抄録
The issue of overwork and death from it (karoshi), along with women’s active participation, has become a major challenge to“ working style reforms” in Japan.
A review of cases of overwork and karoshi at Zensho (SUKIYA), Watami and UNIQLO, which are Japan’s representative growing companies, suggests that the essential problem lies in their management culture meant to minimize costs by retaining as few permanent employees as possible and assigning practical duties to nonpermanent employees.
For the prevention of overwork and karoshi, Japanese companies are required to clearly position “working style reforms” among their diversifying employees as a challenge to CSR and to corporate governance and persistently work on the reforms with the participation of top management, while carrying forward the“ visualization of working styles” through their efforts to disclose corporate information.
