Thursday, August 22, 2013

Trilemma of employment

When I saw that some people wrote about working, I noticed that there was a trilemma of employment.

The three conditions which cannot be fulfilled together are below;

(1) Stable employment
Traditionally, lifetime employment has been common in Japanese society. Most of young people belonged to a company immediately after graduating from a university. They worked until the mandatory retirement age. After that, they received a pension from the government. It was a typical model of working life. Even now, lifetime employment is a popular option for some people.

(2) Chance of promotion
Maybe you have a dream. It may include money, reputation and power. Promotion is one of the means to get all of them. Therefore, we are motivated in front of chance of promotion.

(3) Stressless environment
Nobody seeks agony. Working till midnight, working during holiday, and working without a salary are quite terrible. In such situations, we may feel being exploited. It is no doubt that working without stress is admirable.

Then, can these three conditions be satisfied at the same time?
Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult.

In traditional Japan, stable employment and chance of promotion are guaranteed to all employees. Many people working in a company had a dream to be a president. If it was not realized, they could get a large amount of retirement money at the age of 60. However, they had an obligation to obey the order of the company. Overworking  without fee (so called "service Zangyo") were usual. Demand of the boss was absolute. Recently, such a paternal companies has been blamed as "black company".

On the other hand, some foreign-affiliated firm offer another workstyle. There are lots of promotion in such companies. You can rest everytime as long as you earn an adequate profit. Your boss does not control you. However, you would be dismissed if you fail to accomplish a goal. Your status is quite unstable, so called "Up or Out".

So is there stable and comfortable position? Some officials are applicable to this. But it is rare in Japan. There are lots of "Mac Jobs" in developing countries. They do the same task every day. No promotion is promised for them. But they are hardly dismissed because workers are lacking.

After all, stable fascinating and stress-free job does not exist. You should determine your priority of your own to choose a job.

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