The world’s fifth-largest advertising company by revenue and the biggest in Japan, Dentsu, has reformed its HR policy after an employee suicide.
24-year-old Matsuri Takahashi, an entry-level employee who joined in April 2015, took her own life on Christmas Day 2015, following a big increase in her workload over the preceding two months – Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reports.
Long, exhausting working weeks are a huge problem in Japan. A recent Government whitepaper found that just under a quarter of companies have staff putting in over 80 hours of overtime a month – Advertising Age reports.
The Tokyo labour department ruled that she committed suicide as a result of work overload causing a mental collapse due to overwork.
Lawyers for the Takahashi family said she did 105 hours of overtime, compared to 40 hours a month when she was on probation, between 9 October 2015 and 7 November 2015.
At one point she tweeted: “Again, I have to go to work on Saturday and Sunday. I seriously want to die.”
Her mother, Yukimi Takahashi, claims that her daughter was once told by her boss: “Your hair is messy and your eyes get bloodshot. Don’t come to work like that” – The Japan Times reports.
A Dentsu representative told Asahi Shimbun: “We view our employee’s suicide very seriously, as we have yet to grasp the contents (of the inspection office’s judgment).”
Subsequently, Dentsu’s Tokyo headquarters and seven other Japan-based offices – including the firm’s four subsidiaries; Dentsu Kyushu, Dentsu Hokkaido, Dentsu West Japan, and Dentsu Okinawa – were visited by inspectors from the Tokyo labour department.
When quizzed on what changes had been made, Dentsu informed investigators that a company-wide policy on time management, alongside workstyle reform goals geared toward “maintaining employee health,” had been set up.
As well as this, specific provisions include “no overtime” days, and ensuring employees take their paid leave. Furthermore, line managers are asked to check on the health of their staff, and employees who are working long hours get mandatory doctors’ check-ups.
“Working after 10pm is prohibited in principle, and employees are instructed to go home as soon as possible and rest,” a spokesman added in an email. There’s also a ban in principle on coming in early the day after working late.
Source: https://www.hrgrapevine.com/content/article/2016-10-19-ad-agency-implements-overtime-ban-and-reforms-hr-policy-after-tragedy
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