The motivation system on which new businesses take off and companies with a history are reborn
The growth of productivity in Japan outstrips the growth of living standards and wages. However, the Japanese experience is applicable only in a society with a strongly developed sense of civic responsibility and self-awareness, where common interests are above individual needs and a pronounced willingness to make personal sacrifices for the common good.
“First, you serve the emperor (country); second, you serve your employer; third, you serve your family. And only then can you think of yourself.”
This is a brief formulation of the basic principle of Japanese motivation, which has survived since feudalism and serves as the basis for corporate motivation systems in modern Japan.
The main quality of an employee in the Land of the Rising Sun is loyalty to the company, which often borders on sacrifice and ignoring one’s own needs. How does this manifest itself?
The Japanese consider themselves a necessary link in the single system and take personal responsibility for the fate of the company they work for.
For the Japanese, “profession,” “work,” and “company” are identical. When asked about their profession, Japanese people are more likely to name a company than their occupation, for example, “I work for Kubota” instead of “I work as an engineer.
The Japanese system is characterized by a minimum number of missed work days. High responsibility means that even if an employee does not feel well, he or she does not ask for a day off or go on sick leave, but continues to work.
Overtime is the norm for the Japanese. They stay late at work without prior arrangement and without objection. Of course, it won’t make you happy, but it won’t make you complain to your boss and say, “That’s the way it has to be.
For a Japanese employee to take a full vacation means to show disloyalty to the company. That is why Japanese take only a part of their holiday.
When a Japanese person identifies with the whole company, it is not only an echo of the feudal system, but also the result of a modern approach to motivation and personnel management.
Lifetime employment and seniority bonuses
Psychologists have established an interrelation between self-identification and length of service: the longer a person works in a company, the deeper and more deeply an employee identifies with the corporate “body”. The Japanese incentive system exploits this characteristic and “ties” job guarantees and remuneration to length of service. This method of motivation minimizes the possibility of an employee moving to another firm.
The basic principle of motivation, which is adhered to by the leaders of Japanese corporations: the greater the length of service, the higher the position and the higher the wage. This means that career growth is directly related to the length of time an employee has worked for the firm. An employee’s professional abilities, qualifications, and personal qualities are important, but without the appropriate length of service, vertical movement in the company is impossible. Moreover, the transition to a new place of work “nullifies” past merits, and only “own” employee can get a managerial position.
