analysis of the labour economy - mhlw.go.jp · 2020. 4. 6. · current status of labour shortage,...

2019

Analysis of the Labour Economy

― Challenges Facing Japan: Work Styles and Labour Shortages ―

[Outline]

[General employment situation]

○ Japan's unemployment rate hit a 26-year low of 2.4% in FY 2018, and the effective ratio of job offers to seekers marked a

45-year high of 1.62 in the same fiscal year. This suggests that employment conditions have been steadily improving.

○ Among employed persons, the number of regular workers increased for the fourth consecutive year in 2018 to 34.76 million.

○ The diffusion index (DI) of corporate labor force assessments suggests that a growing number of companies face labor

shortages. A survey conducted in March 2019 finds that labor shortages in all industries, and manufacturing and non-

manufacturing sectors have reached the second most extreme level since the country’s economic bubble years.

Trends and Features of the Labour Economy [1]

Exce

ss

Sh

orta

ge

-26

-35

-40

Trends of regular/non-regular

personnel/employeesTrends of unemployment rate/effective

ratio of job offers to seekers, etc.

2

3

4

5

6

0

1

2

3Unemployment rate

(right axis)

Ratio of new job

offers to seekers

Effective ratio of job

offers to seekers for

regular employees

Effective ratio

of job offers to

seekers

(Times) (%)

(Year)

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

40

Manufacturing industries

All industries

Non-manufacturing industries

Trends of the diffusion index (DI)

for employment conditions

(“Excess” minus “Shortage”, % points)

(Year) (Year)

1400

1600

1800

2000

2200

2800

3000

3200

3400

3600(10,000 persons) (10,000 persons)

Regular

personnel/employees

Non-regular

personnel/employees

(right axis)

21.20 million

persons

34.76 million

persons

1

-4

-3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

4

2013 14 15 16 17 18

物価要因

雇用者数要因

名目賃金要因

(Year-to-year comparison of the level of contribution, %)

(FY)

[Trends of wages]

〇 The nominal wage of full-time workers and the hourly wage of part-time workers have been increasing.

〇 Increases in wage levels of workers under the age of 60 – both men and women- have contributed to a rise in earnings among

full-time workers.

〇 An increase in the number of employees and the other factors have had a positive impact on the wage income of employees.

Breakdown of the level of contribution

to wages of full-time workers

(monthly amount)

Breakdown of the level of contribution

to total employee income (real)

-4

-3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

4

2012 13 14 15 16 17 18

Percentage of persons aged 60 or older

Wages (60 or older)

Percentage of females younger than 60

Wages (females younger than 60)

Wages (males younger than 60)

Year-to-year

comparison of wages

of full-time workers

Year-to-year comparison

of total employee income

(real)

Trends and Features of the Labour Economy [2]

(Year)

42.3

1,175

950

1,000

1,050

1,100

1,150

1,200

38

40

42

44

2012 13 14 15 16 17 18

(FY)

(10,000 yen)

Wages of full-time workers

(monthly amount)

(Yen)

Trends of wages of full-time workers

(monthly amount) and hourly wages

of part-time workers


Hourly wages of part-time workers

(right axis)

Commodity price

Number of employees

Nominal wages

2

Trends of the diffusion index (D.I.) for

employment conditions by company size

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

The regions outside the three

metropolitan areas tend to slightly

exceed the three metropolitan areas

The three metropolitan areas

Other than the three metropolitan areas

Trends of the labour shortage by region

Current status of labour shortage, etc. in Japan [1]

-50

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

全規模

大企業

中堅企業

中小企業


Excess

Shortage

○ A labour shortage is becoming increasingly serious, especially among small and medium-sized companies. More and

more companies, both in the three metropolitan areas and the regions other than the areas, also face serious

manpower shortages.

(“Shortage” minus “Excess”, % points)

3

All sizes

Large companies

Medium-sized companies

Small and medium-sized companies

Current status of labour shortage, etc. in Japan [2]

68 67

50 47

27 25

17 14

59

38 33

29

13 13

28 27

21 20 18

10 5

0

20

40

60

80

Ra

isin

g w

ag

es a

t the

time

of re

cru

itme

nt

Stre

ng

the

nin

g m

id-c

are

er e

mp

loym

en

t (in

clu

din

g d

ive

rsific

atio

n o

f recru

itme

nt

ch

an

ne

ls, e

tc.)

Imp

rovin

g w

ork

ing

co

nd

ition

s o

the

r tha

n

wa

ge

s a

t the

time

of re

cru

itme

nt

Stre

ng

the

nin

g e

mp

loym

en

t of n

ew

g

rad

ua

tes

Exp

an

din

g th

e e

mp

loym

en

t targ

ets

su

ch

a

s re

laxin

g th

e a

pp

lica

tion

req

uire

me

nts

, e

tc.

Pro

mo

ting

the

utiliz

atio

n o

f no

n-re

gu

lar

em

plo

ye

es

Reca

lling

/pre

fere

ntia

lly e

mp

loyin

g jo

b

lea

ve

rs d

ue

to c

hild

birth

an

d c

hild

ca

re,

etc

.

Acce

ptin

g te

mp

ora

rily/p

erm

an

en

tly

tran

sfe

rred

em

plo

ye

es

Co

ntin

uo

us e

mp

loym

en

t by e

xte

nd

ing

m

an

da

tory

retire

me

nt a

ge

an

d re

-e

mp

loym

en

t, etc

.

Ap

po

intm

en

t from

no

n-re

gu

lar e

mp

loye

e

to re

gu

lar e

mp

loye

e

Rea

ssig

nm

en

t of c

urre

nt e

mp

loye

es

Exp

an

sio

n o

f the

sco

pe

of p

ote

ntia

l wo

rk

of c

urre

nt e

mp

loye

es th

rou

gh

ed

uca

tion

, tra

inin

g, a

nd

skills

de

ve

lop

me

nt

Ad

ditio

na

l wo

rk fo

r cu

rren

t em

plo

ye

es

(incre

asin

g w

ork

ing

ho

urs

an

d th

e

nu

mb

er o

f da

ys w

ork

ed

)

Rela

xin

g th

e e

xis

ting

co

ntin

ue

d-s

erv

ice

re

qu

irem

en

ts to

pro

mo

te y

ou

ng

e

mp

loye

es to

un

pre

ce

de

nte

d p

osts

Stre

ng

the

nin

g o

f effic

ien

cy b

y re

vie

win

g

wo

rk p

roce

sse

s

Imp

rove

me

nt o

f em

plo

ym

en

t m

an

ag

em

en

t for re

du

cin

g th

e tu

rno

ve

r ra

te

Imp

lem

en

tatio

n o

f lab

or-

sa

vin

g/ra

tion

aliz

atio

n in

ve

stm

en

ts

Pro

vid

ing

em

plo

ye

es w

ith jo

b s

atis

factio

n

Pro

mo

ting

ou

tso

urc

ing

Red

ucin

g/re

vie

win

g b

usin

ess

Imp

lem

en

tatio

n o

f M&

A w

ith

co

nsid

era

tion

als

o g

ive

n to

se

cu

ring

h

um

an

reso

urc

es

External procurement Internal procurement Review work processes

Efforts by companies to alleviate the labor shortage

○ To alleviate labour shortages, companies are trying to hire more workers by, for instance, offering better employment

conditions and boosting their recruitment strategies. But few companies are making efforts to improve their employment

management and enhance the levels of workers’ fulfillment at work in order to tackle the labor shortage.

⇒ Labor shortage issues will not be solved if companies fail to retain employees they have hired and reduce turnover .

(%)

4

Employment management that contributes to the improvement of the comfortability of working, turnover rate, and retention rate

“Perc

enta

ge o

f em

plo

yees in

com

panie

s im

ple

me

ntin

g th

e m

easure

s w

ho a

nsw

ere

d

“Com

forta

ble

to w

ork

in”” m

inus “P

erc

enta

ge o

f em

plo

yees in

com

panie

s n

ot im

ple

mentin

g

the m

easure

sw

ho a

nsw

ere

d th

e s

am

e”

Create a workplace environment that encourages employee engagement

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

有給休暇の

取得促進

職場の人間関係や

コミュニケーション

の円滑化

業務遂行に伴う

裁量権の拡大

労働時間の短縮や

働き方の柔軟化

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

有給休暇の

取得促進



の円滑化


裁量権の拡大



0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

有給休暇の

取得促進



の円滑化


裁量権の拡大



[Comfortability of working][Improvement of retention rate

(at 3 years after hiring)][Improvement of turnover rate]

(% points) (% points) (% points)

○ Providing a positive workplace environment for employees is an essential key to employee fulfillment.

⇒ Improving a workplace environment through work-style reform can reduce employee turnover and boost the

retention rate.

“Perc

enta

ge o

f co

mp

an

ies im

ple

me

ntin

g th

e m

ea

su

res

in w

hic

h th

e tu

rnover ra

te d

ecre

ased”

min

us “P

erc

enta

ge o

f com

panie

s n

ot im

ple

mentin

g th

e m

easure

sin

whic

h th

e tu

rnover ra

te

decre

ased”

“Perc

enta

ge o

f com

panie

s im

ple

mentin

g th

e m

easure

sin

whic

h th

e re

tentio

n ra

te in

cre

ased”

min

us “P

erc

enta

ge o

f com

panie

s n

ot im

ple

mentin

g th

e m

easure

sin

whic

h th

e re

tentio

n ra

te

incre

ased”

5

Sh

orte

nin

g o

f wo

rkin

g

ho

urs

an

d fle

xib

le w

ork

sty

les

Exp

an

din

g th

e s

co

pe

of

dis

cre

tion

asso

cia

ted

with

wo

rk e

xe

cu

tion

Sm

oo

thin

g h

um

an

rela

tion

sh

ips a

nd

co

mm

un

icatio

n a

t wo

rk

En

co

ura

ge

me

nt to

take

pa

id le

ave

Sh

orte

nin

g o

f wo

rkin

g

ho

urs

an

d fle

xib

le w

ork

sty

les

Exp

an

din

g th

e s

co

pe

of

dis

cre

tion

asso

cia

ted

with

wo

rk e

xe

cu

tion

Sm

oo

thin

g h

um

an

rela

tion

sh

ips a

nd

co

mm

un

icatio

n a

t wo

rk

En

co

ura

ge

me

nt to

take

pa

id le

ave

Sh

orte

nin

g o

f wo

rkin

g

ho

urs

an

d fle

xib

le w

ork

sty

les

Exp

an

din

g th

e s

co

pe

of

dis

cre

tion

asso

cia

ted

with

wo

rk e

xe

cu

tion

Sm

oo

thin

g h

um

an

rela

tion

sh

ips a

nd

co

mm

un

icatio

n a

t wo

rk

En

co

ura

ge

me

nt to

take

pa

id le

ave

Fulfillment at work and

stress/fatigue of employees

Degre

e o

f feelin

g e

xcessiv

e s

tress/fa

tigue d

urin

g

work

29.3 31.2

35.6

38.5 38.6

20

25

30

35

40

45

2以下 3 4 5 6

ＷＥスコア

2 or less

3.86 3.41 3.40 3.23 3.30

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

2以下 3 4 5 6

ＷＥスコア

2 or less

(% points)


retention rate of newly hired

employees

0.25

2.83

5.23 5.82

8.08

0

2

4

6

8

10

2以下 3 4 5 6

ＷＥスコア

(% points)


turnover rate of employees

4.89 3.98

5.28

7.29

8.54

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

2以下 3 4 5 6

ＷＥスコア

2 or less

Degre

e th

at in

div

idual e

mplo

yees fe

el th

at

labour p

roductiv

ity is

impro

vin

g

2.37

2.93 3.36

3.84 4.39

0

2

4

6

2以下 3 4 5 6

WEスコア2 or less

(1,000 yen)

3.39

3.80 3.85 3.66

4.36

2

3

4

5

2以下 3 4 5 6

ＷＥスコア

2 or less

La

bou

r pro

du

ctiv

ity o

f co

mp

an

ies

(based o

n m

an

-hours

)

Create a workplace environment that helps employees feel more fulfilled [1]

○ Creating a workplace environment that helps employees feel more fulfilled will not just help reduce turnover rates

and improve worker retention, but also help employees relieve stress and fatigue, enhance labor productivity and

boost customer satisfaction.

(% points)

Fulfillment at work and labour productivityFulfillment at work and

Companies’ awareness about

customer satisfactionIndividual awareness about labour

productivity

Labour productivity of companies

Fulfillment at work (work engagement score)Fulfillment at work (work engagement score) Fulfillment at work (work engagement score)

“Perc

enta

ge o

f com

panie

s in

whic

h th

e re

tentio

n ra

te

of n

ew

ly h

ired e

mplo

yees in

cre

ased

” min

us

“Perc

enta

ge o

f com

panie

s in

whic

h th

e ra

te d

ecre

ase

d”

* At 3

years

afte

r hirin

g

“Perc

enta

ge o

f com

panie

s in

whic

h th

e tu

rnover ra

te

decre

ased

” min

us “P

erc

enta

ge o

f com

panie

s in

whic

h th

e tu

rnover ra

te in

cre

ased

”

Fulfillment at work (work engagement score) Fulfillment at work (work engagement score) Fulfillment at work (work engagement score)

“Perc

enta

ge o

f com

panie

s in

whic

h c

usto

mer

satis

factio

n in

cre

ased

” min

us “P

erc

enta

ge o

f

com

panie

s in

whic

h c

usto

mer s

atis

factio

n

decre

ased

”

6

2 or less


○ Young regular full-time employees and lower-level managers tend to feel less fulfilled at work.

⇒ To help employees feel more fulfilled, companies can take effective steps such as : fostering smooth

communication in the workplace, reducing working hours, offering more flexible work-style options, allowing more

discretion to employees, helping employees have a clear vision of their career path and promoting other efforts.

Fulfillment at work (regular employees)Efforts by companies whose

employees feel fulfilled at work

(% points) (% points)

5.6 5.6

4.2

3.7 3.6

0

1

2

3

4

5

6


コミュニケーションの円滑化



業務遂行に伴う裁量権の拡大

いわゆる正社員と限定正社員

との間での相互転換の柔軟化

仕事と病気治療との両立支援

3.6

2.2

1.5

0.7 0.7

0

1

2

3

4

指導役や教育係の

配置（メンター制度等）

キャリアコンサルティング等

による将来展望の明確化

企業としての人材育成方針

・計画の策定

定期的な面談（個別評価・考課）

本人負担の社外教育に

対する支援・配慮

Employment managementHuman resource

development

“Imple

menta

tion ra

te in

com

panie

s w

ith h

igh

fulfillm

ent a

t work

” min

us “Im

ple

menta

tion ra

te in

com

panie

s w

ith lo

wfu

lfillment a

t work

”

3.42 3.39

3.45

3.29

3.38 3.42

3.44

3.70

3.43 3.40

3.33

3.40 3.45

3.76

3.40

3.47

3.39 3.35 3.36

3.27

2.9

3.1

3.3

3.5

3.7

3.9

All

Male

s

Fem

ale

s

29 o

r younger

Age 3

0-3

9

Age 4

0-4

9

Age 5

0-5

9

60 o

r old

er

Thre

e m

etro

polita

n a

reas

Outs

ide th

ree m

etro

polita

n a

reas

Non-m

anageria

l positio

n

Equiv

ale

nt to

subsectio

n m

anager/c

hie

f

Equiv

ale

nt to

sectio

n m

anager

Equiv

ale

nt to

departm

ent m

anager

or h

igher

20 o

r less e

mplo

yees

More

than 2

0 b

ut 5

0 o

r less e

mplo

yees

More

than 5

0 b

ut 1

00 o

r less e

mplo

yees

More

than 1

00 b

ut 3

00 o

r less e

mplo

yees

More

than 3

00 b

ut 1

000 o

r less e

mplo

yees

1000 o

r more

em

plo

yees

All Sex Age Residence Position Size of company in whichemployees work

(Work engagement score)

7

Support fo

r bala

ncin

g w

ork

and d

isease

treatm

ent

More

flexib

le m

utu

al c

onvers

ion b

etw

een s

o-

calle

d re

gula

r em

plo

yees a

nd lim

ited re

gula

r

em

plo

yees

Expandin

g th

e s

cope o

f dis

cre

tion a

ssocia

ted

with

work

executio

n

Shorte

nin

g o

f work

ing h

ours

and fle

xib

le w

ork

style

s

Sm

ooth

ing h

um

an re

latio

nship

s a

nd

com

munic

atio

n

Support/c

onsid

era

tion fo

r indiv

idual

paym

ents

for e

xte

rnal tra

inin

g

Schedule

d in

terv

iew

(indiv

idual

evalu

atio

n/p

erfo

rmance e

valu

atio

n)

Form

ula

tion o

f hum

an re

sourc

e

develo

pm

ent p

olic

y/pla

n o

f the c

om

pany

Cla

rificatio

n o

f futu

re v

isio

ns th

rough

care

er c

onsulta

tion, e

tc.

Pla

cem

ent o

f coaches a

nd te

achers

(mento

r sys

tem

, etc

.)


○ Among non-regular workers, involuntary ones and those feeling that they are unfairly evaluated in terms of job

performance compared with regular employees tend to feel less fulfilled at work.

⇒ It is suggested that improving the treatment of non-regular workers may increase their fulfillment. Such

improvements include converting more involuntary non-regular workers to regular employees and the introduction of

an equal pay for equal work system, etc.

(Percentage of those with high fulfillment at work (work engagement), %)

Fulfillment at work (non-regular employees)

16.3

26.2 24.8

17.9

26.4 25.7

12.4

21.0

18.1 16.9

25.9

23.4

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

不本意

不本意以外

全体

不本意

不本意以外

全体

不本意

不本意以外

全体

不本意

不本意以外

全体

非正規雇用パート

・アルバイト

労働者派遣

事業所の

派遣社員

契約社員

・嘱託

Non-regular employees’ perception

of performance evaluation and

fulfillment at work

41.0

22.9

0

10

20

30

40

50

公正だと

感じた

不合理だと

感じた

正規の従業員と比べた

自分の働き方に対する評価

Percentage of those with high fulfillment at work (%)

8

正規雇用の従業員と比べた

All

Oth

er th

an

un

willin

g c

ho

ice

Unw

illing

ch

oic

e

Non-regular

employees

All

Oth

er th

an

un

willin

g c

ho

ice

Un

willin

g c

ho

ice

All

Oth

er th

an

un

willin

g c

ho

ice

Unw

illing

ch

oic

e

All

Oth

er th

an

un

willin

g c

ho

ice

Unw

illing

ch

oic

e

Part-time/

temporary part-

time workers

Dispatched

employees of

worker

dispatching

business offices

Contract/

temporary

employees

Fe

lt it wa

s

un

rea

so

na

ble

Fe

lt it wa

s fa

ir

Evaluation of one’s own work

compared to regular employees

2019

Analysis of the Labour Economy

― Challenges Facing Japan: Work Styles and Labour Shortages ―

[Overview]

Part I: Trends and Features of the Labour Economy

― Employment trends [1] ―

Japan‘s unemployment rate hit a 26-year low of 2.4% in FY 2018 since FY1992, and the effective ratio of job offers to

seekers marked a 45-year high of 1.62 in the same fiscal year since FY 1973. This suggests that employment conditions

have been steadily improving.

The unemployment rate has been declining in all areas in Japan and remained low compared to other countries.

Unemployment rate/ ratio of job offers to

seekers, etc.

International comparison of unemployment rate

(Year)

(Year)

(Year-to-year comparison, %)

Nominal/real GDP growth rate

1

-8

-6

-4

-2

0

2

4

6

Real GDP growth rate

Nominal GDP growth rate

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

カナダフランスドイツイタリア

日本英国米国 OECD平均

(%)

2.4

2.9

2.5 2.5

2.2

1.8

2.8

2.4 2.2

2.6

3.4

1

2

3

4

5

6

2016年

2017年

2018年

(%) Unemployment rate by area

2016

2017

2018

2.0

2

3

4

5

6

0

1

2

3Unemployment rate (right axis)

Ratio of new job offers to seekers

Effective ratio of job offers to seekers for regular employees

Effective ratio of job

offers to seekers

(Times) (%)

(Year)

Both nominal and real GDP have grown

for 7 consecutive years

Okin

aw

a

Kyu

shu

Shik

oku

Chugoku

Kin

ki

Tokai

Hokurik

u

North

ern

Kanto

/

Koshin

South

ern

Kanto

Tohoku

Hokkaid

o

Natio

nw

ide

Source: Prepared based on “System of National Accounts”, Cabinet Office (upper left figure); “Employment Security Statistics”, MHLW (upper right figure); “Labour Force Survey (Basic Tabulation)”

and “Labour Force Survey (Detailed Tabulation)”, Statistics Bureau of MIC (upper right figure and lower left figure); and OECD.stat (lower right figure)

Canada

Japan

France

U.K.

Germany

U.S.A.

Italy

OECD avg.

98.2

97.6

86

88

90

92

94

96

98

100

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

40

Manufacturing industries

All industries

Non-manufacturing

industries

― Employment trends [2] ―

The number of regular employees in the workforce increased for the fourth consecutive year in 2018 to reach 34.76 million. In addition, theemployment (informal job offer) rates for new university/senior high school graduates have remained extremely high.

The diffusion index (DI) of corporate labor force assessments suggests that a growing number of companies face labor shortages. A surveyconducted in March 2019 finds that labor shortages in all industries, and manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors reached the secondmost extreme level since the country’s economic bubble years.

The diffusion index on worker shortages by type of employment shows that the labor shortage in regular employees is more severe than that inpart-time workers.

Diffusion index (DI) of corporate

labor force assessment

(Year)

New senior high school graduates

(as of the end of March)

New university graduates

(as of April 1)

Source: Prepared based on “Labour Force Survey (Detailed Tabulation)”, Statistics Bureau of MIC (upper left figure); “Survey on (Informally Promised) Employment Situation of (Potential) Senior High School Graduates, etc.”, MEXT (lower left figure); “Survey on Employment Situation of University Graduates”, MHLW/MEXT (lower left figure); “Short-term Economic Survey of Principal Enterprise in Japan”, Bank of Japan (middle figure); and “Survey on Labour Economy Trend”, MHLW (right figure)

(Notes) 1) The shaded areas in the middle figure represent the recession periods.2) “Regular employees, etc.” refers to those employed without a definite period or those employed by concluding employment contracts for the period of at least one year, excluding “part-time workers”.3) “Part-time workers” refers to those with the number of prescribed daily working hours or the number of prescribed weekly working days being shorter than that of regular employees at the business office

concerned.

Changes in the number of

employees by employment typeE

xcess

Sh

orta

ge

Labour shortage by type of

employment (Feb. 2013 survey → Feb. 2019 survey)

Lab

ou

r sh

orta

ge is

gro

win

g

(Year/March graduates)

2

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

正社員等パートタイム

(Difference in DI, % points)

(%)


1400

1600

1800

2000

2200

2800

3000

3200

3400

3600(10,000 persons) (10,000 persons)

Regular employees

Non-regular employees

(right axis)

21.20 million persons

34.76 million

persons

(Year)

Regular

employees, etc.Part-time

workers

Employment (informal job offer) rate

-3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

2013 14 15 16 17 18

パートタイム労働者比率による要因

パートタイム労働者の現金給与総額による要因

一般労働者の特別給与による要因

一般労働者の所定外給与による要因

一般労働者の所定内給与による要因

Year-to-year

comparison of the total

cash earnings (nominal)

of all workers

Percentage of part-time workers

Total cash earnings of part-time workers

Special wages of full-time workers

Non-scheduled wages of full-time workers

Scheduled wages of full-time workers

― Wage trends [1] ―

The total monthly cash earnings increased for the fifth consecutive year in FY2018 thanks to hikes in scheduled wages and

special payments for full-time workers etc.

The nominal wages of full-time workers and the hourly wages of part-time workers have been on the rise.

Monthly earnings of full-time workers

(FY)

3


Year-on-year growth for

5 consecutive years

40.240.5

40.941.1

41.541.8

42.3

38

39

40

41

42

43

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

(10,000 yen)

1,0611,071

1,0871,104

1,122

1,149

1,175

1,000

1,050

1,100

1,150

1,200

12 13 14 15 16 17 18

Hourly wages of part-time workers(Yen)

(FY)

Source: Prepared based on “Monthly Labour Survey”, MHLW

(Notes) 1) The figures indicate nominal values for business offices with 5 or more employees in all industries surveyed.

2) The wages of full-time workers indicate corrected real numbers calculated by multiplying the index of the total amount of cash salaries by the reference number (2015) and then dividing

it by 100.

(FY)

Trend in factors that influence fluctuation in

total monthly cash earnings

77.0

83.5

78.9

83.7

72

74

76

78

80

82

84

86

女性高齢者（60歳以上）

2013年 2018年

-3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

2013 14 15 16 17 18

物価要因

雇用者数要因名目賃金要因


(FY)

― Wage trends [2] ―

Source: Prepared based on “Basic Survey on Wage Structure”, MHLW (left figure and middle figure); “Monthly Labour Survey”, MHLW (right figure); “System of National Accounts”, Cabinet

Office (right figure); and “Labour Force Survey (Basic Tabulation)”, Statistics Bureau of MIC (right figure)

While the share of the elderly workers in the total full-time workers has had a negative impact on full-time workers’ total cash earnings,

the wage gap between elderly and average workers has been narrowing.

An increase in the labor force participation of women and the elderly ( a rise in the number of workers) has had a positive effect on the

wage income of employees.

Contribution of each factor to the

wage income of employees

(in real terms)

Year-to-year


employee income (real)

Contribution of each factor to full-

time workers’ total monthly cash

earnings

Changes in relative wages of females/

elderly workers (aged 60 or older)

(Year)

4

-4

-3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

4

2012 13 14 15 16 17 18

60歳以上比率による要因

賃金要因（60歳以上）

60歳未満女性比率による要因

賃金要因（60歳未満女性）

賃金要因（60歳未満男性）


Year-to-year


cash earnings of full-

time workers

Percentage of persons aged 60 or older

Wages (60 or older)

Percentage of females younger than 60

Wages (females younger than 60)

Wages (males younger than 60)

(Total of males and females /

total of all ages in the respective years = 100)

Commodity price

Number of employees

Nominal wages

Females Elderly

(aged 60 or older)

• Use the concept of work engagement to analyze

employee fulfillment

• Analyze the relationship between fulfillment at

work and outcomes: those outcomes include

improved workers’ health, higher retention rates

and increased productivity, etc.

• Analyze effective employment management and

human resource development methods that help

employees feel more fulfilled at work: a more

detailed analysis is needed to look at if there are

workers serving as role models for young

employees and examine whether employees are

given feedback and have opportunities to talk

with the management about their future career

visions

Part II: Challenges: How Labour Shortages Affect Work Styles

• Many workers and employers are feeling the impact of labour shortages on the workplace environment ; for instance, workers may endure harsh working

conditions or feel less fulfilled at work.

• When workers feel less fulfilled at work, they may suffer from extreme fatigue and stress, and perform poorly at work. In addition, lower levels of employee

fulfillment may also hamper business operations.

• Creating a positive workplace environment is the key to helping employees feel more fulfilled at work. Therefore, companies need to focus on the both

elements (a positive workplace environment and employee fulfillment) and promote “work-style reforms” further to alleviate labor shortages.

Challenges facing Japan

Measures to take on challenges facing Japan

Promote best practices of human resource management introduced at

companies providing a positive workplace environment for employees

Promote best practices of human

resource management introduced at

companies whose employees feel

fulfilled at work

Establish a virtuous work-rest cycle to

increase employee fulfillment and

improve their performance

• Learn what employees think about their

workplace environment by focusing on working

hours, the ratio of paid holidays taken and more

flexible work styles, etc. and analyze the impact

of labour shortages on the environment

• Promote work-style reforms and a better work-

life balance, and analyze (a) how corporate

efforts to improve employment management

affect the workplace environment and help

reduce employee turnover and (b) the impact of

labor-management communication on turnover

rates

• Analyze labor force characteristics by corporate

size and examine how to improve the

workplace environment and promote

employment management efforts such as

reducing employee turnover rates at small and

medium-sized companies, which typically have

a higher percentage of female and elderly

workers

This year’s White Paper on the Labour Economy examines the“Challenges Facing Japan: Work Styles and Labour Shortages.”

Viewpoint Viewpoint

• Analyze how individuals unwind and refresh

themselves by using the concepts of four

recovery experiences: psychological

detachment, relaxation, control, and mastery

• Analyze how recovery experiences can help

improve work engagement and increase labor

productivity

• Analyze good examples of workers who are

good at setting boundaries between work and

leisure time in order to promote a better work-life

balance among employees

Viewpoint

5

Part II: Chapter 1 – Japan’s labour shortage

― Labour shortage in recent years―

A labour shortage is becoming increasingly acute, in particular among small and medium-sized companies. A similar trend is also seen

at companies in regions other than the three metropolitan areas, not just at firms in the three metropolitan areas. By industry, the

manufacturing and construction industries face a particularly serious labor shortage of regular employees while the housework

assistance service and other sectors face a similar manpower shortage of part-time workers.

D.I. for employment conditions by company size

Diffusion index (D.I.) on worker shortages by employment status and industry

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

40

50

60The regions other than the three metropolitan

areas tend to exceed the three metropolitan areas

Other than the three

metropolitan areas

The three

metropolitan

areas

labour shortage by region

Source: Prepared based on “Short-term Economic Survey of Principal Enterprise in Japan”, Bank of Japan (upper left figure); “Survey on Trends of Businesses with Labor Shortage”, Teikoku Databank (upper right figure); and “Survey on Labour Economy Trend”, MHLW (lower figure)

(Notes) 1) “The three metropolitan areas” refers to “Saitama”, “Chiba”, “Tokyo”, “Kanagawa”, “Gifu”, “Aichi”, “Mie”, “Kyoto”, “Osaka”, “Hyogo”, and “Nara”. The location of each company indicates the location of its head office.

2) “Regular employees, etc.” refers to those employed without a definite period or those employed by concluding employment contracts for the period of at least one year, excluding “part-time workers”. “Part-time workers” refers to those with the number of prescribed daily working

hours or the number of prescribed weekly working days being shorter than that of regular employees at the business office concerned.

-20-10

01020304050

製造業

建設業

学術研究,

専門･

技術

サービス業

情報通信業

不動産業,

物品賃貸業

サービス業（他に分類

されないもの）

運輸業,

郵便業

卸売業,

小売業

金融業,

保険業

医療，福祉

生活関連サービス業,

娯

楽業

宿泊業,

飲食サービス業

-20-10

01020304050

生活関連サービス業,

娯

楽業

サービス業（他に分類

されないもの）

金融業,

保険業

不動産業,

物品賃貸業

卸売業,

小売業

製造業

運輸業,

郵便業

建設業

情報通信業

学術研究,

専門･

技術

サービス業

宿泊業,


医療，福祉

Changes in the sense of excess/shortage of part-time workers

(February 2013 survey → February 2019 survey)

Changes in the sense of excess/shortage of regular employees, etc.

(February 2013 survey → February 2019 survey)

(Difference in D.I., % points)


6

(Difference in D.I., % points)

-23

-35

-39-50

-30

-10

10

30

全規模大企業中堅企業中小企業

All sizes

Large companies

Medium-sized companies

Small and medium-sized companies

Exce

ss

Sh

orta

ge

(Year) (Year)

(“Shortage” minus “Excess”, % points)

Accom

modatio

ns, e

atin

g

and d

rinkin

g s

erv

ices

Liv

ing-re

late

d a

nd

pers

onal s

erv

ices a

nd

am

usem

ent s

erv

ices

Medic

al, h

ealth

care

and

welfa

re

Fin

ance a

nd in

sura

nce

Whole

sale

and re

tail tra

de

Tra

nsport a

nd p

osta

l

activ

ities

Serv

ices (n

ot e

lsew

here

cla

ssifie

d)

Real e

sta

te a

nd g

oods

renta

l and le

asin

g

Info

rmatio

n a

nd

com

munic

atio

ns

Scie

ntific

researc

h,

pro

fessio

nal a

nd te

chnic

al

serv

ices

Constru

ctio

n

Manufa

ctu

ring

Medic

al, h

ealth

care

and

welfa

re

Accom

modatio

ns, e

atin

g

and d

rinkin

g s

erv

ices

Scie

ntific

researc

h,

pro

fessio

nal a

nd te

chnic

al

serv

ices

Info

rmatio

n a

nd

com

munic

atio

ns

Constru

ctio

n

Tra

nsport a

nd p

osta

l

activ

ities

Manufa

ctu

ring

Whole

sale

and re

tail tra

de

Real e

sta

te a

nd g

oods

renta

l and le

asin

g

Fin

ance a

nd in

sura

nce

Serv

ices (n

ot e

lsew

here

cla

ssifie

d)

Liv

ing-re

late

d a

nd

pers

onal s

erv

ices a

nd

am

usem

ent s

erv

ices

― Efforts to alleviate labour shortage ―

According to the chart below, 86% of companies have taken steps to alleviate a labour shortage over the past three years (including

companies planning to take steps). In the manufacturing, education and learning support, and retail and wholesale industries, the share

of the companies that have taken action to address the manpower shortage is below the average of all industries.

By company size, fewer small companies have taken steps to alleviate the labor shortage compared with larger firms. However, more

than 80% of companies with 300 or fewer workers and those with 50 or fewer employees, respectively, have worked to address their

labor shortage.

Businesses taking steps to

alleviate the labour

shortage by company size

Companies taking steps to alleviate the

labour shortage by industry(%)

86.0 85.7

82.9

70

85

100

全規模企業

従業員300人

以下の企業

従業員50人

以下の企業

94.1

92.291.3

89.788.8 88.6 88.2

86.1 86.0 86.0 85.8

83.582.6

79.9

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

情報通信業

学術研究，

専門・技術サービス業

建設業

運輸業，郵便業

サービス業

宿泊業，


金融業，保険業

医療，福祉

全産業

生活関連サービス業，

娯楽業

製造業

教育，学習支援業

不動産業，物品賃貸業

卸売業，小売業

86.0

14.0

0

20

40

60

80

100

取り組んできた

（近く取り組む

予定を含む）

取り組んで

こなかった

7

(%)

Companies taking steps to

alleviate the labour shortage

(%)

Not m

ade e

fforts

Made e

fforts

(inclu

din

g p

lannin

g to

make e

fforts

in th

e

near fu

ture

)

Wh

ole

sa

le a

nd

reta

il trad

e

Rea

l esta

te a

nd

go

od

s re

nta

l an

d

lea

sin

g

Ed

uca

tion

, lea

rnin

g s

up

po

rt

Ma

nu

factu

ring

Liv

ing

-rela

ted

an

d p

ers

on

al

se

rvic

es a

nd

am

use

me

nt s

erv

ice

s

All in

du

strie

s

Me

dic

al, h

ea

lth c

are

an

d w

elfa

re

Fin

an

ce

an

d in

su

ran

ce

Acco

mm

od

atio

ns, e

atin

g a

nd

drin

kin

g s

erv

ice

s

Se

rvic

es in

du

stry

Tra

nsp

ort a

nd

po

sta

l activ

ities

Con

stru

ctio

n

Scie

ntific

rese

arc

h, p

rofe

ssio

na

l

an

d te

ch

nic

al s

erv

ice

s

Info

rma

tion

an

d c

om

mu

nic

atio

ns

Source: Prepared based on individual questionnaires of “Survey on Current Status of Labour Shortage and Work styles, etc. (Company Questionnaire)” (2019), The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training

(Notes) The results of answers given to the question on the status within 3 years from the time of the survey are summarized.

Com

panie

s w

ith 5

0

em

plo

yees o

r less

Com

panie

s w

ith 3

00

em

plo

yees o

r less

Com

panie

s o

f all s

izes

― Company efforts to alleviate labour shortages and signs of manpower shortages ―

Many companies rely on outside sources or internal sources to alleviate a labor shortage: efforts through outside resources include seeking new

workers in the labor market while internal resource approaches include converting non-regular workers to regular employees and providing

continuous employment. However, company efforts focusing on the improvement in the workplace environment are not widely accepted yet: making

improvements in an employment management system and helping employees feel more fulfilled at work can be part of such efforts.

Many companies say they recognize that they are suffering from labor shortages when they have the increasing difficulty in hiring new workers or

observe more and more employees quitting voluntarily.

69.4

38.229.4

23.6 22.215.1 13.6 13.5 12.9 10.8 8.1 8.1 7.8 4.5

0

20

40

60

80

新規の人材獲得が

困難になっている

従業員の自発的な

離職の増加

景気の回復に伴う事業

の拡大

（事業所の新設や受注・

販売量の増加等）

定年退職や再雇用期間

が満了を

迎えた従業員の増加

必要なスキル・知識を

もった人材が

社内におらず、配置転換

（転勤を含む）

で調整できない

省力化・合理化投資（機

械化、自動化、

ＩＴ・ＡＩの活用等）がで

きない

業務プロセスの見直しが

できない

配置転換（転勤を含む）

を希望しない、

あるいは、対応できない

従業員の増加

育児のための休職者や

短時間勤務者の増加

雇用管理（能力開発を含

む）の見直しが

できない

病気治療のための休職

者や短時間勤務者

の増加

過去の採用抑制の影響

都市部への人材流出

介護のための休職者や

短時間勤務者の増加

(%)


(Notes) The results of answers to the question asking the companies that answered “Significant shortage” or “Slight shortage” for all employees to give the reasons for the shortage of employees with multiple answers

allowed are summarized.

8

Reasons for feeling the labour shortage

68.2 67.2

50.0 47.4

26.7 25.116.5 13.6

59.3

38.132.6 28.9

13.1 13.1

28.1 27.120.8 19.7 18.0

10.35.0

0

20

40

60

80

求人募集時の賃金を

引き上げる

中途採用を強化する

（採用チャンネルの

多様化等含む）

求人募集時の賃金以外の

労働条件を改善する

新卒採用を強化する

（通年採用化、新卒定義の拡

大、インターンシップの

受入強化等含む）

応募要件の緩和を図る等、

採用対象を拡大する

非正社員の活用を進める

（非正社員の量的な拡大や業

務の高度化）

出産・育児等による

離職者の呼び戻し・

優先採用を行う

出向・転籍者を受け入れる

定年の延長や再雇用等に

よる雇用継続を行う

非正社員から正社員への

登用を進める

現従業員の配置転換

教育訓練・能力開発による

現従業員の業務可能範囲

の拡大

現従業員の追加就業

（労働時間や出勤日数

の増加）

従来の勤続要件等を緩和

し、若手従業員をこれまで

にないポストに抜擢する

業務プロセスの見直しによる

効率性の強化（不要業務の削

減、業務の標準化・簡素化、仕

事の分担・進め方の見直し等）

離職率を低下させるための

雇用管理の改善

省力化・合理化投資

（機械化、自動化、ＩＴ・ＡＩの

活用等）の実施

従業員への働きがいの付与

（希望重視の配置、フィード

バックの実施など）

外部委託（アウト

ソーシング）を進める

事業の縮小・見直し

（営業時間の短縮、製品・サー

ビスの絞込み等）

を行う

人材確保も視野に入れたM

＆

A

の実施

外部調達内部調達業務の見直し

(%)

Rela

xin

g th

e e

xis

ting

co

ntin

ue

d-s

erv

ice

req

uire

me

nts

to p

rom

ote

yo

un

g e

mp

loye

es to

u

np

rece

de

nte

d p

osts

Ad

ditio

na

l wo

rk fo

r cu

rren

t

em

plo

ye

es (in

cre

asin

g w

ork

ing

h

ou

rs a

nd

the

nu

mb

er o

f da

ys

wo

rke

d)

Exp

an

sio

n o

f the

sco

pe

of

po

ten

tial w

ork

of c

urre

nt

em

plo

ye

es th

rou

gh

ed

uca

tion

, tra

inin

g, a

nd

skills

de

ve

lop

me

nt

Rea

ssig

nm

en

t of c

urre

nt

em

plo

ye

es

Ap

po

intm

en

t from

no

n-re

gu

lar

em

plo

ye

e to

reg

ula

r em

plo

ye

e

Con

tinu

ou

s e

mp

loym

en

t by

exte

nd

ing

ma

nd

ato

ry

retire

me

nt a

ge

an

d re

-

em

plo

ym

en

t, etc

.

Imp

lem

en

tatio

n o

f M&

A w

ith

co

nsid

era

tion

als

o g

ive

n to

se

cu

ring

hu

ma

n re

so

urc

es

Red

ucin

g/re

vie

win

g b

usin

ess

Pro

mo

ting

ou

tso

urc

ing

Pro

vid

ing

em

plo

ye

es w

ith

fulfillm

en

t at w

ork

Imp

lem

en

tatio

n o

f lab

or-

sa

vin

g/ra

tion

aliz

atio

n in

ve

stm

en

ts

Imp

rove

me

nt o

f em

plo

ym

en

t m

an

ag

em

en

t for re

du

cin

g th

e

turn

ove

r rate

Stre

ng

the

nin

g o

f effic

ien

cy b

y

revie

win

g w

ork

pro

ce

sse

s

Efforts by companies to alleviate the labor shortage

External procurement

Acce

ptin

g te

mp

ora

rily/

pe

rma

ne

ntly

tran

sfe

rred

em

plo

ye

es

Reca

lling

/pre

fere

ntia

lly e

mp

loyin

g

job

lea

ve

rs d

ue

to c

hild

birth

an

d

ch

ild c

are

, etc

.

Pro

mo

ting

the

utiliz

atio

n o

f n

on

-reg

ula

r em

plo

ye

es

Exp

an

din

g th

e e

mp

loym

en

t targ

ets

su

ch

as re

laxin

g th

e a

pp

lica

tion

re

qu

irem

en

ts, e

tc.

Stre

ng

the

nin

g e

mp

loym

en

t of n

ew

g

rad

ua

tes

Imp

rovin

g w

ork

ing

co

nd

ition

s o

the

r th

an

wa

ge

s a

t the

time

of

recru

itme

nt

Stre

ng

the

nin

g m

id-c

are

er

em

plo

ym

en

t (inclu

din

g

div

ers

ifica

tion

of re

cru

itme

nt

ch

an

ne

ls, e

tc.)

Rais

ing

wa

ge

s a

t the

time

of

recru

itme

nt

Internal procurement Reviewing work processes

Incre

ase

in th

e n

um

be

r o

f tho

se

ab

se

nt fro

m

wo

rk o

r wo

rkin

g re

du

ce

d

wo

rk h

ou

rs d

ue

to

nu

rsin

g c

are

Ou

tflow

of h

um

an

reso

urc

es to

urb

an

are

as

Imp

acts

of th

e p

ast

em

plo

ym

en

t cu

tba

ck

Incre

ase

in th

e n

um

be

r o

f tho

se

ab

se

nt fro

m

wo

rk o

r wo

rkin

g re

du

ce

d

wo

rk h

ou

rs d

ue

to

dis

ea

se

trea

tme

nt

Una

ble

to re

vie

w

em

plo

ym

en

t m

an

ag

em

en

t (inclu

din

g

skills

de

ve

lop

me

nt)

Incre

ase

in th

e n

um

be

r o

f tho

se

ab

se

nt fro

m

wo

rk o

r wo

rkin

g re

du

ce

d

wo

rk h

ou

rs d

ue

to

ch

ild c

are

Incre

ase

in th

e n

um

be

r o

f em

plo

ye

es n

ot

wis

hin

g, o

r un

ab

le, to

acce

pt re

assig

nm

en

t (in

clu

din

g jo

b re

loca

tion

)

Una

ble

to re

vie

w w

ork

p

roce

sse

s

Una

ble

to m

ake

lab

or-

sa

vin

g/ ra

tion

aliz

atio

n

inve

stm

en

ts

(me

ch

an

iza

tion

, a

uto

ma

tion

, IT/A

I u

tiliza

tion

, etc

.)

Hum

an

reso

urc

es w

ith

req

uire

d s

kills

/ kn

ow

led

ge

are

lackin

g,

wh

ich

ca

nn

ot b

e

ad

juste

d b

y

rea

ssig

nm

en

t (inclu

din

g

job

relo

ca

tion

)

Incre

ase

in th

e n

um

be

r

of e

mp

loye

es h

avin

g

rea

ch

ed

the

ma

nd

ato

ry

retire

me

nt a

ge

or w

ho

se

re-e

mp

loym

en

t pe

riod

h

avin

g e

xp

ired

Bu

sin

ess e

xp

an

sio

n d

ue

to

eco

no

mic

reco

ve

ry

(esta

blis

hin

g n

ew

b

usin

ess o

ffice

s,

incre

asin

g o

rde

r/sa

les

qu

an

tity, e

tc.)

Incre

ase

in th

e n

um

be

r

of e

mp

loye

es v

olu

nta

rily

lea

vin

g jo

bs

Acq

uirin

g n

ew

hu

ma

n

reso

urc

es is

be

co

min

g

diffic

ult

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

① ② ③ ④

三大都市圏

三大都市圏以外

(%)

The three

The three metropolitan areas

Other than the three

metropolitan areas

― Recruitment at companies having difficulties in hiring new workers ―

Most companies facing labor shortages say that they have difficulty in hiring new workers because they receive no application for the job they

have offered. Such a trend is significant in regions other than the three metropolitan areas.

By industry, many companies in the accommodation and food service, construction, and medical and welfare service sectors say they

receive no application for the job they have offered.

[1] Even when recruitment is made, no applications are received

[2] Applications are received, but qualities of the applicants were not at the level

required by the company

[3] Applications are received and qualities of the applicants were at the level required by

the company, but labour/working conditions, etc. that they requested did not match

what the company offered

[4] The applicants gained employment, but they left the company early on and could not

be retained.

60.9

23.6

5.69.9

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

① ② ③ ④

72.3 69.364.7

62.4 60.9

54.5 52.548.7

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

宿泊業，


建設業

医療，福祉

サービス業

（他に分類されないもの）

全産業

製造業



(%)

9

(%)

Percentage of companies that answered “Even

when recruitment is made, no applications are

received” by industry

Status when making

recruitment by regionStatus when making

recruitment because of

labour shortage

[1] [2] [3] [4] [1] [2] [3] [4]

Whole

sale

and re

tail tra

de

Tra

nsport a

nd p

osta

l

activ

ities

Manufa

ctu

ring

All in

dustrie

s

Serv

ices (n

ot e

lsew

here

cla

ssifie

d)

Medic

al, h

ealth

care

and

welfa

re

Constru

ctio

n

Accom

modatio

ns, e

atin

g

and d

rinkin

g s

erv

ices

Source: Prepared based on individual questionnaires of “Survey on Current Status of Labour Shortage and Work styles, etc. (Company Questionnaire)” (2019), The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training(Notes) 1) The companies that are counted are the ones that gave the following answers as the reasons for the labour shortage: “Significant shortage” or “Slight shortage” for all employees and

“Acquiring new human resources is becoming difficult”.2) “The three metropolitan areas” refers to “Saitama”, “Chiba”, “Tokyo”, “Kanagawa”, “Gifu”, “Aichi”, “Mie”, “Kyoto”, “Osaka”, “Hyogo”, and “Nara”.

-60

-50

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

15～34歳 35～54歳 55歳以上 15～34歳 35～54歳 55歳以上

男性女性

(“Wish to increase” minus “Wish to decrease”, % points)

-60

-50

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

15～34歳 35～54歳 55歳以上 15～34歳 35～54歳 55歳以上

男性女性

Three metropolitan

areas

Regions other than three metropolitan areas

― Workers to prefer fewer working hours ―

Regular employees working 35 to 42 hours per week prefer to work fewer hours rather than longer hours.

(“Wish to increase” minus “Wish to decrease”, % points)

Source: Prepared based on individual questionnaires of “FY2017 Basic Survey on Employment Structure”, Statistics Bureau (MIC)

(Notes) 1) Those who answered “regular personnel/employees” to the question on their names at work are counted as regular employees, and those who answered “Part-time workers”, “Temporary

part-time workers”, “Dispatched employees of worker dispatching business offices”, “Contract employees”, or “Temporary employee” as non-regular employees.

2) “The three metropolitan areas” refers to “Saitama”, “Chiba”, “Tokyo”, “Kanagawa”, “Gifu”, “Aichi”, “Mie”, “Kyoto”, “Osaka”, “Hyogo”, and “Nara”.

3) In each figure, about “Working hours per week” the difference between the percentage of those who “Wish to increase” and the percentage of those who “Wish to decrease is indicated”.

10

Regular employees: Working 35 to 42 hours per week

Non-regular employees: Working less than 35 hours per week

(“Wish to increase” minus “Wish to decrease”, % points) (“Wish to increase” minus “Wish to decrease”, % points)

Regular employees: Working 49 to 59 hours per week

Non-regular employees: Working 35 to 42 hours per week

-60

-50

-40

-30

-20

-10

0

15～34歳 35～54歳 55歳以上 15～34歳 35～54歳 55歳以上

男性女性

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

15～34歳 35～54歳 55歳以上 15～34歳 35～54歳 55歳以上

男性女性

Age 15-34 Age 35-54 55 or older

Males


Females


Males


Females


Males


Females


Males


Females

33.8 33.531.0 30.6 30.1 29.2 28.1 27.6

23.8 22.8 22.4

17.8

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

情報通信業

サービス業


学術研究，専門・

技術サービス業

製造業

生活関連サービス業，

娯楽業


全産業

医療，福祉

宿泊業，飲食サービス業


建設業


(%)

― Companies implementing business process re-engineering to enhance efficiency ―

A relatively large number of companies have striven to enhance efficiency through business process re-engineering in the following

sectors: information and communications, services (not classified into other sectors), scientific research, professional and technical

services, and manufacturing, etc. The goal is to alleviate labor shortages.

Many companies, mainly those in the manufacturing sector, say that such efforts have helped boost labor productivity and ease labor

shortages.


(Notes) 1) In each figure, companies that answered “Made efforts” from among the choices “Made efforts”, “Not made efforts yet, but plan to make efforts in the near future”, and “Not made efforts” to the question on having made

efforts to alleviate labour shortage for the period from 3 years ago to the present are counted, and of which, those that answered that they had implemented “Strengthening of efficiency by reviewing work processes”

are counted (companies that did not answer are not counted). In addition, companies that answered “Place importance on delaying decline/withdrawal while maintaining the status quo is becoming difficult” to the

question on the motivation for business growth and companies that answered “No effect at present, and no concern over effect that may be caused within the next 3 years” to the question on the effects of labour

shortage on company management or workplace environment are not counted.

2) In the left figure, of the companies that have implemented measures to alleviate labour shortage, the percentage of those that answered that they had implemented “Strengthening of efficiency by reviewing work

processes” is calculated. Since the numbers of samples are very small, “Mining and quarrying of stone and gravel”, “Compound services”, “Electricity, gas, heat supply and water”, “Finance and insurance”, and “Real

estate and goods rental and leasing” are excluded.

3) With regard to the effects in the right figure, “Very effective” and “Somewhat effective” are counted as “Effective”, and “Rarely Effective” and “Ineffective” are counted as “Ineffective”. In addition, in the same figure, from

the viewpoints of “Improvement of labour productivity” and “alleviation of labour shortage”, the difference between the percentage of companies that answered “Very effective” or “Somewhat effective” and the

percentage of companies that answered “Rarely Effective” or “Ineffective” are counted as “Ineffective” is shown.

76.2

8.5

84.0

23.6

73.8

4.1

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

労働生産性向上

人手不足の解消





全産業製造業非製造業

Effects of business process re-engineering

(“Effective” minus “Ineffective”, % points)

11

Percentage of companies implementing business

process re-engineering to alleviate labour

shortage by industry

Educatio

n, le

arn

ing s

upport

Constru

ctio

n

Tra

nsport a

nd p

osta

l activ

ities

Accom

modatio

ns, e

atin

g a

nd

drin

kin

g s

erv

ices

Medic

al, h

ealth

care

and w

elfa

re

All in

dustrie

s

Whole

sale

and re

tail tra

de

Liv

ing-re

late

d a

nd p

ers

onal

serv

ices a

nd a

musem

ent s

erv

ices

Ma

nu

factu

ring

Scie

ntific

researc

h, p

rofe

ssio

nal

and te

chnic

al s

erv

ices

Serv

ices (n

ot e

lsew

here

cla

ssifie

d)

Info

rmatio

n a

nd c

om

munic

atio

ns

Alle

via

tion o

f

labour s

horta

ge

Impro

vem

ent o

f

labour p

roductiv

ity

Alle

via

tion o

f

labour s

horta

ge

Impro

vem

ent o

f

labour p

roductiv

ity

Alle

via

tion

of

labour s

horta

ge

Imp

rove

me

nt o

f

lab

ou

r pro

du

ctiv

ity

All industries Manufacturing Non-manufacturing

72.6

20.3

86.1

39.4

67.5

13.0

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100







全産業製造業非製造業

Effects of business process re-engineering

27.525.0

23.3 22.821.3

19.3 18.917.4 17.3

15.5 14.6 14.4

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

製造業

学術研究，専門・技術サービス業


サービス業


全産業

生活関連サービス業，娯楽業

情報通信業

建設業

医療，福祉

宿泊業，飲食サービス業



― Labor-saving improvements and investments for greater operating efficiency ―

A relatively large number of companies in the industries such as manufacturing, and wholesale and retail trade have worked on labor-

saving improvements and investments for greater operating efficiency as part of the efforts to alleviate labor shortages.

Many companies, mainly those in the manufacturing sector, say that labor-saving improvements and investments for greater operating

efficiency have helped boost labor productivity and ease labor shortages.

Percentage of companies that have worked on

labor-saving improvements and investments for

greater operating efficiency as part of the efforts

to alleviate labor shortages by industry

12

(“Effective” minus “Ineffective”, % points)(%)


(Notes) The left figure shows, of the companies that have made efforts to alleviate labour shortage for the period from 3 years ago to the present, the percentage of those that have implemented “labor-saving/rationalization investments”.

Educatio

n, le

arn

ing s

upport

Tra

nsport a

nd p

osta

l activ

ities

Accom

modatio

ns, e

atin

g a

nd

drin

kin

g s

erv

ices

Medic

al, h

ealth

care

and w

elfa

re

Constru

ctio

n

Info

rmatio

n a

nd c

om

munic

atio

ns

Liv

ing-re

late

d a

nd p

ers

onal s

erv

ices

and a

musem

ent s

erv

ices

All in

dustrie

s

Serv

ices (n

ot e

lsew

here

cla

ssifie

d)

Whole

sale

and re

tail tra

de

Scie

ntific

researc

h, p

rofe

ssio

nal

and te

chnic

al s

erv

ices

Manufa

ctu

ring

Alle

via

tion o

f

labour s

horta

ge

Impro

vem

ent o

f

labour p

roductiv

ity

Alle

via

tion o

f

labour s

horta

ge

Impro

vem

ent o

f

labour p

roductiv

ity

Alle

via

tion o

f

labour s

horta

ge

Impro

vem

ent o

f

labour p

roductiv

ity

All industries Manufacturing Non-manufacturing

0

10

20

30

40

50

既存事業の運営への支障

技術・ノウハウの伝承の困難化

既存事業における新規需要

増加への対応不可

余力以上の人件費の高騰

既存事業のやむを得ない縮小

新規事業への着手や既存事業

の拡大の困難化

外部委託や

海外への事業所移転の推進

既存事業の積極的な

効率化の実施

抜本的な業務プロセス

の見直しの推進

省力化・合理化投資

の活用促進

会社経営に

悪い影響

会社経営に

良い影響

(%)

- The impact of labour shortage on business management and the workplace environment -

The data below show that a labour shortage may affect business management at many companies. For instance, the manpower

shortage can become an obstacle to the operation of existing businesses or make it difficult for employers to help employees transfer

skills and know-how to others.

The labour shortage can also affect the workplace environment. For instance, employees may have to work more overtime, take fewer

paid holidays, feel less fulfilled at work and get less motivated to work. This suggests that both workers and companies recognize that

the manpower shortage has a negative impact on the workplace environment and can lead employees to feel less fulfilled at work.

Impact of labour shortage on business managementImpact of labour shortage on workplace environment

Significant effect

caused

446 companies

(22.5%)

Some degree of effect caused

987 companies (49.9%)

No effect at present, but

concern exists over effect that may be caused

within the next 3 years

465 companies

(23.5%)

No effect at present,

and no concern over

effect that may be

caused within the next

3 years

80 companies (4.0%)

73.6

77.5

70

72

74

76

78

80

企業

労働者

（正社員）

(%)

Percentage of companies/workers

feeling that the labour shortage is

affecting workplace environment

Concrete effects of labour shortage

on workplace environment

0

20

40

60

80

100

残業時間の増加、

休暇取得数の減少

従業員の働きがいや

意欲の低下

離職者の増加

能力開発機会の減少

将来不安の高まりや

キャリア展望の不透明化

職場の雰囲気の悪化

メンタルヘルスの

悪化などによる休職者

従業員間の

人間関係の悪化

労働災害・事故発生

の頻度の増加

労働者（正社員）

企業

(%)


(Notes) 1) The second figure from the left shows the value calculated by dividing the number of companies that gave answers for the respective effects (multiple answers allowed) by the number of companies that answered

that they were in labour shortage. Unknown answers are excluded.

2) The third figure from the left indicates that those who gave answers to the question on whether the labour shortage is affecting their companies’ workplace environment, the percentage of those that answered that

there was a “Significant effect caused” or “Some degree of effect caused” to their companies’ workplace environment by the labour shortage.

3) In the fourth figure from the left, companies that answered “Significant shortage” or “Slight shortage” for “All employees” and regular employees that answered “Significant shortage” or “Slight shortage” for the

“Entire workplace”. The figure shows the percentage of companies/regular employees that gave answers for the respective effects. Unknown answers are excluded. 13

Ou

tso

urc

ing a

nd

relo

ca

tion o

f bu

sin

ess

offic

es o

ve

rse

as b

ein

g p

rom

ote

d

Sta

rting n

ew

bu

sin

esses a

nd

exp

ansio

n

of e

xis

ting

bu

sin

esses b

eco

min

g d

ifficult

Un

avo

idable

red

uctio

n o

f exis

ting

b

usin

esses

Incre

ase

in la

bo

ur c

osts

to th

e le

ve

l e

xce

edin

g th

e re

se

rve

ca

pa

city

Ina

bility

to re

sp

ond to

the

incre

ase

in

ne

w d

em

and in

exis

ting

bu

sin

esses

Tra

nsfe

r of s

kills

/kn

ow

-ho

w b

eco

min

g

diffic

ult

Da

ma

ge

to th

e o

pe

ratio

n o

f exis

ting

b

usin

esses

Utiliz

atio

n o

f lab

or-s

avin

g/ra

tionaliz

atio

n

inve

stm

ents

be

ing

pro

mo

ted

Dra

stic

revie

w o

f wo

rk p

roce

sse

s b

ein

g

pro

mo

ted

Imp

lem

en

tatio

n o

f activ

e s

trea

mlin

ing

of

exis

ting

bu

sin

esses

Adverse effect on

company management

Favorable effect on

company management

Incre

ase

d fre

qu

encie

s o

f o

ccu

rren

ce o

f ind

ustria

l in

jurie

s/a

ccid

ents

Wo

rsened h

um

an

rela

tion

ship

s b

etw

een

em

plo

ye

es

Be

ing

ab

se

nt fro

m w

ork

du

e

to w

ors

en

ed m

en

tal h

ea

lth,

etc

.

Wo

rsened w

ork

pla

ce

a

tmo

sp

here

Incre

ase

d a

nxie

ty a

bo

ut th

e

futu

re a

nd

ca

ree

r pe

rsp

ectiv

e

be

co

min

g u

ncle

ar

Re

du

ced o

pp

ortu

nitie

s fo

r skills

de

ve

lopm

ent

Incre

ase

in th

e n

um

be

r of jo

b

lea

ve

rs

Lo

we

red fu

lfillme

nt a

t wo

rk

an

d m

otiv

atio

n o

f wo

rke

rs

Incre

ase

d o

ve

rtime

ho

urs

, re

du

ce

d n

um

be

r of le

ave

s

take

n

Work

ers

(regula

r em

plo

yees)

Com

panie

s

Workers (regular employees)

Companies

Source: Prepared based on individual questionnaires of “Survey on Current Status of Labour Shortage and Work styles, etc. (Regular Employee Questionnaire)” (2019), The Japan Institute

for Labour Policy and Training

Part II: Chapter 2 – Create a better workplace environment for employees

― Workplace satisfaction ―

The percentage of workers who feel always or frequently feel satisfaction with the workplace environment is low among males aged 35-

64 and females aged 45-64

The percentage of workers who always or frequently feel satisfaction with the workplace environment is higher among workers aged 65

or older, both men and women, than those in other age groups.

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

15～34歳

35～44歳

45～54歳

55～64歳

65歳以上

Males

いつも感じるよく感じる時々感じる

めったに感じない全く感じない不詳

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

15～34歳

35～44歳

45～54歳

55～64歳

65歳以上

Females

いつも感じるよく感じる時々感じる

めったに感じない全く感じない不詳

Satisfaction with the workplace environment by sex and age group

14

Age 15-34

Age 35-44

Age 45-54

Age 55-64

65 or older

Age 15-34

Age 35-44

Age 45-54

Age 55-64

65 or older

Always feel

Rarely feel

Frequently feel

Do not feel

Sometimes feel

Unknown

Always feel

Rarely feel

Frequently feel

Do not feel

Sometimes feel

Unknown

― Employment management for a better workplace environment ―

Regardless of sex or age, a vast majority of workers think that fostering a friendly human relationship and smooth communications is

the most important element necessary to create a better workplace environment. Encouraging workers to take paid leave is considered

as the second most import element and promoting shorter working hours and more flexible work is the third.

Female workers aged 15-44 think that supporting work/child care balance is also an important element for a better workplace

environment.

Source: Prepared based on individual questionnaires of “Survey on Current Status of Labour Shortage and Work styles, etc. (Regular Employee Questionnaire)” (2019), The Japan Institute for

Labour Policy and Training

0102030405060

Males

15歳～34歳 35～44歳 45～54歳 55～64歳 65歳以上

Smoothing human relationships and communication

Encouragement to take paid leave

Shortening of working hours and flexible work styles

Support for balancing work and child care

Placement/reassignment according to individual wishes

Support for balancing work and nursing care

Measures against long working hours and mental health measures

Support for balancing work and disease treatment

Improvement of fairness/persuasiveness of personnel evaluation

Promotion and salary raise appropriate for capacities/achievements, etc.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Females

15歳～34歳 35～44歳 45～54歳 55～64歳 65歳以上

(%)(%)

Employee opinion by sex and age group : important elements of employment management for a better workplace environment

15

Age 15-34 Age 35-44 Age 45-54 Age 55-64 65 or older Age 15-34 Age 35-44 Age 45-54 Age 55-64 65 or older

0

2

4

6

8

有給休暇の取得促進




能力・成果等に見合った

昇進や賃金アップ

労働時間の短縮や働き方の柔軟化

0

2

4

6

8

経営戦略情報、部門・職場での目標の

共有化、浸透促進




能力開発機会の充実や

従業員の自己啓発への支援

労働時間の短縮や働き方の柔軟化

― Employment management to create a better workplace environment,

reduce retention rates and increase employee retention ―

An effective employment management can help create a better workplace environment, reduce turnover rates and increase employee

retention. Such management efforts include encouraging employees to take paid leave, reducing working hours and offering flexible

work styles.

Effective employment management to create

a better workplace environment

Effective employment management to

reduce retention rates

Effective employment management to increase

retention (at 3 years after hiring)

(“Percentage among companies implementing the measures” minus “Percentage among companies not implementing the measures”, % points)


16

0

2

4

6

8







いわゆる正社員と限定正社員との間での

相互転換の柔軟化



Source: Prepared based on individual questionnaires of “Survey on Current Status of Labour Shortage and Work styles, etc.” (2019), The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training

(Notes) 1) The left figure shows the difference between the percentage of “Workers of companies implementing the respective employment management measures who are feeling satisfaction with the comfortability of working”

and the percentage of “Workers of companies NOT implementing the respective employment management measures who are feeling satisfaction with the comfortability of working”.

2) The middle figure shows the difference between the percentage of “Companies implementing the respective employment management measures whose turnover rate of their employees decreased compared to 3

years ago” and the percentage of “Companies NOT implementing the respective employment management measures whose turnover rate of their employees decreased compared to 3 years ago”.

3) The right figure shows the difference between the percentage of “Companies implementing the respective employment management measures whose retention rate (at 3 years after hiring) of newly hired employees

increased compared to 3 years ago” and the percentage of “Companies NOT implementing the respective employment management measures whose retention rate (at 3 years after hiring) of newly hired employees

increased compared to 3 years ago”.

4) Each figure shows the top 5 employment management measures, in terms of degree of difference, that are effective in the respective outcomes.

Shorte

nin

g o

f work

ing h

ours

and

flexib

le w

ork

style

s

Pro

motio

n a

nd s

ala

ry rais

e

appro

pria

te fo

r capacitie

s/a

chie

vem

ents

, etc

.

Expandin

g th

e s

cope o

f dis

cre

tion

associa

ted w

ith w

ork

executio

n

Sm

ooth

ing h

um

an re

latio

nship

s a

nd

com

munic

atio

n

Encoura

gem

ent to

take p

aid

leave

Shorte

nin

g o

f work

ing h

ours

and

flexib

le w

ork

style

s

Expandin

g o

pportu

nitie

s fo

r skills

develo

pm

ent a

nd s

upportin

g s

elf-

develo

pm

ent o

f em

plo

yees

Encoura

gem

ent to

take p

aid

leave

Sm

ooth

ing h

um

an re

latio

nship

s a

nd

com

munic

atio

n

Sharin

g a

nd p

rom

otin

g th

e

dis

sem

inatio

n o

f the b

usin

ess

stra

tegy in

form

atio

n a

nd

departm

ent/w

ork

pla

ce g

oals

Expandin

g th

e s

cope o

f dis

cre

tion

associa

ted w

ith w

ork

executio

n

More

flexib

le m

utu

al c

onvers

ion

betw

een s

o-c

alle

d re

gula

r em

plo

yees a

nd lim

ited re

gula

r em

plo

yees

Sm

ooth

ing h

um

an re

latio

nship

s a

nd

com

munic

atio

n

Expandin

g o

pportu

nitie

s fo

r skills

develo

pm

ent a

nd s

upportin

g s

elf-

develo

pm

ent o

f em

plo

yees

Pro

motio

n a

nd s

ala

ry rais

e

appro

pria

te fo

r capacitie

s/a

chie

vem

ents

, etc

.

0

1

2

3

4

5


育児・介護・病気治療等により

離職された方への復職支援



経営戦略情報、部門・職場での

目標の共有化、浸透促進



0

10

20

30

40

50

60

女性比率 65歳以上比率

100人未満

100人以上

Effective employment management to reduce retention rates

at small and medium-sized companies

― Characteristics of small and medium-sized companies and employment management to

help create a better workplace environment and reduce employee turnover ―

More discretion is given to regular employees at companies with 100 or fewer workers than those at companies with over 100 workers. This suggests that many of the

employees at smaller firms, especially women and the elderly, think that their employer approves their last-minute time-off request at any time.

Efforts to encourage employees to take paid and other effective employment management can help create a better workplace environment and reduce employee

turnover at not only large companies but also small and medium-sized firms.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

裁量度が高い急な休暇取得が

いつも出来ている

100人以下

100人超

0

1

2

3

4

5









裁量権の拡大

(%)



Characteristics of small and medium-sized

companies

Effective employment management to create a better workplace environment at small and medium-sized companies

(%)

17

Degree of

discretion is higher

Always able to take

leave at short notice

Percentage of

female employees

Percentage of employees

aged 65 or older

100 or fewer employees

Over 100 employees

fewer than 100 employees

100 or more employees

Source: Prepared based on individual questionnaires of “Survey on Current Status of Labour Shortage and Work styles, etc.” (2019), The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training (upper left figure, middle figure, and right figure); and “Employment Status Survey”, MIC (lower left figure)(Notes) 1) “Degree of discretion is higher” in the upper left figure refers to “Always feel” or “Frequently feel” that the degree of discretion for work (degree of freely choosing the procedures and methods of proceeding with work) is

high.2) The middle figure shows the difference between the percentage of “Workers of companies implementing the respective employment management measures who are feeling satisfaction with the comfortability of working”

and the percentage of “Workers of companies NOT implementing the respective employment management measures who are feeling satisfaction with the comfortability of working”.3) The right figure shows the difference between the percentage of “Companies implementing the respective employment management measures whose turnover rate of their employees decreased compared to 3 years

ago” and the percentage of “Companies NOT implementing the respective employment management measures whose turnover rate of their employees decreased compared to 3 years ago”.4) The middle figure and right figure show the top 5 employment management measures, in terms of degree of difference, that are effective in the respective outcomes.

Expandin

g th

e s

cope o

f dis

cre

tion a

ssocia

ted

with

work

executio

n

Shorte

nin

g o

f work

ing

hours

and fle

xib

le w

ork

style

s

Pro

motio

n a

nd s

ala

ry ra

ise a

ppro

pria

te fo

r capacitie

s/

achie

vem

ents

, etc

.

Sm

ooth

ing h

um

an

rela

tionship

s a

nd

com

munic

atio

n

Encoura

gem

ent to

take

paid

leave

Sm

oo

thin

g h

um

an

rela

tion

sh

ips a

nd

co

mm

un

ica

tion

Sh

arin

g a

nd

pro

mo

ting

the

dis

se

min

atio

n o

f the

bu

sin

ess s

trate

gy in

form

atio

n

an

d d

ep

artm

en

t/wo

rkp

lace

go

als

Exp

an

din

g o

pp

ortu

nitie

s fo

r

skills

de

ve

lop

me

nt a

nd

su

pp

ortin

g s

elf-d

eve

lop

me

nt

of e

mp

loye

es

Su

pp

ort fo

r tho

se

wh

o le

ft

the

ir job

s d

ue

to c

hild

ca

re/n

urs

ing

ca

re/d

ise

ase

trea

tme

nt, e

tc. to

retu

rn to

wo

rk

En

co

ura

ge

me

nt to

take

pa

id

lea

ve

― Efforts to promote work-style reform by companies of different sizes ―

Source: Prepared based on “Survey on Labour Economy Trend (November 2018)” (2018), MHLW

(Note) “Plan to newly implement” refers to the difference between “Plan to implement in the future” and “Implemented to date”.

A survey on efforts to promote work-style reform shows that many companies regardless of size are implementing stricter rules on

working hours, trying to reduce overtime hours and encouraging employees to take paid leave.

Smaller companies tend not to introduce work-style reform at this moment. However, they are more willing to promote work-style

reform in the future compared with larger companies. Thus, it is necessary to provide continuous support to small and medium-sized

companies in order to allow workers to choose their work time and style.

Efforts to promote work-style reform by companies of different sizes

18

79

61

5045

75

6353

45

76

61

4741

64

5347

32

85

75

66

59

7975

6661

85 83

73

6568

59

52

39

0

20

40

60

80

100

1000人以上

300～999人

100～299人

30～99人

1000人以上

300～999人

100～299人

30～99人

1000人以上

300～999人

100～299人

30～99人

1000人以上

300～999人

100～299人

30～99人

長時間労働削減

のための労働時

間管理の強化

残業削減の推進休暇取得の促進育児・介護中の職

員が働きやすい

ような環境整備

現在までに実施

今後新たに実施する予定

(%)

30-9

9

em

plo

yees

100-2

99

em

plo

yees

300-9

99

em

plo

yees

1000 o

r more

em

plo

yees

30-9

9

em

plo

yees

100-2

99

em

plo

yees

300-9

99

em

plo

yees

1000 o

r more

em

plo

yees

30-9

9

em

plo

yees

100-2

99

em

plo

yees

300-9

99

em

plo

yees

1000 o

r more

em

plo

yees

30-9

9

em

plo

yees

100-2

99

em

plo

yees

300-9

99

em

plo

yees

1000 o

r more

em

plo

yees

Strengthening of working

hour management to

reduce long working hours

Promotion of overtime

hours reduction

Encouragement to take

leave

Development of environment in which

employees with child/nursing care

responsibilities can work comfortably

Implemented to date

Plan to newly implement

Part 2: Chapter 3 – Create an environment that helps employees feel fulfilled at work

― Fulfillment at work ―

Vigor

“Feel like have been

filled with vigor

while working”, etc.

“Feeling a sense

of pride in one’s

work”, etc.

“Being totally

absorbed while

working”, etc.

Source: Prepared using “Work engagement: A handbook of essential theory and research” (2014), SHIMAZU Akihito, INOUE Akiomi, OTSUKA Yasumasa, TANEICHI Kotaro, etc. as a reference

Concept of work engagement

Attitude

toward work

/ awareness

of work

(negative)

Attitude

toward work

/ awareness

of work

(positive)

Activity level (high)

Activity level (low)

BurnoutFulfillment

at work

Organization of relevant concepts using “activity level” and

“attitude/awareness toward work”

This White Paper analyzes employee fulfillment by using the concept of work engagement.

“Work engagement” is defined as a state of mind that is characterized by vigor (high levels of energy and mental resilience at work),

dedication(a sense of pride and challenge) and absorption (commitment and involvement).

Work engagement is an opposite concept of burnout.

19

Dedication Absorption

Work

engagement

WorkaholismWork

engagement

Workaholism

― Fulfillment at work : regular employees ―

A work engagement score (hereinafter referred to as “WE score”) represents levels of employee fulfillment. The average WE score of

regular employees stands at 3.42. By category, the score for “dedication” is relatively high at 3.92 while the figure for “vigor” is

relatively low at 2.78. By gender, the WE score of female employees is slightly higher than that of male employees. Levels of energy

and mental resilience at work (vigor) are lower among women than men. However levels of dedication (a sense of pride and challenge)

and absorption (commitment and involvement) are higher among women than men. By age, the score is low among young employees.

Furthermore, the work engagement tends to increase as employees reach a higher-ranking position and take on more responsibility at

work.

The chart below suggests that levels of fulfillment at work are higher among limited-type regular workers than regular employees.

Fulfillment at work: regular employees

3.42 3.39 3.45

3.29 3.38 3.42 3.44

3.70

3.43 3.40 3.33

3.40 3.45

3.76

3.40 3.47

3.39 3.35 3.36

3.27

2.78 2.81

2.73

2.66 2.73 2.76 2.78

3.19

2.79 2.77

2.66 2.72

2.85

3.26

2.77 2.82 2.76

2.71 2.72 2.65

3.92 3.85

4.02

3.85 3.90 3.94 3.94

4.08

3.95 3.91 3.88 3.94 3.91

4.14

3.92 3.97 3.91 3.86

3.91

3.74

3.55 3.50

3.60

3.37

3.51 3.55 3.59

3.82

3.55 3.54

3.46 3.54

3.59

3.86

3.50

3.61 3.52 3.49 3.44 3.41

2.6

2.8

3.0

3.2

3.4

3.6

3.8

4.0

4.2

All

Male

s

Fem

ale

s

29

or y

oun

ge

r

Age

30-3

9

Age

40-4

9

Age

50-5

9

60

or o

lde

r

Thre

e m

etro

po

litan

are

as

Ou

tsid

e th

ree

metro

polita

n a

reas

No

n-m

anag

eria

lpo

sitio

n

Equ

ivale

nt to

sub

sectio

nm

an

age

r/chie

f

Equ

ivale

nt to

sectio

nm

an

age

r

Equ

ivale

nt to

de

partm

en

tm

an

age

r or h

igh

er

20

or le

ss

em

plo

ye

es

More

than

20

but

50

or le

ss e

mp

loye

es

More

than

50

but 1

00

or le

ss e

mp

loye

es

More

than

10

0 b

ut 3

00

or le

ss e

mp

loye

es

More

than

30

0 b

ut 1

000

or le

ss e

mp

loye

es

10

00

or m

ore

em

plo

ye

es

Sex Age Residence Managerial position Size of company in which employees work

WE score Vigor Dedication Absorption(Score)



(Note) For question items on the awareness about one’s primary work (excluding side jobs) at the time of the survey whether they “feel like they have been filled with vigor while working” (vigor),

“are committed to their work” (dedication), and “are totally absorbed while working” (absorption), the WE scores are calculated as the average values of the respective items for 16,579

samples that answered all question items on “vigor”, “dedication”, and “absorption” from among the choices “Always feel (= 6 points)”, “Frequently feel (= 4.5 points)”, “Sometimes feel (= 3

points)”, “Rarely feel (1.5 points)”, and “Do not feel (= 0 points)”. 20

3.41 3.51

2.77 2.85

3.92

4.05

3.54

3.64

2.6

2.8

3.0

3.2

3.4

3.6

3.8

4.0

4.2

いわゆる

正社員

限定正社員

全体

So-c

alle

d re

gula

r

em

plo

yees

All

Lim

ited re

gula

r

em

plo

yees

― Fulfillment at work : non-regular employees ―

18.4 16.3

26.2 24.8

17.9

26.4 25.7

12.4

21.0 18.1

16.9

25.9

23.4

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Un

willin

gch

oic

e

Oth

er th

an

un

willin

gch

oic

e

All

Un

willin

gch

oic

e

Oth

er th

an

un

willin

gch

oic

e

All

Un

willin

gch

oic

e

Oth

er th

an

un

willin

gch

oic

e

All

Un

willin

gch

oic

e

Oth

er th

an

un

willin

gch

oic

e

All

Regularemployees

Non-regularemployees

Part-time/temporarypart-time workers

Dispatched employeesof worker dispatching

business offices

Contract/temporaryemployees

( Percentage of engaged workers (those feeling fulfilled at work) %)

Fulfillment at work among regular/non-regular workers

18.0

16.1 16.3

23.4

15.7

10.8

12.5

22.0 22.6

21.6 22.0

32.8

21.8

19.9 20.2

31.3

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Ag

e 1

5-3

4

Ag

e 3

5-4

4

Ag

e 4

5-5

4

55 o

r old

er

Ag

e 1

5-3

4

Ag

e 3

5-4

4

Ag

e 4

5-5

4

55 o

r old

er

Ag

e 1

5-3

4

Ag

e 3

5-4

4

Ag

e 4

5-5

4

55 o

r old

er

Ag

e 1

5-3

4

Ag

e 3

5-4

4

Ag

e 4

5-5

4

55 o

r old

er

Regularemployees

Non-regularemployees

(unwilling choice)

Non-regularemployees(other than

unwilling choice)

Non-regularemployees (all)

Source: Prepared based on “National Employment Situation Panel Survey”, Recruit Works Institute, Recruit Holdings

(Notes) 1) “Percentage of those with high fulfillment at work (WE)” indicates the proportion of those who answered “Yes” or “Rather yes” to the question items on whether they had been “Able to work

vigorously” (vigor), “Enthusiastically engaged in work” (dedication), and “Totally absorbed while working” for the work during the period from January to December 2018.

2) “Non-regular employees (unwilling choice)” refers to those who selected “Regular personnel/employee position is not available” as the reason (multiple answers allowed) for being engaged

in the work during the period from January to December 2018.

Levels of fulfillment at work vary significantly depending on the reason why workers have taken on non-regular employment. The percentage of

engaged workers (those feeling fulfilled at work) is low among involuntary non-regular workers compared with regular employees. Such involuntary

non-regular workers include: dispatched workers, contract workers, temporary staff, male workers and workers aged 35-44. However, the percentage

of engaged workers is high among other non-regular workers who account for the vast majority of the total non-regular workers.

(Percentage of engaged workers (those feeling fulfilled at work) %)

( Percentage of engaged workers (those feeling fulfilled at work) %)

21

17.419.1

14.7 17.8

23.5 27.421.6

26.3

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

男性女性男性女性男性女性男性女性

正規雇用非正規雇用

（不本意選択）

非正規雇用

（不本意選択以外）

非正規雇用

（全体）

Males Females

Regular employees

Males Females


(unwilling choice)

Males Females


(other than unwilling choice)

Males Females


(all)

― Fulfillment at work and retention/turnover rates ―

The charts below show that retention rates for new hires after three years of employment rises and employee turnover falls when employees

feel more fulfilled at work.

Such a trend is also observed at companies facing labor shortages: many of them see retention rates rise and turnover falls when their

employees feel fulfilled at work.

0.25

2.83

5.23 5.82

8.08

0

2

4

6

8

10

2 or less 3 4 5 6

ＷＥスコア

D.I. of retention rate for new hires after three years of

employment (All companies)

4.89 3.98

5.28

7.29 8.54

0

2

4

6

8

10

2以下 3 4 5 6

ＷＥスコア

(Re

ten

tion

rate

of n

ew

ly h

ired

em

plo

ye

es (a

t 3 y

ea

rs a

fter h

iring

) is

incre

asin

g)

(Tu

rno

ve

r rate

of e

mp

loye

es is

de

cre

asin

g)

D.I. of employee turnover rate

(All companies)

-4.46

-1.03

0.80 1.36

5.63

-7

-5

-3

-1

1

3

5

7

2以下 3 4 5 6

ＷＥスコア

The retention rate is increasing in many

companies even with labour shortage

D.I. of retention rate for new hires after three years of

employment (Companies facing labour shortage)

-0.30 -0.33

0.30

2.84 2.62

-3.5

-2.5

-1.5

-0.5

0.5

1.5

2.5

3.5

2以下 3 4 5 6

ＷＥスコア

The turnover rate is decreasing in many

companies even with labour shortage

D.I. of employee turnover rate

(Companies facing labour shortage)

(“Increased” minus “Decreased”, % points) (“Increased” minus “Decreased”, % points)

(“Decreased” minus “Increased”, % points) (“Decreased” minus “Increased”, % points)

22

Fulfillment at work (WE score) Fulfillment at work (WE score)

Fulfillment at work (WE score)Fulfillment at work (WE score)

2 or less

2 or less2 or less

Source: Prepared based on individual questionnaires of “Survey on Current Status of Labour Shortage and Work styles, etc. (Company Questionnaire/Regular Employee Questionnaire)” (2019), The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training

(Notes) 1) The retention rate of newly hired employees (at 3 years after hiring) in the upper left figure shows the answer given as the “Proportion of the number of newly hired employees employed 3 years ago who have been employed for at least 3 years af ter

being employed (numerator) to the number of newly hired employees employed 3 years ago (denominator).

2) The “Companies with labour shortage” in the upper right and lower right figures refers to companies that answered “Significant shortage” or “Slight shortage” for regular employees.

3) The “Turnover rate of employees” in the upper right and lower right figures excludes non-voluntary job leaves such as reaching mandatory retirement age or expiration of employment contracts, etc.

4) For the retention rate of newly hired employees (at 3 years after hiring) and the turnover rate of employees, to the question on the changes compared between 3 years ago and the present, the answers of “Significantly increased” and “Slightly

increased” are counted as “Increased” and the answers of “Slightly decreased” and “Significantly decreased” are counted as “Decreased”.

5) The work engagement uses the score at the time of the survey and is rounded to the nearest integer.

6) The upper left and upper right figures show the difference between the percentage of companies that answered “Increased” and the percentage of companies that answered “Decreased” for the question on the “retention rate of newly hired employees

(at 3 years after hiring)” compared between 3 years ago and the present.

7) The lower left and lower right figures show the difference between the percentage of companies that answered “Decreased” and the percentage of companies that answered “Increased” for the question on the “Turnover rate of employees” compared

between 3 years ago and the present.

― Fulfillment at work and labour productivity ―

The chart on the left shows that labour productivity increases when employees feel fulfilled at work.

The chart on the right suggests that levels of man-hour productivity rise when employees feel fulfilled at work.

2.37

2.93

3.36

3.84

4.39

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

2 or less 3 4 5 6

ＷＥスコア

(Feel th

at la

bour p

roductiv

ity is im

pro

vin

g)

(Score)

Relationship between fulfillment at work and individual

recognition of labour productivity (all companies,

comparison of recognition now with recognition 3 years ago)

3.39

3.80 3.85

3.66

4.36

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

2 or less 3 4 5 6

ＷＥスコア

(1,000 yen)

Fulfillment at work and level of labour

productivity per man-hour

23

Fulfillment at work (WE score) Fulfillment at work (WE score)

Source: Prepared based on individual questionnaires of “Survey on Current Status of Labour Shortage and Work styles, etc. (Company Questionnaire/Regular Employee Questionnaire)” (2019), The

Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training

(Notes) 1) The individual recognition about labour productivity in the left figure indicates the score value based on the answers to the question item on the awareness about one’s primary work

(excluding side jobs) at the time of the survey whether the “labour productivity (achievement per hour) increased compared to 3 years ago” selected from among the choices “Always feel

(= 6 points)”, “Frequently feel (= 4.5 points)”, “Sometimes feel (= 3 points)”, “Rarely feel (1.5 points)”, and “Do not feel (= 0 points)”. The score shows the degree to which individual

employees feel that labour productivity is increasing.

2) The labour productivity in the right figure shows the 2018 average value indicating the labour productivity based on man-hours (number of employees × working hours) calculated by

converting the number of non-regular employees to the number of regular employees. The amount of value added is the total of “operating profit”, “depreciation cost”, “total amount of

salaries”, “welfare cost”, “rent on movables and real estate”, and “taxes and dues” and is substantiated by using the GDP deflator.

3) The WE score indicates the results of the answers given in the survey conducted in March 2019 to the question on the status as of one year prior to the survey and is rounded to the

nearest integer.

― Fulfillment at work and self-motivation/proactive attitude/customer satisfaction ―

The charts on the left and in the middle show that employees are more self-motivated at work and willing to help their co-workers

( doing a job not assigned to them) when they feel fulfilled at work.

The chart on the right suggests that the diffusion index of customer satisfaction recognized by companies rises when employees at

those companies feel fulfilled at work.

3.20

3.59

4.15

4.56

5.26

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

2 orless

3 4 5 6

ＷＥスコア

(Score)

(Auto

nom

ously

engagin

g in

work

with

out

instru

ctio

ns/d

irectio

ns)

Relationship between employee fulfillment

and positive attitude toward work

(all companies)

2.77

3.25

3.67

4.11

4.78

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

2以下 3 4 5 6

ＷＥスコア(A

ctiv

ely

supportin

g o

ther e

mplo

yees w

ithout

instru

ctio

ns/d

irectio

ns)

Relationship between employee

fulfillment and willingness to do extra

duties (all companies)

29.3

31.2

35.6

38.5 38.6

20

25

30

35

40

45

2以下 3 4 5 6

ＷＥスコア

(“Increased” minus “Decreased”, %)

(Custo

mer s

atis

factio

n is

incre

asin

g)

Relationship between employee

fulfillment and customer

satisfaction recognized by

companies (all companies)(Score)

24

働きがい（WEスコア）働きがい（WEスコア）働きがい（WEスコア）

Source: Prepared based on individual questionnaires of “Survey on Current Status of Labour Shortage and Work styles, etc. (Company Questionnaire/Regular Employee Questionnaire)” (2019), The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training

(Notes) 1) The recognition about proactive behaviors towards work and extra-role performance (all companies) indicates the score values based on the answers to the question items on the recognition about one’s primary work

(excluding side jobs) at the time of the survey whether “Autonomously engaging in work without instructions/directions” and “Actively supporting other employees without instructions/directions” selected from among

the choices “Always feel (= 6 points)”, “Frequently feel (= 4.5 points)”, “Sometimes feel (= 3 points)”, “Rarely feel (1.5 points)”, and “Do not feel (= 0 points)”. The scores show the degree of employees’ autonomous

engagement in work and the degree of active support for other employees.

2) The customer satisfaction recognized by companies in the right figure shows the difference in the percentages (D.I.) between companies that answered “Increased” and companies that answered “Decreased” to the

question on the changes in the status of customer satisfaction compared between 3 years ago and the present with “Significantly increased” and “Slightly increased” being counted as “Increased” and “Slightly

decreased” and “Significantly decreased” as “Decreased”.

3) The WE scores are calculated based on the results of the answers given to the question on the status as of one year prior to the date of the survey for the left and middle figures and on the scores as of the date of

the survey for the right figure, and are rounded to the nearest integer.

2 or less 2 or less2 or less

Fulfillment at work (WE score)Fulfillment at work (WE score) Fulfillment at work (WE score)

― Fulfillment at work and stress/fatigue ―

The chart on the left shows that employees suffering from extreme stress and fatigue during work feel less fulfilled. Meanwhile, the

chart in the middle suggests that the stronger workaholic tendency employees have, the more extreme stress and fatigue they suffer

from.

Increasing employee fulfillment is the key to reducing stress/fatigue employees endure. But the chart on the right shows that employees

have greater tendencies to become workaholics as they feel more fulfilled at work. Therefore, companies need to shape their corporate

culture allowing more diverse work styles and changing the workplace environment that admires workaholics.

(Score)


awareness about stress/fatigue

(all companies)(Score)

3.86

3.41 3.40 3.23 3.30

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

2以下 3 4 5 6

ＷＥスコア

2.54

3.24

3.83

4.55

5.24

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

2以下 3 4 5 6

ＷHスコア

2.76 2.89

3.15 3.26 3.46

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

2以下 3 4 5 6

ＷＥスコア

(Workaholic sate (WH score))

Workaholic sate and awareness

about stress/fatigue

(all companies)

Relationship between fulfillment at

work and workaholic state

(all companies)

Source: Prepared based on individual questionnaires of “Survey on Current Status of Labour Shortage and Work styles, etc. (Company Questionnaire/Regular Employee Questionnaire)” (2019),

The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training

(Notes) 1) The awareness about stress/fatigue indicates the score value based on the answers to the question item on the awareness about one’s primary work (excluding side jobs) at the time of

the survey whether to “feel excessive stress/fatigue in work” selected from among the choices “Always feel (= 6 points)”, “Frequently feel (= 4.5 points)”, “Sometimes feel (= 3 points)”,

“Rarely feel (1.5 points)”, and “Do not feel (= 0 points)”. The score shows the degree to which individual employees feel excessive stress/fatigue in their work.

2) The workaholism score (WH score) indicates the score values based on the answers to the question items on the awareness about one’s primary work (excluding side jobs) at the time

of the survey whether to “Be always busy and involved in numerous types of work at a time”, “Feel that working diligently is one’s duty even when unpleasant”, and “Have a guilty

feeling when taking time off from work” selected from among the choices “Always feel (= 6 points)”, “Frequently feel (= 4.5 points)”, “Sometimes feel (= 3 points)”, “Rarely feel (1.5

points)”, and “Do not feel (= 0 points)”. The scores show the degree to which individual employees feel excessive stress/fatigue in their work. In the middle figure, it is rounded to the

nearest integer. 25

働きがい（WEスコア）働きがい（WEスコア）ワーカホリックな状態（WHスコア）

(Fe

el e

xce

ssiv

e s

tress/fa

tigu

e)

(Fe

el e

xce

ssiv

e s

tress/fa

tigu

e)

2 or less

Workaholic sate (WH score)

2 or less

Fulfillment at work (WE score)

2 or less


― Opinion about fulfillment at work and working life ―

Many people prefer to work longer. The chart on the left shows that 12.6% of people surveyed think that working too long is not ideal for

them, while 63% think they want to work longer.

In all age groups, engaged employees ( those feeling fulfilled at work) tend to think that a longer working life is ideal compared with less

engaged employees.

63.0

24.4

12.6

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

職業人生は

可能な限り長い方が

望ましい

どちらともいえない

職業人生は

長過ぎない方が

望ましい

54.1 58.4

66.3 68.7

74.7

21.3

13.5 11.1 9.0 6.7

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

2以下 3 4 5 6

ＷＥスコア

68.5

57.9

68.7

59.6

68.8

61.9

71.8

62.3

75.8

65.0

10.4

18.6

9.4

15.7

8.8 12.8

8.2 11.2

3.6

8.2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

ＷＥが高い

ＷＥが低い

ＷＥが高い

ＷＥが低い

ＷＥが高い

ＷＥが低い

ＷＥが高い

ＷＥが低い

ＷＥが高い

ＷＥが低い

29歳以下 30歳台 40歳台 50歳台 60歳以上

(Proportion, %) (%) (%)

Opinions about the length

of working life

Relationship between fulfillment at work

and opinions about the length of working

life (total of people surveyed)

Relationship between fulfillment at work and

opinions about the length of working life (by age)

Having a vocational life that is as long as possible is desirable Having a vocational life that is not too long is desirable



(Notes) 1) “Having a vocational life that is as long as possible is desirable (Having a vocational life that is not too long is desirable)” in the figure refers to those that answered “A (B)” or “Rather A (B)”

when A is set to “Having a vocational life that is as long as possible is desirable if being healthy and able to work for a job one wants at one’s own pace” and B is set to “Having a

vocational life that is not too long is desirable even if being healthy and able to work for a job one wants at one’s own pace”.

2) “Those with high work engagement” (WE) refers to those with the WE score of 4.5 or higher, and “those with low work engagement” (WE) refers to those with the WE score of 3.0 or lower.

3) In the middle figure, the WE scores are rounded to the nearest integer. 26

働きがい（WEスコア）

Havin

g a

vocatio

nal life

not to

o lo

ng is

desira

ble

Not s

ure

Havin

g a

vocatio

nal life

as lo

ng a

s p

ossib

le is

desira

ble

2 or less


Low

WE

Hig

h W

E

Low

WE

Hig

h W

E

Low

WE

Hig

h W

E

Low

WE

Hig

h W

E

Low

WE

Hig

h W

E

29 or younger Age 30-39 Age 40-49 Age 50-59 60 or older

― Highly engaged workers and their perception about work ―

Engaged workers, those whose work engagement scores are high, often experience positive emotions: for instance, they feel that they

have grown and developed as a person through work, they have higher levels of self-efficacy (a confidence in the ability to complete

tasks), they have a clear vision of their career path. This suggests that higher work engagement scores have a positive impact on

workers perception about work.

27

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨0

1

2

3

4

5

6

① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨

Engaged workers and their perception about work

(results after conversion into scores 0 to 6)

Engaged workers and their perception about work (gap)

(Score)

Recognition of those

with high WE

Recognition of those

with low WE

(“Those with high WE” minus “Those with low WE”, points)

[1] Having been able to grow through work; [2] Feeling high self-efficacy (work confidence); [3] Career perspective on how to build a career in the company

one works for is clear; [4] Feeling satisfaction to the comfortability of working; [5] Human relationships in executing one’s work is good; [6] The degree of

discretion for work (degree of freely choosing the instrument and methods of proceeding with work) is high; [7] Role model senior employees exist in the

workplace; [8] Working at a high speed at least for half the working hours; [9] Work is concentrated to oneself



(Note) 1) “Those with high work engagement (WE)” refers to those with the WE score of 4.5 or higher, and “those with low work engagement (WE)” refers to those with the WE score of 3.0 or lower.

2) The left figure shows the average values of the respective question items after converting into scores based on “Always feel (= 6 points)”, “Frequently feel (= 4.5 points)”, “Sometimes feel

(= 3 points)”, “Rarely feel (1.5 points)”, and “Do not feel (= 0 points)”. The scores indicate the degree to which each recognition is felt in one’s primary work.

3) The right figure shows the difference between the score of “Those with high work engagement (WE)” and the score of “Those with low work engagement (WE)” about “Recognition about

their primary work”.

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

― Employment management at companies whose employees feel fulfilled ―

The charts below imply that companies’ efforts to improve employment management can help increase employee fulfillment. Such efforts

include fostering better human relations and effective communication in the workplace, reducing working hours and offering flexible work-style

options and giving more discretion to employees.

Employment management efforts by companies whose

employees are fulfilled at work (implementation rate)

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪ ⑫ ⑬ ⑭ ⑮ ⑯ ⑰ ⑱0

1

2

3

4

5

6

① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦ ⑧ ⑨ ⑩ ⑪ ⑫ ⑬ ⑭ ⑮ ⑯ ⑰ ⑱

[1] Smoothing human relationships and communication at work; [2] Shortening of working hours and flexible work styles; [3] Expanding the scope of discretion associated

with work execution; [4] More flexible mutual conversion between so-called regular employees and limited regular employees; [5] Support for balancing work and disease

treatment; [6] Support for those who left their jobs due to child care/nursing care/disease treatment, etc. to return to work; [7] Encouragement to take paid leave; [8] Eliminate

unreasonable disparities in treatment between employees (between males and females, between regular and non-regular employees, etc.); [9] Support for balancing work

and child care; [10] Promotion/appointment of excellent human resources; [11] Clarification of work content at the time of employment; [12] Placement/reassignment

according to individual wishes; [13] Improvement of fairness/persuasiveness of personnel evaluation; [14] Promotion and salary raise appropriate for

capacities/achievements, etc.; [15] Support for balancing work and nursing care; [16] Expanding opportunities for skills development and supporting self-development of

employees; [17] Measures against long working hours and mental health measures; [18] Sharing and promoting the dissemination of the business strategy information and

department/workplace goals

(Implementation rate of the respective efforts, %)

Companies whose

employees have high WE

Companies whose

employees have low WE

(“Companies with high WE” minus “Companies with low WE”, % points)

Employment management efforts by companies whose

employees are fulfilled at work (gap)



(Note) 1) “Those with high work engagement” (WE) refers to those with the WE score of 4.5 or higher, and “those with low work engagement” (WE) refers to those with the WE score of 3.0 or

lower.

2) The right figure shows the difference between the “Implementation of employment management in companies whose employees have high work engagement (WE) work for” and the

“Implementation of employment management in companies whose employees have low work engagement (WE)”. 28

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]

― Human resource development programs at companies whose employees feel fulfilled ―

The charts below imply that effective corporate efforts to develop human resources can increase employee fulfillment. Such efforts

include introducing a coaching and training system ( e.g. mentoring programs), providing career counseling to help employees have a

clear vision of their career path and establishing human resource development policies and plans.

Human resource development efforts by companies whose

employees feel fulfilled at work (implementation rate)

10

20

30

40

50

60

① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

① ② ③ ④ ⑤ ⑥ ⑦

[1] Placement of coaches and teachers (mentor system, etc.); [2] Clarification of future perspectives through career consultation, etc.; [3] Formulation of

human resource development policy/plan of the company; [4] Scheduled interview (individual evaluation/performance evaluation);

[5] Support/consideration for individual payments for external training; [6] Increasing motivation by implementing feedback; [7] Increasing motivation

through management by an objective system

(Implementation rate of the respective efforts, %)

Companies whose

employees have high WE

Companies whose

employees have low WE

(“Companies with high WE” minus “Companies with low WE”, % points)

Human resource development efforts by companies

whose employees feel fulfilled at work (gap)



(Note) 1) “Those with high work engagement” (WE) refers to those with the WE score of 4.5 or higher, and “those with low work engagement” (WE) refers to those with the WE score of 3.0 or lower.

2) The right figure shows the difference between the “Implementation of human resource development in companies whose employees have high work engagement (WE)” and the

“Implementation of human resource development in companies whose employees have low work engagement (WE)”. 29

[1 ] [2 ] [3 ] [4 ] [5 ] [6 ] [7 ] [1 ] [2 ] [3 ] [4 ] [5 ] [6 ] [7 ]

― Employees’ confidence in their job performance and achievement in work goals ―

The charts below suggest that goals are meant to be challenging to foster employees’ personal growth and development. In other words, challenging goals that

requires a certain degree of effort can have a positive impact on employees’ confidence in their job performance.

Management and employees sometimes have different views on the difficulty in goal achievements. For instance, female employees, workers aged 29 or younger

and aged 60 or older and those engaged in a clerical job may think it is not difficult to achieve the goal while their employer think the opposite.

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

企業の想定と比較し、

社員の認識している

目標達成の難易度

が低い

労使が合致している

企業の想定と比較し、

社員の認識している

目標達成の難易度

が高い

Relationship between the recognition of those with low degree of feeling of

growth through work and the recognition of companies they work for

Employees’ recognition about the level of difficulty in achieving work

goals by degree (high/low) of feeling of growth through work

(Proportion, %)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

達成にかなりの

努力を要する

目標

達成にある程度

の努力を要する

目標

通常の業務を

すれば達成

できる目標

ある程度容易に

達成できる目標

かなり容易に

達成できる

目標

達成が難しい

目標

Recognition of those with high degree of

feeling of growth through work about the

level of difficulty in achieving work goals

Recognition of those with low degree of

feeling of growth through work about the

level of difficulty in achieving work goals

Relationship between the recognition of those with high degree of feeling of

growth through work and the recognition of companies they work for

(Proportion, %)

Gap in recognition between workers and companies about the level of difficulty in achieving work goals by

degree (high/low) of feeling of growth through work

Characteristics of employees whose recognition about the level of difficulty in achieving goals is lower than what companies assume

(% points)

-4

-2

0

2

4

男性女性

-3-2-10123

29歳以下

30歳台

40歳台

50歳台

60歳以上

-8-6-4-202468

事務職

輸送・機械運転職

製造・生産工程職

事務系専門職

販売職

建設・採掘職

接客・サービス職

その他

技術系専門職

教育関係専門職

営業職

医療・福祉関係

専門職

管理職

(% points) (% points)

By sex By age By occupation


(Notes) 1) Those with high (low) degree of feeling of growth through work are those who scored 4.5 points or more (3 points or less) based on their answers to the question on the recognition of one’s primary work

(excluding side jobs) at the time of the survey whether they “Feel that they have been able to grow through work” selected from among the choices “Always feel (= 6 points)”, “Frequently feel (= 4.5 points)”,

“Sometimes feel (= 3 points)”, “Rarely feel (1.5 points)”, and “Do not feel (= 0 points)”.

2) The upper figures analyze the characteristics by dividing into “Those with high degree of feeling of growth through work” and “Those with low degree of feeling of growth through work” and then comparing the

respective proportions.

3) The lower figures show the difference between the “Proportion of those whose recognition about the level of difficulty in achieving goals is lower than what companies assume with respect to each attribute” and

“Proportion of all survey subjects with respect to each attribute”.

(Level o

f diffic

ulty

in a

chie

vin

g g

oals

recogniz

ed b

y e

mplo

yees is

low

)

30

教育関係専門職

技術系専門職

事務系専門職

Goals

that a

re

diffic

ult to

achie

ve

Goals

that c

an b

e

achie

ved q

uite

easily

Goals

that c

an b

e

achie

ved ra

ther

easily

Goals

that c

an b

e

achie

ved th

rough

ord

inary

work

Goals

that c

an b

e

achie

ved w

ith a

certa

in a

mount o

f

effo

rt

Goals

requirin

g

sig

nific

ant e

ffort to

achie

ve

Level o

f diffic

ulty in

achie

vin

g g

oals

re

cogniz

ed b

y em

plo

yees is

hig

her

than w

hat c

om

panie

s

assum

e

recognitio

n o

f w

ork

ers

and th

at o

f com

panie

s m

atc

h

Level o

f diffic

ulty in

achie

vin

g g

oals

re

cogniz

ed b

y em

plo

yees is

low

er

than w

hat c

om

panie

s

assum

e

60

or o

lde

r

Ag

e 5

0-5

9

Ag

e 4

0-4

9

Ag

e 3

0-3

9

29

or y

ou

nge

r

Ma

na

ge

me

nt

Me

dic

al/w

elfa

re

sp

ecia

list

Sa

les

Ed

uca

tion

al s

pe

cia

list

Te

ch

nic

al s

pe

cia

list

Oth

ers

Se

rvic

es

Con

stru

ctio

n/m

inin

g

Bu

sin

ess

Cle

rica

l sp

ecia

list

occu

pa

tion

s

Ma

nu

factu

ring

/ p

rod

uctio

n p

roce

ssin

g

Tra

nsp

ort/m

ach

ine

op

era

tion

Cle

rica

l

Males Females

― Employees’ confidence in their job performance and feedback ―

The charts below suggest that It is important that employees receive feedback on their daily performance frequently in order to grow

through work. The effective feedback consist of performance evaluation and praise on progress. For instance, the manager may focus

on the specific performance delivered by employees and outline its importance. Moreover, the manager should give praise as soon as

possible after the job is well done.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

毎日

週に1度

１ヶ月に１度

３ヶ月に１度

６ヶ月に１度

１年に１度

未実施

Awareness of those with

high degree of feeling of

growth through work


low degree of feeling of

growth through work

(Proportion, %)

Frequency of feedback on daily work from

managers by degree (high/low) of employee

confidence in their job performance

5

15

25

35

45

55

65

75

85

効果的であった

具体的な行動について

誉められた

具体的な行動について

注意された

行動した直後に

フィードバックがあり、

実感が湧いた

今後の行動に関する

アドバイスがあった

行動した内容の重要性や

意義について説明があった

フィードバックの

実施頻度が適切だった

Reason that it was effective (multiple answers allowed)


high degree of feeling of

growth through workAwareness of those with

low degree of feeling of

growth through work

Awareness of the effectiveness of feedback on daily work

by the superiors by degree (high/low) of employee

confidence in their job performance (%)

31

Source: Prepared based on individual questionnaires of “Survey on Current Status of Labour Shortage and Work styles, etc. (Company Questionnaire)” (2019), The Japan Institute for Labour

Policy and Training

(Notes) 1) Those with high (low) degree of feeling of growth through work are those who scored 4.5 points or more (3 points or less) based on their answers to the question on the awareness

about one’s primary work (excluding side jobs) at the time of the survey whether they “Feel that they have been able to grow through work” selected from among the choices “Always

feel (= 6 points)”, “Frequently feel (= 4.5 points)”, “Sometimes feel (= 3 points)”, “Rarely feel (1.5 points)”, and “Do not feel (= 0 points)”.

2) The left figure summarizes the results of the most appropriate answers given.

3) The right figure summarizes the results of all answers given by those who answered that feedback from the superiors was “Very effective” or “Rather effective” in performing daily work

as the reason that it was effective.

Not im

ple

mente

d

Once a

year

Once e

very

6 m

onth

s

Once e

very

3 m

onth

s

Once a

month

Once a

week

Every

day

Fre

qu

en

cy o

f imp

lem

en

ting

fee

db

ack w

as a

pp

rop

riate

Rece

ive

d e

xp

lan

atio

n o

n th

e

imp

orta

nce

an

d s

ign

ifica

nce

of th

e c

on

ten

t of th

e a

ctio

n

Rece

ive

d a

dvic

e o

n fu

ture

actio

ns

Rece

ive

d fe

ed

ba

ck

imm

ed

iate

ly a

fter ta

kin

g

actio

n a

nd

ha

d a

rea

l fee

ling

Warn

ed a

bo

ut c

on

cre

te

actio

ns

Pra

ise

d fo

r co

ncre

te a

ctio

ns

It was e

ffectiv

e

― Career vision and labour - management communication ―

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

毎日

週に１度

１ヶ月に１度

３ヶ月に１度

６ヶ月に１度

1年に１度

未実施

Companies to which

those feeling that their

career perspectives in

their companies are

unclear belong

Frequency of discussion about future career vision with managers in the course of daily work

(Proportion, %)

Companies to which

those feeling that their

career perspectives in

their companies are

clear belong

Details on employees’ future career vision talked over between employees and managers

(Percentage of answers that they are “discussed” between employees and companies, %)



(Note) Those feeling that their career perspectives in their companies are clear (unclear) are those who scored 4.5 points or more (3 points or less) based on their answers to the question on the

awareness about one’s primary work (excluding side jobs) at the time of the survey whether they feel that “Career perspective on how to build a career in the company one works for is clear”

selected from among the choices “Always feel (= 6 points)”, “Frequently feel (= 4.5 points)”, “Sometimes feel (= 3 points)”, “Rarely feel (1.5 points)”, and “Do not feel (= 0 points)”.

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

①今後、取得が

必要になる

資格・技能や、

向上させる必要

があるスキル

②現在担当

している業務の

意義・重要性

③今後、従業員

が担当を希望

している業務の

意義・重要性

Companies to which those feeling that

their career perspectives in their

companies are clear belong

Companies to which those feeling that

their career perspectives in their

companies are unclear belong

20

40

60

80

100

従業員が能力開発

への

参加や自己啓発実

施に

積極的になった

従業員が目標に向

かって

成長を実感しやす

くなった

職場の雰囲気が明

るくなり、

コミュニケーショ

ンが

活発化した

従業員の働きがい

や意欲が向上した

離職者が

減少し、定着率

が上昇した

Companies in which [1] and [3] in the upper right figure are discussed

Companies in which [1] and [3] in the upper right figure

are not discussed

3.49

3.33

3

3.2

3.4

3.6

今後、取得が必要

になる資格・技能

等や、従業員が担

当を希望している

業務の意義・重要

性を話し合ってい

る企業に所属する

社員

今後、取得が必要

になる資格・技能

等や、従業員が担

当を希望している

業務の意義・重要

性を話し合ってい

ない企業に所属す

る社員

(Percentage of answers that it is “Considered effective”, %) Fulfillment at work (WE score)

Awareness of benefits of effective labor-management communication at

companies providing enough opportunity to talk about the topics of [1] and [3]

shown in the upper right figure between employees and managers

Relationship between fulfillment at work and an opportunity to

talk over career visions between employees and managers

The charts below suggest that the following steps are necessary to help employees develop a clear vision of their career paths :

• Give employees more opportunities to talk with the manager about their career vision.

• Have discussion between employees and managers on the significance and importance of assigned jobs, certifications and skills that

employees need to acquire for their future duties, skills they should improve, and the significance and importance of job duties they wish to

engage in.

32

Not

imple

mente

d

Once a

year

Once e

very

6

month

s

Once e

very

3

month

s

Once a

month

Once a

week

Every

day

[3] S

ignific

ance/

importa

nce o

f the

work

that th

e

em

plo

yee w

ishes

to e

ngage in

[2] S

ignific

ance/

importa

nce o

f the

work

curre

ntly

engaged in

[1] Q

ualific

atio

ns/

abilitie

s n

eeded

to b

e a

cquire

d

and s

kills

needed

to b

e im

pro

ved in

the fu

ture

Th

e n

um

ber o

f job

leavers

decre

ased

and th

e re

tentio

n

rate

incre

ased

Em

plo

yees’

fulfillm

ent a

t work

and m

otiv

atio

n

impro

ved

Work

pla

ce

atm

osphere

becam

e m

ore

cheerfu

l and

com

mu

nic

atio

n

becam

e m

ore

activ

e

Em

plo

yees b

ecam

e

able

to fe

el th

e

gro

wth

tow

ard

goals

more

easily

Em

plo

yees b

ecam

e

more

activ

e in

partic

ipatin

g in

skills

develo

pm

ent a

nd

imple

mentin

g s

elf-

develo

pm

ent

Em

plo

yees o

f

com

panie

s in

whic

h

the q

ualific

atio

ns/

abilitie

s n

eeded to

be

acquire

d, e

tc. in

the

futu

re a

nd

sig

nific

ance/

importa

nce o

f the

work

that th

e

em

plo

yee w

ish to

engage in

are

not

dis

cussed

Em

plo

yees o

f

com

panie

s in

whic

h

the q

ualific

atio

ns/

abilitie

s n

eeded to

be

acquire

d, e

tc. in

the

futu

re a

nd

sig

nific

ance/

importa

nce o

f the

work

that th

e

em

plo

yee w

ish to

engage in

are

dis

cussed

― Career vision of young workers, etc. and model employees for them ―

Not many employees aged 39 or younger in Japan have model employees in their workplace.

The second chart from the right below suggests that more employees can find a role model when they have a more specific vision of

their career paths in the company they work for.

It is important for employees and management to talk over the importance of role models as there is a perception gap between

companies and employees when it comes to workplace role models : fewer employees think that there are model employees in their

workplace than companies assume.

28.7

27.1

25

26

27

28

29

30

男性女性

(Percentage of employees

with their role models, %)

Percentage of employees

aged 39 or younger who

have model employees (by

sex)



(Notes) 1) Each figure analyzes employees aged 15-39.

2) Those for whom role mode senior employees (do not) exist in the workplace are those who answered “Always feel” or “Frequently feel” (“Sometimes feel”, “Rarely feel”, or “Do not feel”) to

the question on the awareness about one’s primary work (excluding side jobs) at the time of the survey whether they feel that “role model senior employees (do not) exist in the

workplace”.

3) Awareness of companies in the right figure summarizes the results of the answers given to the question on the state of all regular employees.

Relationship between

fulfillment at work and having

model senior employees in

the workplace

Fulfillment at work

(WE score (0 to 6))

3.81

3.15

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

いるいない

(Score (0 to 6))

1.45

2.28

3.03

3.65

4.24

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 2 3 4 5

勤め先企業におけるキャリア展望の明確度合い

に係るスコア（調査時点の１年前）

Role

model s

enio

r em

plo

yees e

xis

t in th

e

work

pla

ce (a

t the tim

e o

f the s

urv

ey)

48.6

27.9

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

企業側の認識社員側の認識

(%)

Companies

recognizing that role

model senior

employees for young

employees exist in

the workplace

Employees

aged 15-39

for whom

role model

senior

employees

exist in the

workplace

Gap in perception of

role models in the

workplace between

employees and

management

Importance of clarifying career

perspectives as a premise to finding role

model senior employees

33

Males Females Exist Do not

exist Score for the degree of clarity of career

perspectives in company one works for

(one year before the survey)

Awareness of

companies

Awareness of

employees

- Managers : fulfillment at work and equal opportunities for employees to be promoted to managerial positions -

The chart in the middle suggests that work environment can affect levels of manager fulfillment at work. In other words, those in managerial positions

may feel more fulfilled at work when they believe that their company provides an equal opportunity for the promotion to its employees regardless of

sex, education, the length of their employment with the company, age and other factors, and that the company gives weigh to each employee’s

performance, not whether the job has been done by a male worker or a female employee.

In order to help managers feel fulfilled at work, it is important that employees and the management think over again how to create a corporate culture

that values employees’ performance, not opportunities for promotion and gender. However, they should keep in mind the fact that there are

perception gaps between managers and companies in opportunities for employees to be promoted to management positions.

69.5

8.7

60.9 58.7

15.8

41.2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

管理職登用の

機会は、性別・

学歴・勤続年数・

年齢等に関わらず、

幅広い多くの人材

にある

管理職登用の

機会は、性別・

学歴・勤続年数・

年齢等に差がなくても、

一部の人材に

限られている

性別に関わりなく、

社員の能力発揮を

重視する企業風土

がある

Manager fulfillment at work

Fulfillment at work (WE score) (%)



(Notes) 1) The results of the answers of 3,301 persons who answered “Manager (including leader)” to the question asking the occupation in the company one works for are summarized.

2) “Opportunities for appointment to management positions in companies are limited to some employees even when there is no difference in sex, educational history, years of continued

employment, and age, etc.” and “Opportunities for appointment to management positions in companies are limited to some employees even when there is no difference in sex,

educational history, years of continued employment, and age, etc.” do not add up to 100% because of “Not sure” answers.

3.60 3.55

3.80

3

3.5

4

4.5

全体男性女性

3.75 3.71

3.94 3.89

3.85

4.02

3

3.5

4

4.5

全体男性女性全体男性女性

管理職登用の機会は、性別・

学歴・勤続年数・年齢等に関

わらず、幅広い多くの人材に

あると感じる

左記＋性別にかかわりなく、

社員の能力発揮を重視する

企業風土があると感じる


Awareness of companies

Awareness of managers

Manager fulfillment at work by opportunity for

the promotion to management positions, etc.Gap in perception between employees and companies in

opportunities for the promotion to management positions

34

Males FemalesAll Males FemalesAll Males FemalesAll

Feel that opportunities for

appointment to management

positions in companies are given

broadly to many employees

regardless of sex, educational

history, years of continued

employment, and age, etc.

Feel that a corporate culture

exists that places importance

on abilities demonstrated by

employees regardless of sex, in

addition to what is stated on the

left

Opportunities for

appointment to management

positions in companies are

given broadly to many

employees regardless of

sex, educational history,

years of continued

employment, and age, etc.

Opportunities for appointment

to management positions in

companies are limited to some

employees even when there is

no difference in sex,

educational history, years of

continued employment, and

age, etc.

Corporate culture that

places importance on

abilities demonstrated by

employees regardless of

sex exists

35.1

30.3

38.0

48.6

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

非正規雇用全体

パート・

アルバイト

労働者派遣事業所

の派遣社員

契約社員・嘱託

― Non-regular workers : fulfillment at work and fair evaluation ―

The chart on the left shows that 35.1% of non-regular workers recognize that they do the same work as some of regular employees at

the company they work for.

Non-regular workers who think that performance evaluations are fair regardless of employment status feel more fulfilled at work than

those in non-regular positions who find job evaluation unfair.

Percentage of non-regular

employees who recognize

that they do the same work

as some of regular employees

at the company they work for (%)

Percentage of non-regular

employees who think

performance evaluations are fair

23.6 23.6 18.7

25.3

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

非正規雇用全体

パート・

アルバイト


の派遣社員


(%)

41.0

22.9

42.1

24.2

30.8

17.6

39.4

20.3

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

公正だと

感じた

不合理だと

感じた

公正だと

感じた

不合理だと

感じた

公正だと

感じた

不合理だと

感じた

公正だと

感じた

不合理だと

感じた

非正規雇用全体パート・

アルバイト


の派遣社員


Percentage of those who feel more fulfilled than others by

perception of evaluation (comparing their performance to

that of regular-employees)

Source: Prepared based on “National Employment Situation Panel Survey”, Recruit Works Institute, Recruit Holdings

(Notes) 1) The left figure shows the proportion of those who answered “Yes” or “Rather yes” to the question items on whether “there are regular employees working the same way as themselves”

for the work during the period from January to December 2018.

2) The middle figure shows the proportion of those who answered “Yes” or “Rather yes” to the question items on whether they “Felt the evaluation on how they work was not unreasonable,

but was fair compared to the evaluation of regular employees who are working the same way as themselves” for the work during the period from January to December 2018.

3) The “Percentage of those with high fulfillment at work (WE)” in the right figure indicates the proportion of those who answered “Yes” or “Rather yes” to the question items on whether

they had been “Able to work vigorously” (vigor), “Enthusiastically engaged in work” (dedication), and “Totally absorbed while working” for the work during the period from January to

December 2018. 35

(%)

Con

tract/te

mp

ora

ry

em

plo

ye

es

Dis

pa

tch

ed

em

plo

ye

es

of w

ork

er d

isp

atc

hin

g

bu

sin

ess o

ffice

s

Pa

rt-time

/tem

pora

ry

pa

rt-time

wo

rke

rs

All n

on

-reg

ula

r e

mp

loye

es

Con

tract/te

mp

ora

ry

em

plo

ye

es

Dis

pa

tch

ed

em

plo

ye

es

of w

ork

er d

isp

atc

hin

g

bu

sin

ess o

ffice

s

Pa

rt-time

/tem

pora

ry

pa

rt-time

wo

rke

rs

All n

on

-reg

ula

r e

mp

loye

es

Fe

lt it was

unre

asonable

Fe

lt it was fa

ir

Fe

lt it was

unre

asonable

Fe

lt it was fa

ir

Fe

lt it was

unre

asonable

Felt it w

as fa

ir

Fe

lt it was

unre

asonable

Fe

lt it was fa

ir

All non-regular

employeesPart-time/

temporary part-time

workers

Dispatched

employees of

worker dispatching

business offices

Contract/

temporary

employees

― Relationship between employee fulfillment and the time outside of work (recovery experiences)―

The chart below suggests that recovery experiences - psychological detachment, relaxation, control, and mastery- can help employees

feel more fulfilled at work and increase labor productivity.

Stronger beneficial effects of recovery experiences on employees are seen at companies suffering from labor shortages in the

industries that require a high degree of labor intensity than other firms. In other words, those companies need to take various steps to

help employees unwind and refresh themselves through the recovery experiences.

Idea of recovery experiences

Good performance through

recovery/improvement of “vigor” and

“individual resources (psychological capital)

-1.2

-1

-0.8

-0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

WEスコア

ストレス・疲労

労働生産性

WEスコア


労働生産性

WEスコア


労働生産性

WEスコア


労働生産性

心理的距離コントロールリラックス熟達

Relationship between recovery experience(good or poor) and fulfillment at work,

stress and fatigue, and labour productivity

Source: The left figure is prepared using Shimazu (2014), etc. as a reference. The middle and right figures are prepared based on individual questionnaires of “Survey on Current Status of Labour Shortage and Work styles, etc.

(Company Questionnaire/Regular Employee Questionnaire)” (2019), The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training

(Notes) 1) “High labour intense companies with labour shortage” refers to, of companies that answered “Significant shortage” or “Slight shortage” for their regular employees, those that answered “Always feel” or “Frequently feel”

to the question item on the awareness about their regular employees’ primary work (excluding side jobs) whether they are “Working at a high speed at least for half the working hours”.

2) The middle and right figures show the difference between the “Score of those who answered that they have been able to have recovery experiences (how to rest)” and the “Score of those who answered that they have

been unable to have recovery experiences (how to rest)” for “WE score”, “excessive stress/fatigue during work”, and “individual labour productivity”. Refer to the Note on page 20 for the calculation method of “WE

score”, Notes 1) on page 25 for the calculation method of the scores for “Excessive stress/fatigue during work”, and Notes 1) on page 23 for the calculation method of the scores for “Individual labour productivity”.

Total of survey subjects

-1.2

-1

-0.8

-0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

WEスコア


労働生産性

WEスコア


労働生産性

WEスコア


労働生産性

WEスコア


労働生産性

心理的距離コントロールリラックス熟達

High labour intense companies

36

(“Score of those who have been successful” minus “Score of those who have failed”, point difference)

(“Score of those who have been able to have recovery experiences” minus “Score of those who have been unable to have recovery experiences”, point difference)

Increased fatigue and stress from work

Decreased “vigor” due to fatigue and stress

Exhaustion of individual resources

(psychological capital)

Purple ⇒ WE score

Green ⇒ Stress/fatigue

Blue ⇒ Labour productivity

Labour p

roductiv

ity

Stre

ss/fa

tigue

WE

score

Labour p

roductiv

ity

Stre

ss/fa

tigue

WE

score

Labour p

roductiv

ity

Stre

ss/fa

tigue

WE

score

Labour p

roductiv

ity

Stre

ss/fa

tigue

WE

score

Psychological

detachment

Control Relaxation Mastery

Labour p

roductiv

ity

Stre

ss/fa

tigue

WE

score

Labour p

roductiv

ity

Stre

ss/fa

tigue

WE

score

Labour p

roductiv

ity

Stre

ss/fa

tigue

WE

score

Labour p

roductiv

ity

Stre

ss/fa

tigue

WE

score

Psychological

detachment

Control Relaxation Mastery

Recovery experiences[1] Psychological detachment (e.g.: Forget about

work)

[2] Control (e.g.: Being able to decide one’s own

schedule)

[3] Relaxation (e.g.: Intentionally reduce the amount

of mental/physical activity)

[4] Mastery (e.g.: Learn new things through self-

development)

― How workers in Japan spend their time outside of work (recovery experiences) ―

The chart on the left shows that 33.9% of respondents say that they find it difficult to psychologically detach themselves from work, or

cannot stop thinking about work even during leisure time. This means that the percentage of the people who have achieved

“psychological detachment” is lower than that of those who have achieved “relax” and “control” of the four recovery experiences.

The two charts from the right suggest that men and those in their 30s to 50s find it difficult to detach themselves from work, relax during

leisure time and feel in control of their schedule. The figures also show that women and young people attain fewer mastery

experiences.

Recovery experiences in Japan

(total of survey subjects)

66.1

83.6

75.0

22.2

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

出来ている

出来ている

出来ている

行っている

①休憩時間や休日

等の余暇時間に

おいて、仕事のこと

を考えることなく、

心理的に仕事から

十分に離れる

（心理的距離）

②休憩時間や休日

等の余暇時間の

過ごし方を

自分自身で決める

ことができる

（コントロール）

③休憩時間や休日

等の余暇時間に

おいて、リラックス

できている

（リラックス）

④休日等の余暇

時間を活用した

自己啓発

（熟達）

(Proportion, %)

63.7

81.8

74.6

24.2

69.0

85.7

75.6

19.7

15

25

35

45

55

65

75

85

①心理的距離

②コントロール

③リラックス

④熟達

男性

女性

(%)

15

25

35

45

55

65

75

85

①心理的距離

②コントロール

③リラックス

④熟達

29歳以下

30歳台

40歳台

50歳台

60歳以上

(%)



(Note) “Able (Unable) to do” in the figure indicates the total of “Always able to do (Unable to do at all)” and “More likely able (unable) to do”.37

Percentage of those who have been able to have recovery

experiences (By sex and age)

Ab

le to

do

Ab

le to

do

Ab

le to

do

Imp

lem

en

ting

[1] Psychologically

detach from work

without thinking

about work during

leisure time,

including rest

periods and days off,

etc. (Psychological

detachment)

[2] Being able to

decide how to spend

leisure time,

including rest

periods and days off,

etc., on one’s own

accord (Control)

[3] Being able to

relax during leisure

time, including rest

periods and days

off, etc.

(Relaxation)

[4] Self-development

by utilizing leisure

time, including days

off, etc. (Mastery)

[4] M

aste

ry

[3] R

ela

xatio

n

[2] C

ontro

l

[1] P

syc

holo

gic

al

deta

chm

ent

[4] M

aste

ry

[3] R

ela

xatio

n

[2] C

ontro

l

[1] P

sycholo

gic

al

deta

chm

ent

Males

Females

29 or younger

Age 30-39

Age 40-49

Age 50-59

60 or older

― Setting boundaries between work and leisure time (boundary management) ―

Those who think they are good at drawing boundaries between work and leisure time feel more fulfilled at work than those failing to do so.

There are things that people who are good at boundary management and feel fulfilled at work keep in mind. One of them is to spend time with

family and friends. They are also making job-related efforts such as developing self-management skills, having co-workers who they can

share their personal life with and carrying out their duties according to a plan.

Whether employees are good at or poor at setting boundaries between work

and leisure time

(Proportion, %)

15

25

35

45

55

65

75

出来ている

出来ていない

調査対象計

ＷＥが高い者

ＷＥが低い者

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

家族や恋人と過ごす

趣味活動をする

一人の時間を過ごす

仕事に関係しない

人物と交流する

余暇時間に仕事が

気にならないよう、

計画的に業務処理する

普段からプライベート

の話を職場で出来る

人間関係を構築する

自己管理力を高める

携帯電話を

極力使用しない

メールを確認しない

急遽仕事が発生した

際の対応手順を

予め職場で話し合う

調査対象計

ＷＥが高い者

ＷＥが低い者

7.5

5.9 5.6

2.9 2.7

1.9

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

家族や恋人と過ごす

自己管理力を高める

普段からプライベート

の話を職場で出来る

人間関係を構築する

余暇時間に仕事が

気にならないよう、

計画的に業務処理する

趣味活動をする

急遽仕事が発生した

際の対応手順を

予め職場で話し合う

Efforts that “those who have been able to manage boundary between work and leisure time” strive to

make by high/low fulfillment at work

(%)

Efforts that “those who have been able to manage boundary between work and leisure time”, and

have high fulfillment at work, strive to make

(“Implementation rate for those with high WE” minus

“Implementation rate for those with low WE”, % points)

38

Source: Prepared based on individual questionnaires of “Survey on Current Status of Labour Shortage and Work styles, etc. (Regular Employee Questionnaire)” (2019), The Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training

(Notes) 1) “Able (Unable) to do” in the figure indicates the total of “Always able to do (Unable to do at all)” and “More likely able (unable) to do”.

2) The middle figure shows the results of answers given to the question asking to select applicable choices.

3) “Those with high work engagement” (WE) refers to those with the WE score of 4.5 or higher, and “those with low work engagement” (WE) refers to those with the WE score of 3.0 or lower.

4) The right figure shows the difference between the “Implementation rate for those with high work engagement (WE)” and the “Implementation rate for those with low work engagement (WE)” regarding the

“Implementation rate of efforts to manage boundary between work and leisure time”.


Employees with high WE

Employees with low WE


Employees with high WE

Employees with low WE

Poor a

t

Good a

t

Dis

cuss in

advance th

e

handlin

g p

rocedure

s to

be u

sed

when e

merg

ency w

ork

aris

es in

th

e w

ork

pla

ce

Refra

in fro

m c

heckin

g e

-mail

Refra

in fro

m u

sin

g a

cell p

hone

to th

e e

xte

nt p

ossib

le

Impro

ve s

elf-m

anagem

ent

ability

Build

hum

an re

latio

nship

to

have a

convers

atio

n o

n p

rivate

m

atte

rs o

n a

routin

e b

asis

in

the w

ork

pla

ce

Handle

work

in a

pla

nned

manner s

o a

s n

ot to

have to

w

orry a

bout w

ork

in le

isure

tim

e

Com

munic

ate

with

people

not

rela

ted to

work

Enjo

y the tim

e a

lone

Engage in

hobbie

s

Spend tim

e w

ith fa

mily a

nd

lover

Dis

cuss in

advance th

e

handlin

g p

rocedure

s to

be u

sed

when e

merg

ency w

ork

aris

es in

th

e w

ork

pla

ce

Engage in

hobbie

s

Handle

work

in a

pla

nned

manner s

o a

s n

ot to

have to

w

orry a

bout w

ork

in le

isure

tim

e

Build

hum

an re

latio

nship

to

have a

convers

atio

n o

n p

rivate

m

atte

rs o

n a

routin

e b

asis

in

the w

ork

pla

ce

Impro

ve s

elf-m

anagem

ent

ability

Spend tim

e w

ith fa

mily a

nd

lover

― Reference: Efforts to increase employee fulfillment at work ―

Fostering a friendly

human relationship

and smooth

communications in

the workplace

○ The company holds casual one-on-one meetings between a manager and an employee at least once a

month. This has helped increase employee fulfillment and reduce turnover rates significantly. [Metal

manufacturing/wholesale company (65 employees)]

○ Leaders’ efforts for a better communication with their team members have helped create a collaborative

team environment and increase fulfillment among team members. [IT company (477 employees)]

Reducing working

hours and providing

flexible work-style

options

○ Since the company introduced a vacation program that encourages employees to take three

consecutive days off in the summer months, 90% of them have taken the vacation. The program has given

employees time to refresh themselves. It has also helped develop team commitment and increase

employee fulfillment. [IT-related (477 employees)]

○The company’s effort to promote teleworking has contributed to reducing operating costs and improving

human resource efficiency. It has also helped reduce physical and mental burden on employees and

allowed them to spend more time with their family and friends. Employees make positive comments about

the effort such as, “ we can better concentrate on work.” [Electrical equipment-related (39 employees)]

Giving more

discretion to

employees

○ The company is taking steps to give managers more authorities and discretion although it has taken a

top-down management approach for more than 100 years. This is because the company believes that

nurturing future leaders who are capable of making right decisions will make the organizational structure

stronger in this rapidly changing business environment.[Metal manufacturing/wholesale (65 employees)]

○ The company holds workshops for all employees, giving them more discretion: for instance, the firm

adopts the best project idea in the workshops and use it for a new business. [Marketing (53 employees)]

39

* Excerpt from examples presented in the column of the White Paper.

analysis of the labour economy - mhlw.go.jp · 2020. 4. 6. · current status of labour shortage,...

Documents