Employee Well-Being
Protection of employee well-being in Japan and China
These empirical studies on the well-being of employees in Japan and China will attempt to assess to what extent the different stages of economic development of China and Japan, and the different political systems have a bearing on the question of protecting the well-being of employees. We understand the notion of well-being as ranging from safety at the working place and fair wages, on the one hand, to more psychologically-rooted aspects such as work-life satisfaction on the other (Angner 2010; Diener 2000, 2009; Diener et al. 1999), and, hence, in a broad sense, like the “decent work agenda” of the International Labour Organization (ILO, Katoka 2008).
While the nature of the modern Japanese welfare system is still contested, and employee protection did not play an important role in its early phase of modernization, discourses on protecting the weak can be observed from these early times onwards, as well as the practical consequences resulting from them; an example can be found in the establishment of the Verein für Socialpolitik (Japan Social Policy Association) in 1896. Recently, the discourse on employee wellbeing, in particular on karôshi (death from overwork) victims (Kuroda 2010), and on the increasing “toll” on retaining employees during downsizing (Genda et al. 2012) has gained in importance (see, also, the data in the Appendix).
In China, issues related to the welfare of employees were first put on the agenda during 1920s and 1930s, but, after the takeover of the Communists, only began to play a role from the beginning of economic reforms in 1978. In particular, labour conditions at foreign enterprises such as Walmart (China 2011) and, more recently, Foxconn (Apple’s main manufacturer in China) have caught the attention of the global public. The changes induced – partly suggested by international non-governmental organizations such as the Fair Labor Association (FLA) – may have an impact on other companies as well. The studies will look into the question of how employee wellbeing has become an important topic in Japan and China. In particular, they will focus on the question of to what extent social and state actors, as well as international organizations and public debates, influence the processes of framing, mobilization and institutionalization of well-being.
