The “employment ice age” refers to the 1990s and early 2000s, when the employment environment was tough after the collapse of the bubble economy. People who were job hunting at that time are now in their 40s and 50s. It was around this time that regular employment decreased and non-regular employment began to increase due to the stagnant economy.
After graduating from graduate school, a woman (47) living in Tokyo was unable to get the research job she wanted, so she got a job at a local small and medium-sized enterprise. Since then, she has changed jobs repeatedly because the workplace did not suit her or her contract was terminated. This number has increased to more than 10 times. Although she has also worked as a regular employee, what she felt most keenly during her time as a non-regular dispatched employee was “the fear of not knowing when your contract will be terminated.”
“The thing about being a temporary worker is whether you are liked by your superiors. I learned that in principle you should not work for the company.”
Because she has been working with that mindset, she confesses that she “doesn’t really know what her ideal way of working is now.” Although she continues to work in the same industry, her job types are diverse. Before she could build a career, she was doing her best just to work. The woman says.
“To be honest, I was just trying to survive at the time.”
According to the 2022 edition of the Gender Equality White Paper, the proportion of non-regular workers among all workers is 36.7%. By gender, the proportion is 21.8% for men and 53.6% for women.
One of the reasons for this is said to be that many women change their working style due to marriage or childbirth, but according to the Japanese Trade Union Confederation’s “Survey on Women Working in Non-Regular Employment 2022,” the average annual individual income of women aged 20 to 59 working in non-regular employment is only 1,679,000 yen. In a survey conducted online by AERA in June, many people complained about low salaries.
■ Full-time employees dominating
Many people have trouble with relationships with full-time employees at work.
A non-regular employee (50) living in Saitama Prefecture was unable to get the job she wanted after graduating from university, so she started her career as a non-regular employee. She changed jobs and became a full-time employee, but suddenly had to care for her parents. She recalls, “The atmosphere at the workplace became tense, so I had no choice but to switch to temporary work,” due to repeated early departures and taking annual leave.
After that, she got married and gave birth in her 30s. Since she was not a full-time employee, she was unable to use the childcare leave system and was forced to resign. She tried to return to work quickly, but the road to full-time employment with a young child was difficult. Although she had built up a career,
she complained, “I realized that it is difficult to be evaluated as a non-regular employee.” She started working as a non-regular employee, but it was common for full-time employees to dominate her. They would say things like, “I don’t have to do these menial tasks,” and when her pay slip arrived, they would say, “You don’t get this much as a part-time employee.” The woman said, “I thought it was too inappropriate. If you are exposed to that kind of atmosphere for a long time, it will make you feel bad.” I couldn’t stay here for long. When I decided to change jobs, I found out that other non-regular employees were also resigning one after another. Later, I heard rumors that the workplace was understaffed and overwhelmed. The woman tilted her head and said, “I thought it was karma. It’s better to respect each other’s circumstances, but is there an environment where regular and non-regular people can work together amicably?” (Freelance reporter Ono Hideko) *Excerpt from aera July 15, 2024 issue [aerabot.] 2024/7/13 (Sat) 8:32
By career… is there some special skill that makes you stand out more than others?
Are you super smart, can speak foreign languages like a native speaker, have some impressive national qualification, etc.?
Isn’t it just a matter of aptitude?
Liberal Democratic Party: “I’m honored to receive your praise (_^_)”
I think the right thing to do is to stick with regular work until you give birth, then take maternity leave and stay there.
I don’t think it’s right to say you’re not making an effort.
There are times when you have no choice but to become non-regular for various reasons, such as to follow your husband when he’s transferred.
Aren’t companies making the highest profits ever?
Why did she end up like that?
Seriously speaking, over 99% of companies that hire mid-career employees are black companies.
Once you get caught in a negative loop, it’s not easy to get out.
New assignments after being laid off from a temporary position also count as one time, so if you remain a non-regular employee, it’s normal to have double digits even if you’re working properly.
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