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臺大管理論叢
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27
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3. Towards the Realization of a “Japanese Work-Life Balanced Society”
Recently, work-life balance theory has gained prominence in Japan. However,
discussions examining various policies and measures concerning the enhancement of work-
life balance in Japan, rather than carefully considering the context of Japen, have tended to
copy and conform to those being carried out in Western countries.
Very simply put, the major premise of discussions of work-life balance in Western
countries are underlain by the semantics of the phrase “work-life balance” itself; that is, the
concept of “creating balance between two intrinsically different aspects of life, “working
life” (“work”) and “life outside of work” (“life”) and designing a more desirable lifestyle for
humans”. The typical Western “logical” way of thinking (a dominant style or form of
thinking observed in a particular culture or civilization) is that “working life” and “life
outside of work” are intrinsically different. Here, “work” is viewed as “labor (drudgery)”,
involving pain and difficulty, while “life outside of work” is “enjoyment and happiness”.
According to this concept, the former should be as short as possible and carried out in
moderation, while ample time should be taken for the latter so that life can be enjoyed. The
point here is that, according to Western thinking, “working life” and “life outside of work”
are intrinsically different and the concept of “work-life balance” is underlain by the implicit
premise that “working life” and “life outside of work” can be separated completely into two.
Mechanisms premised on this Western way of thinking differ in history, culture, and
traditions. Accordingly, when introducing ways of thinking that differ from Japanese
thinking, a certain amount of care is necessary.
Methods that aim to create balance between “working life” and “life outside of work”
also needs to be careful to stop at the so-called “quantitative aspects”, such as shortening
work hours and increasing leisure time, which cannot be said to rise particularly high
expandability of discussions aimed at the future. This is because work-life balance
discussions that focus on only quantitative aspects ignore the content of the working life that
has been shortened, and poses the risk of possibly harming the “multi-capacity”, “intellectual
dexterity”, organizational skills, and cooperative skills that Japanese workers have
developed, and of which Japan can boast to the world. Unless discussions of work-life
balance do not take the view that shorter working hours means there is no need to question
the content of working life, and so the existence of “labor (drudgery)” and “pain (difficulty)”
are acceptable, but rather that work is fundamentally an enjoyable activity in which one can