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I think it is apt to call it insane. Consider this: it's not uncommon to see people 'working' nearly twice the hours of the Western average. Yet their GDP per
by whytaka 9y ago
I think it is apt to call it insane.
Consider this: it's not uncommon to see people 'working' nearly twice the hours of the Western average. Yet their GDP per capita is comparable if not equivalent to the Western average.
Since most other economic measures (that is, their standard of living) match up with the West, you're forced to ask yourself, 'Are Japanese people half as productive?' Is that why they have to work twice as much? I'll bet against it. It's because they have an insane work culture.
- dogruck 9y agoI think “insane” is unnecessarily caustic. Instead, it’s better to argue (as you are doing) that it’s “inefficient” or perhaps “unhealthy.” Also, it’s far too easy to cast stones in glass houses. I have a close friend who is ultra-low-budget traveling around the world who could justifiably call you and me “insane” for pushing forward in our careers (whatever they are).
- whytaka 9y agoPerhaps it is relative and your friend is right to call it as he sees it. From my perspective, I don't think it's unnecessary at all. People are dying from 'overwork'. Staff aren't able to leave before their superiors without risking their professional reputation. Because it's extremely unlikely they are actually getting anything done, it's a lie people impose on each other and themselves. And because they are too 'busy', many deplete the energy that would've otherwise spurred procreation - a problem they themselves consider an urgent priority. It's a cultural prison of national self-sabotage.