An Essay on Rules Concerning Working Hours

Abstract

Basic rules on working hours specified in the Labor Standard Law and collective agreements stipulate only the upper limit and the lower limit of working hours. How many hours a worker actually works is determined in Japan through a business plan assigned to a department （demand side calculation） and the number of personnel assigned to the department （a supply side calculation）. There are different approaches to calculating the number of personnel, such as the strategy approach, the finance approach, the task approach, direct-indirect ratios, and so on. With most approaches, other than the task approach, the number of personnel assigned may be insufficient to accomplish the business plan assigned. In this case the business plan might not be carried out adequately. Alternatively, overtime work might become normal, a situation that is often seen in Japanese companies. This happens partly because many Japanese workers believe they have to accomplish the business plan given to them by running the PDCA （Plan - Do - Check - Action） cycle smoothly. My tentative idea for one effective measure to reduce overtime work is to establish labor union regulations at the workshop level.