The ”Inside Story” Behind the Major Revision of the Employment Rules”
Last August, taking the fiscal year-end as an opportunity, we made significant revisions to our employment regulations and sought to transform from “Showa Company” to “Reiwa Company,”Previous ArticleI wrote that.
The official reason was that the company wanted to secure some young employees and revitalize the workforce, but in reality, there were ”hidden circumstances” at play.
The “Overtime Limits for the Construction Industry (with Penalties),” which will take effect in April 2024, and the “Increase in Overtime Pay Rates,” which took effect in April 2023. I realized that our current work rules simply wouldn’t be sufficient to comply with these changes…
Incidentally, until then, technical staff had “one day off per week.” As for national holidays, the policy was “those who can take the day off are free to do so.” Overtime pay for hours exceeding the 15-hour “deemed overtime” allowance was handled in a rather rough-and-ready manner: a half-year’s worth was added to the bonus payment. (There was no mention of overtime pay in the employment regulations.)
So, if by any chance the Labor Standards Inspection Office were to conduct an inspection, it was clear they would label us a “black company” and leave. Apparently, even the social insurance and labor consultant we consulted about revising our employment rules told us, “This won’t work.” Well, of course not.
Just to be clear, the CEO isn’t a monster. He’s not the type to impose quotas on employees and whip them into shape with cries of “Work! Work!” As I mentioned in my first article, employee salaries and bonuses are fairly high, so if I were told that overtime pay is factored into the bonuses, I’d nod and accept that as true.
If that's the case, why have they let the situation go on like this until now?
The answer is simple. He was just “too lazy to bother.” The current president, the third-generation head of the company, took over the business—which was founded in the early Showa era—for various reasons. He is a man who, without any particular vision or drive for innovation, has simply kept the company afloat with diligence. He is someone who has steered the ship cautiously, taking care to avoid the biggest waves as much as possible.
I had been telling that president for years that “we need proper employment rules.” The fact that this issue has suddenly gained momentum now is likely due to the government’s “2024 Work Style Reform” initiative.
What Lies Ahead as We Move Toward a “Full Two-Day Weekend System”
To tell the truth, the “full two-day weekend system” wasn’t actually a “full two-day weekend system” from the start. Initially, it consisted of one full day off and one half-day off (three hours of work)—a setup that didn’t make much sense.
Apparently, they consulted with a certified social insurance and labor consultant based on the previous working hours (7 hours and 20 minutes of work plus a 70-minute break per day) and calculated a schedule that would be “acceptable under labor standards.” However, even if it’s acceptable under labor standards, it’s obviously a no-go when it comes to hiring.
Therefore, I proposed setting the workday at the standard 8 hours, the break time at 60 minutes, and ensuring two days off per week, so that the job posting could state “full two-day weekend system.”
By the way, “public holidays” are included in the two days off per week. I didn’t realize this until later, but apparently, as long as the system allows for two days off each week—in whatever form—it can be advertised as a “full two-day weekend system.”
And so, our company’s “full two-day weekend system” was launched. Sure enough, major upheavals began to arise in various places.
Our employees generally work independently. There is one person assigned to each site. While they may help each other out depending on the size of the site, it’s extremely rare for multiple people to be assigned to the same site. If their assigned sites overlap, they have to handle them all on their own. Naturally, this leads to comments like, “There’s no time to rest! A full two-day weekend is nothing but a pipe dream!”
Now, let’s go back to basics. Why is a “full two-day weekend system” necessary right now? Looking back at the events leading up to this point, here’s what happened.
- There is so much work that we can’t get it all done without working overtime. Although we’ve managed to secure one day off per week, our workforce is aging, and if things continue this way, there is a risk of health problems arising.
- If we hire more employees and implement a multi-person responsibility system, wouldn't that allow us to spread out the workload and make it easier for people to take time off?
- If you're going to expand your workforce, it would be wise to hire more young employees to help rejuvenate the company.
- To attract young employees, we want to adopt a “full two-day weekend system”!
That's how it went.In short, it's the ”chicken-or-egg” dilemma.
After all, when we’re short-staffed, there’s no way to spread out the workload, and we can’t take time off either. That was clear from the start. Setting aside the company’s motives, shouldn’t we be asking ourselves, “Why are we doing this, and for whom?”
The Secret Behind How Other Companies Have Managed to Implement a “Full Two-Day Weekend System”
When preparing this job posting, I looked at job listings from other companies for reference. In doing so, I came across a company that seemed almost too good to be true: it had implemented a “full two-day weekend system,” successfully recruited young employees, had minimal overtime, and offered the option to work remotely.
The company was founded in the early Showa era, just like ours. The president is a young third-generation leader. Perhaps because they’ve chosen to feature young employees and women, judging by the photos in their employee profiles, the average age seems to be at least 10 years younger than at our company. Based on the employees’ comments, it appears they’re also able to take “weekends off.”
Why? Is such a dream deal really possible in the construction industry? Is it true?
As I looked over every corner of the website, I noticed something. Many of the projects they’ve been awarded are “public works” projects—what are commonly referred to as “tender projects.” That’s when it all made sense.
This is because, in response to the “Overtime Limits for the Construction Industry”—which will take effect in April 2024 as mentioned above—the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is promoting “public works projects with a two-day weekend.” If a project site adopts a two-day weekend based on the client’s wishes, contractors will also be able to take time off with confidence.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s website even features a “Two-Day Weekend Support Tool,” and the support site displays photos of “site representatives spending their weekends with their families.”
It’s true that at our company’s headquarters, which handles public works projects, it’s relatively easy to take time off, but public works projects are, after all, “tendered projects.” We can’t always be sure we’ll win the bid. Is it really wise to devote our main resources to that?
Since our company primarily handles private-sector construction projects, it would be realistic for us to wait for the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to call on individual companies and general contractors to promote “two-day-a-week construction.”
In the end, was our company able to implement a “full two-day weekend system”?
Amid a flurry of mixed opinions, our company pushed through its “full two-day weekend system.” It’s been half a year since it began—but has it actually been successful?
The answer is, "It's about 80 percent done."
To be honest, I’m surprised myself—I’m not sure if it’s because sharing the holiday and leave schedule on Microsoft Teams was a good idea, if the employees are successfully helping each other out, or if it just happened to be a period when there wasn’t much work on-site—but people are actually managing to take time off more than I expected. Even the craftsmen from our partner companies, who have just taken over, seem to be taking full advantage of their time off to rest and recharge.
Of course, there are exceptions—namely, the remaining 20 percent of managers.
In theory, they are in a position to delegate work, and as a general rule, they should not be part of the execution team themselves. However, at our company, key projects are managed by those in positions of responsibility. Naturally, these projects are large in scale and often involve complex tasks. There’s no way they can simply be absent from them just because “we’ve switched to a two-day weekend.”
Is there really no other option but for everyone to do their best in their respective areas, in accordance with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism’s directive that “construction sites should also adopt a two-day weekend”? It’s a difficult issue.
Is the construction industry the one that will survive?
The construction industry is facing a severe labor shortage, even by global standards. It’s so serious that it makes one worry: If things continue this way, who will turn architectural plans into reality 50 or 100 years from now?
But if you look at it another way, I can’t help but feel that the construction industry might actually be the “industry that can survive.”
In a future where AI replaces various job roles, the key to outperforming AI lies in “specialized skills” combined with “versatility.” While AI can draw up blueprints, it cannot incorporate a client’s feedback and fine-tune them to just the right balance. Only humans can do that.
What we need now is for young people who are currently enthusiastically studying IT and other fields to shift their focus toward the construction industry. I would really like to ask officials at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to take steps in that direction.
