The Rising Incidence of “Adjustment Disorder” in Japan

: Observations on the Country’s Membership-type Employment Practices

Abstract

Maintaining and improving the mental health of workers is an important issue in Japan. The number of patients with “adjustment disorders” has increased over the past 10 years, but the underlying reasons remain unclear. In this paper, we hypothesize that a contributing factor in “the increase in the number of patients with an “adjustment disorder” is the increase in workplace maladjustment”, and we verify this hypothesis by using international and domestic worker surveys. The results of the international survey suggest that stress from human relationships in the workplace is higher in Japan than in other countries. The domestic survey makes clear that the proportion of workers who feel that they have trouble with “human relationships in the workplace” has increased, and that there is an increased correlation with feelings of depression. It is inferred that the Japanese employment system, which is often called a “membership-type employment” system with an emphasis on “human relationships in the workplace”, is likely to bring about “adjustment disorders” resulting from stress in personal relationships.