Changing Workplaces — Blogging about Work

Abstract

The above citation is from the blog of a Japanese employee. Although just a short paragraph written in June 2001, it still provides information on the activities of a company, responses by its employees, speculations pertaining to the state of the company, and finally the problems of a single employee in coping with this situation. Thus the diary entry raises several questions: How typical of Japanese companies were and are the activities described? How do they relate to the overall situation of the Japanese economy? Are the feelings and speculations of this employee shared by others, and if so, how will this affect the future relationship between the company and employees in Japan?

28 June 2001 — After work was finished we had a farewell party for early retirees. Because our company is in a slump, wages and bonuses have been cut, the coffers are in a desolate state. In this situation, a preferential early retirement system was introduced. When the company recruited retirees, quite a number of people raised their arms. Today was the farewell party for two of them. if such a number of people raise their hands, the future prospects of the company are surely bleak. But, if I retired, I would not be confident I could feed myself. I cannot retire.¹