An American colleague of mine here in Rakuten said it well, "the best way to piss off an American is to take away something s/he expected to have already received." When applied to holidays, the Japanese salary-man can only face the situation with dismay and force it down with a glass of beer or shot of warm sake. The individual is just to powerless to change the situation.
Or is he? Isn't there usually some kind of organization where employees can fight to retain their given benefits like work-free weekends? Isn't there an institution where the desires of the management to keep the employees at the wheel seven days a week kept in check? Can't the employees somehow collectively seek to maintain and even increase their benefits? Yes, it is called a "labor union," and funny enough, nothing like it exists in Rakuten.
Why doesn't it though? In my image, a union is as inseparable a part of a company as the management level, a force of legitimacy and justice that serves as the check-and-balance against the overwhelming decision-making powers of the managers, owners, and stockholders. And when the question was posed by another new grad during a training seminar, the answer was practically "just because" plus some incoherent BS.
Starting a union, to be honest, of course is not an easy thing. Several elements (none of which exists in abundance in this country, as you will see) are required for its ultimate success. (1) There needs to be one or a few leaders who are willing to put their necks on the line to become the ill-reputed initiator of open resistance to the management. In Japan, the neck on the line does not simply mean getting fired. It is possible the union leader here may forever be branded as an undesirable commodity, shunned by all other companies for fear of inciting popular revolt in their establishments.
(2) A large group (as a percentage of the total in the company) of employees who are willing to periodically come into open conflicts with their bosses for seemingly trivial concerns (for the bosses and the general audience outside the company). Considering that the Japanese are so indifferent to everything, those sacrifices made by the willing union members may be simply dismissed as trouble-making by everyone, leading to limited exposure and effects outside the company itself.
Now compare that to places like France, where it seems like strikes go up practically every other day. Strike leaders are never punished (legally or socio-economically) and the chances are that, they may be lauded as heroes pushing for socio-political changes when other segments of society joins in to make a small strike into a large social movement. Now, you just cannot imagine that happening in this conservative Japanese society.
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