2019 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Evaluating Work Style Reform: A Workplace-centered Study of Policy Outcomes
| Project/Area Number |
19H01561
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| Research Institution | Osaka University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
児島 真爾 立命館アジア太平洋大学, アジア太平洋学部, 准教授 (30734941)
Charles Weathers 大阪市立大学, 大学院経済学研究科, 教授 (50305611)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
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| Keywords | workstyle reform / labor law / labor relations / work hours / equal pay for equal work / public sector employment |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
We set out to understand how the labor reform package known as 働き方改革 would be implemented. Our main concerns are in the effectiveness of the planned reforms on work hours, equal pay for equal work, and effects on diversification of workers in the public sector. By reading the relevant literature on reform in Japan and other countries, and by participating in scholarly meetings, labor symposia, and by interviewing experts in this field, we have learned about the sweeping scope and breadth of the reform plans. Our investigation has so far revealed a high level of coordination between government and business in implementing the reforms. Large firms, especially those in the fields of personnel and labor management services, see a future of profitable opportunities. In various industries and sectors, a massive PR effort to educate enterprises is underway, and it is being embraced as a positive development. Large firms are leading the effort, setting the stage for smaller firms to take up the reforms from 2020. Questions remain, however, about whether these smaller firms have the ability to take up the reforms fully. There are also questions about the effectiveness of enforcement in cases where the reforms clash with established customary ways of working.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
3: Progress in research has been slightly delayed.
Reason
The Coronavirus has interrupted our progress and prevented us from presenting research results at conferences. While we made progress with interviews, documentary research, and participation in study meetings and seminars in the fall of 2019, year-end academic chores and the virtual shutdown of social activity caused by the virus from February 2020, and the possibility of much longer term disruptions, have caused us to reconsider the direction of our research. We will persist in following the rollout of the reforms, paying attention to the situation of small and medium-sized enterprises which come under the reform requirements this year. However, until normal social interaction can be resumed, it will be difficult to proceed as we had planned.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
In 2020, we hope for resumption of normal research activities. Our plan is to conduct intensive interviews with union and labor law leaders to learn about problems arising from implementation of the new labor laws. In addition, we will continue to follow the PR and educational efforts of the government as it turns its attention to gaining compliance from smaller and medium-sized firms. As we proceed with our plan, we will also consider the changing landscape of labor bought by the virus, especially the rise in remote working and what that may mean for work hours issues, job stability, workplace relations, and careers.
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