Don’t fear making a profit—use it to support your people. That’s what defines a company’s role in society.
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◆ Systems Exist, but Are Practically Unusable
Japan has legal frameworks for parental leave, shorter working hours, and flexible work arrangements. Yet in practice, they remain hard to use. Comments like “It’s a problem when someone takes leave” or “Who will cover for them?” are commonplace. In many cases, those who use such systems find themselves sidelined from promotions.
This contradiction—systems exist but aren’t usable—has a clear cause:
Japanese companies lack organizational slack.
◆ Low Productivity Makes Flexibility Impossible
According to OECD data, Japan ranks the lowest among G7 countries in labor productivity. Its output per hour is roughly 30% lower than in the U.S. or Germany.
Because of this, Japanese companies often operate with minimal staff to remain profitable. If even one employee takes leave, the workplace can’t function. Thus, it’s not that the systems themselves are flawed—it’s the design of work that is broken.
This isn’t a childcare issue. It’s a structural and managerial issue.
◆ A Structural Gap Between Japan and the West
Western countries build in flexibility from the start. They price their products and services to include fair profit margins and invest those profits in people and systems that support leave, remote work, and reduced hours.
| Aspect | Western Countries | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Employment model | Job-based | Membership-based |
| Workflow | Standardized, team-based | Personalized, ad hoc |
| Evaluation | Output-based | Time- and loyalty-based |
| Leave policies | Rights-based | Atmosphere-sensitive |
| View on profit | Reinvestment mindset | Cost-cutting mindset |
In the West, when someone takes leave, it doesn’t derail operations. Systems are designed to accommodate absence as normal, not exceptional. In Japan, one absence can bring down a whole team—a sign of poor organizational design, not employee selfishness.
◆ The Limits of Cutting People to Protect Profits
For decades, Japanese companies have pursued “better products at lower prices” and relied on cutting labor costs to maintain margins. The result?
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Excessive services
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Brutal price competition
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Constant understaffing
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Structural burnout
Under such pressure, flexible work becomes “a burden,” not a right. The systems that exist become unusable not because of employee attitude, but because of corporate survival mode.
◆ Profit Is Not Shameful—It’s Essential
This leads to a fundamental misunderstanding that must be corrected:
Don’t fear making a profit. Use it to invest in people. That is your social role as a company.
Too often, Japanese companies treat profit as something shameful—something that should be minimized or squeezed through cost-cutting, especially labor. But profit, when achieved through fair pricing and value creation, is a source of strength—not only for the company, but for society as a whole.
◆ From Profit to People: The Virtuous Cycle
By pricing properly and using profit to reinvest in people—wages, training, and operational slack—companies create the foundation for long-term sustainability.
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Profit is secured
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Employees are hired and workloads balanced
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People can work without being overwhelmed
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New ideas and innovations emerge naturally
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Productivity rises
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More profit, more reinvestment
This is the model already working in countries like Germany and those in the Nordic region.
◆ When Systems Fail, It’s Not the User’s Fault
When existing systems are impossible to use, the failure lies not with individuals—but with the system’s designers. If taking leave ruins operations, the system wasn’t built properly in the first place.
Responsibility for building usable systems lies with management—and by extension, with society itself.
◆ From Cutting to Empowering: The Future of Companies
The companies of tomorrow aren’t those that survive by cutting people.
They are the ones that grow by empowering people.
Flexible work, diverse teams, and work-life balance must no longer be seen as “exceptions” or “accommodations.” They are the new normal. Only companies that build for this reality can survive and thrive in the decades to come.
Conclusion: Rebuild the Structure, Reframe the Mindset
Japan doesn’t lack systems. It doesn’t lack people. It doesn’t lack motivation.
What it lacks is structural slack—room for people to thrive.
And that room is created not through sacrifice, but through profit—properly understood, unapologetically earned, and boldly reinvested in people.
It’s time to stop blaming individuals for using systems that companies themselves make unworkable.
Instead, let’s return to a simple truth:
A company must first earn, then invest in people. That is its social responsibility—and its future.
Read in Japanese↓
日本の職場が出産育児に厳しいのは生産性が低いからだ（2025.7.16）
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