>
> Disheartening of course.
>
> ". . . slashed its imaging sector's worldwide workforce by 4000
> staff." Did 'lifetime employment' with a single company ever exist in
> Japan? Or was that a myth?
>
life time employement existed for several reasons.
1. flat rent is/was so high that the company had to own and provide cheap
rents or people working would be homeless.
2. there was no retirement/unenployement system so people had to work
until they drop
3. begging is out of the question in Japan. (apart from monks) I have seen
well dressed women literally walk over men lying in tube train stations.
They don't even ask for money. If you don't work you do not exist. There
are even bad words for retired men...
the result of this is that if you became unemployed you joined a cardboard
city because you automatically lost your home. basically the company you
worked for was your welfare system. The comapny even paid for the funeral
expenses when you died at work (VERY common).
When I worked in Japan things where already changing because the ecconomy
and goverment and banking systems are a complete mess. Things where so
slow, backward and inefficent I almost went crazy. I was glad to go back
to 9 to 5 instead of working slowly 12 hours a day and only getting the
same amount done as a normal 9 to 5.
James
==============================================
List usage info: http://www.zuikoholic.com
List nannies: olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
==============================================
|