過勞死與日本加班文化

For a nation struggling to make sense of deflation, duty and the shock of a graduate trainee being worked to death at one of Japan’s most prestigious companies, “Premium Friday” seems to provide a glimmer of hope.

對于一個(gè)掙扎著搞明白通縮、責(zé)任以及一名實(shí)習(xí)生在日本最具聲望的企業(yè)之一過勞死事件所帶來的打擊的國家來說，“超值星期五”(Premium Friday)似乎提供了一絲希望。

Following revelations of ruinously excessive overtime demands at Japan’s largest advertising agency, Dentsu, the government wants bosses to order their overworked, sleep-deprived employees home at 3pm on the last Friday of every month.

在日本最大的廣告公司電通(Dentsu)被曝要求其員工進(jìn)行摧殘身心的過度加班后，日本政府希望老板們命令過度工作、睡眠不足的雇員在每個(gè)月最后一個(gè)周五的下午3點(diǎn)下班回家。

Proponents of the idea, which include the powerful Keidanren business lobby, argue that workers could use the time for recuperative snoozing or enjoy more leisure activities and rev the economy out of deflation.

該想法的支持者(包括強(qiáng)大的商業(yè)游說團(tuán)體日本經(jīng)濟(jì)團(tuán)體聯(lián)合會(huì)(Keidanren))認(rèn)為，工人可以利用這段時(shí)間打個(gè)盹恢復(fù)體力、或享受更多的休閑活動(dòng)，推動(dòng)經(jīng)濟(jì)加快走出通縮。

It may not, say many labour experts, be quite that simple.

很多勞工專家稱，事情可能遠(yuǎn)沒那么簡單。

In Japan, quality time has long been measured in minutes. But pressure is piling on Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, now entering his fifth year at the helm of the “Abenomics” economic revitalisation programme. Legal claims of death by overwork have risen to a record during his reign, and many see labour reform as badly overdue.

在日本，與家人共享天倫之樂的“優(yōu)質(zhì)時(shí)間”一直是以分鐘來計(jì)算的。但在“安倍經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)”經(jīng)濟(jì)復(fù)興計(jì)劃進(jìn)入第5年之際，日本首相安倍晉三(Shinzo Abe)受到越來越大的壓力。在安倍任期內(nèi)，過勞死引發(fā)的訴訟數(shù)量上升至創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄高點(diǎn)，同時(shí)很多人認(rèn)為勞動(dòng)法律改革早就應(yīng)該出臺(tái)。

Mr Abe is discovering — as leaders before him have — that any attempt to reform Japan’s long-hour culture stumbles. Attitudes have adapted from postwar nation rebuilding to the 1980s desire for dominance, through to the protect-my-job-at-all-cost workaholism of the past two deflationary decades. What has remained constant is punishing overwork.

正如歷屆日本領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人所發(fā)現(xiàn)的那樣，安倍正在發(fā)現(xiàn)，改革日本加班文化的任何嘗試都會(huì)受挫。多年來，人們對加班的態(tài)度不斷改變：從戰(zhàn)后國家重建、發(fā)展到上世紀(jì)80年代渴望主導(dǎo)地位、進(jìn)而演變?yōu)檫^去20年通縮時(shí)期“不惜代價(jià)保住我的工作”的工作狂心態(tài)。始終不變的是令人疲憊不堪的過度工作。

“There is a structural and deep-rooted problem with the working practice not just of Dentsu but other companies,” says Hiroshi Kawahito, a lawyer advising the family of Matsuri Takahashi, a Dentsu graduate trainee whose suicide has roused the Japanese public from a traditional indifference towards stories of punishing overwork.

“工作實(shí)踐中存在一個(gè)根深蒂固的結(jié)構(gòu)性問題，不僅是在電通，其他公司也有，”為高橋茉莉(Matsuri Takahashi)的家人提供法律咨詢的川人博(Hiroshi Kawahito)表示。高橋曾是電通的實(shí)習(xí)生，她的自殺喚醒了日本公眾，使他們對過度工作的故事不再像以往那樣無動(dòng)于衷。

The true extent of overtime worked in Japan, adds Waseda University labour law professor Makoto Ishida, is “impossible to calculate but undoubtedly very very huge”.

東京早稻田大學(xué)(Waseda University)勞動(dòng)法教授石田真(Makoto Ishida)補(bǔ)充稱，日本加班的真實(shí)程度“無法估計(jì)，但無疑非常非常嚴(yán)重”。

Last month, when Japan’s labour ministry referred Dentsu and one of its executives to prosecutors over Ms Takahashi’s death, the company said in a statement: “We take the incident seriously. We offer our apology to those concerned for causing such a situation.”

上月，日本厚生勞動(dòng)省(Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare)就高橋自殺一事把電通及其一名高管移交檢方查辦，該公司在一份聲明中表示：“我們認(rèn)真對待這起事件。我們?yōu)樵斐蛇@一事件向相關(guān)人士道歉。”

Ms Takahashi’s death came to light late last year after her parents went public with the conclusion of the local labour standards bureau that their daughter had been a victim of karoshi — the legally recognised “death by overwork” syndrome from which, officially, at least 200 Japanese die every year, and which labour groups believe silently claims many more.

去年底，當(dāng)高橋的父母公開了當(dāng)?shù)貏趧?dòng)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)局作出的關(guān)于她死于過勞死(karoshi)的結(jié)論后，這一事件由此曝光。過勞死是法律承認(rèn)的“過度工作致死”綜合癥，根據(jù)官方數(shù)據(jù)，日本每年至少有200人死于過勞死，而勞工組織認(rèn)為未報(bào)告的實(shí)際數(shù)字高得多。

Media reports on the contents of deleted text messages Ms Takahashi sent to her mother while she was struggling to survive on just 10 hours of sleep a week bit the public mood in Japan particularly hard.

媒體報(bào)道了高橋發(fā)給母親的已刪除的短信內(nèi)容，當(dāng)時(shí)她正掙扎于撐過每周只睡10個(gè)小時(shí)的日子。這些報(bào)道格外沉重地觸痛了日本的公眾情緒。

Work overload has become a global problem, as access to technology has blurred the definition of working hours.

隨著無所不在的技術(shù)設(shè)備模糊了“工作時(shí)間”的定義，超負(fù)荷工作已成為一個(gè)全球問題。

From January 1, French organisations with more than 50 workers have been obliged to start negotiations with staff to define the hours they can ignore their smartphones. Many banks have sought to curb long hours for junior bankers in the wake of the death of a Bank of America intern in London in 2013, which was a result of a seizure possibly caused by work overload, a coroner’s inquest found.

從1月1日起，擁有50名員工以上的法國公司有義務(wù)開始與員工協(xié)商，界定他們可以忽視智能手機(jī)的時(shí)間。在2013年美國銀行(Bank of America)倫敦分行的一名實(shí)習(xí)生死于癲癇發(fā)作(死因聆訊發(fā)現(xiàn)，這可能由超負(fù)荷工作造成)后，很多銀行試圖限制初級職員長時(shí)間工作。

Japanese work culture is, however, infused with an idea that exhaustion is more virtuous than excellence — a position that has suited companies just fine. Karoshi is nothing new. The term was first recognised in Japan decades ago, and annual claims have been steadily rising to a record 1,456 in 2015. Clocking up an average of just over 2,000 working hours a year, the Japanese are one of the world’s most overworked nations.

然而，日本的工作文化浸淫著“疲憊比卓越更有美德”的觀念——這種立場剛好符合企業(yè)利益。過勞死并不新鮮。幾十年前，日本就首次承認(rèn)了這個(gè)詞，過勞死引發(fā)的索賠案件逐年增加，2015年達(dá)到創(chuàng)紀(jì)錄的1456起。日本人平均一年的工作時(shí)間累計(jì)超過2000個(gè)小時(shí)，是全世界過度工作最嚴(yán)重的國家之一。

A recent health ministry report found Japanese sleeping even less in 2015 than they did in the pressurised 1980s. Corporate Japan’s long-term shift to employing more part-time workers has served to increase the workloads on full-time staff.

厚生勞動(dòng)省最近一份報(bào)告發(fā)現(xiàn)，2015年日本人的睡眠時(shí)間比壓力極大的上世紀(jì)80年代還要少。日本企業(yè)轉(zhuǎn)向聘用更多兼職員工的長期趨勢，加大了全職員工的工作負(fù)荷。

Even the language of the workplace gives the game away: as each worker leaves (no matter how late), he or she apologises to those left behind (osakini shitsureishimasu) for doing so. The remainers duly thank the departee for “tiring yourself out”.

甚至職場語言也很說明問題：每當(dāng)有一名員工下班時(shí)(無論有多晚)，他或她都會(huì)向繼續(xù)加班的同事道歉(“我先告辭了”(osakini shitsureishimasu))。留下的人適時(shí)地感謝離開者“你辛苦了”。

Reform attempts are under way. There is an existing policy to name and shame companies that force more than 100 hours of overtime per month on employees. The threshold will be lowered to 80 hours. Failing bosses will have to explain themselves to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

目前日本正在進(jìn)行多種改革嘗試。有一項(xiàng)現(xiàn)行政策會(huì)點(diǎn)名和批評那些強(qiáng)迫員工每月加班超過100個(gè)小時(shí)的公司。這一門檻將被降至80個(gè)小時(shí)。未達(dá)標(biāo)的公司老板將不得不向厚生勞動(dòng)省作出解釋。

But the Premium Friday campaign may prove to be a cosmetic publicity drive unless Japanese companies change the culture.

但除非日本企業(yè)改變工作文化，否則“超值星期五”活動(dòng)可能被證明是徒勞的宣傳努力。

In a deliberately high-visibility strategy last October, Dentsu’s Tokyo headquarters and regional offices were raided by labour office inspectors. This resulted in the company saying it would turn its office lights off at 10pm each evening. Dentsu then lowered the maximum number of overtime hours it would officially allow each employee to work. But according to one current employee: “One of the first things you learn when you arrive is how to clock out with your pass card then duck back under the entry gates so you can work unofficial overtime without officially being in the building.”

在去年10月一次刻意高調(diào)的行動(dòng)中，勞工機(jī)構(gòu)的檢查人員突襲了電通的東京總部和地區(qū)辦事處。這使得該公司表示以后其辦公室將在每晚10點(diǎn)關(guān)燈。之后電通降低了名義上允許每個(gè)員工加班的最長時(shí)間。但一名在職員工稱：“你來到這學(xué)會(huì)的第一件事就是如何用通行證打卡下班、之后鉆過門閘，這樣你就可以進(jìn)行非官方加班了，名義上你根本不在辦公樓內(nèi)。”

Dentsu’s patrician president, Tadashi Ishii, resigned in December over what he called the company’s failure to “achieve dramatic reform of overwork”.

去年12月，電通總裁石井直(Tadashi Ishii)辭職，他稱原因是該公司未能“實(shí)現(xiàn)對過度工作的戲劇性改革”。

The company is far from alone. Lawyers tell of employers routinely assuming staff will provide what is euphemistically known as “service time” — effectively obligatory, illegally worked hours of unpaid overtime to maintain good relationships with customers.

電通絕非個(gè)例。律師稱，雇主往往假設(shè)員工將作出美其名曰“服務(wù)時(shí)間”的貢獻(xiàn)——實(shí)際上是義務(wù)、非法的無薪加班，目的是維持與客戶的良好關(guān)系。

Workers are increasingly seeing karoshi and onerous overtime expectations with other failures of company management and unions to effect positive social change, says Prof Ishida.

早稻田大學(xué)的石田教授稱，員工們?nèi)遮叞褍纱蠓矫娴膯栴}放在一起看待，一是過勞死現(xiàn)象和過高的加班期望，二是公司管理層和工會(huì)在其他方面未能推動(dòng)積極的社會(huì)變革的失敗。

The Dentsu incident has intensified pressure on Mr Abe, adds Prof Ishida, who suggests the prime minister may now prioritise amending article 36 of the Labour Standards Act that allows a company and its employees to agree to unlimited overtime. Other reforms proposed by academics include encouraging companies to penalise middle managers who fail to reduce overtime hours.

石田教授補(bǔ)充稱，電通事件向安倍施加了更大壓力，他認(rèn)為安倍如今可能優(yōu)先修改《勞工標(biāo)準(zhǔn)法》(Labour Standards Act)第36條——該條款讓企業(yè)和其雇員同意無限加班。學(xué)者們提出的其他改革包括，鼓勵(lì)企業(yè)懲罰那些沒能減少加班時(shí)間的中層管理者。

However, Keio University labour law professor Yoshio Higuchi warns the end of karoshi “will require a simultaneous huge shift in Japanese society itself”.

然而，慶應(yīng)義塾大學(xué)(Keio University)勞動(dòng)法教授樋口美雄(Yoshio Higuchi)警告稱，過勞死問題“需要日本社會(huì)同時(shí)作出巨大轉(zhuǎn)變”。

Additional reporting by Harriet Agnew

哈麗雅特•阿格紐(Harriet Agnew)補(bǔ)充報(bào)道