Top 10 True Stories of Overworked Corporates Submitted by GIGAZINE Readers
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We are also continuing our survey about overworked employees. Whether you answered the survey back then but have more stories to share, or you're just learning about the work or project for the first time, please share any stories that you can laugh about now or that you still can't laugh about.
Please share an episode that made you feel like a 'corporate slave' | Survey Form
The survey asked participants to provide their 'handle name,' 'gender,' 'age,' and 'occupation (at the time they were corporate slaves),' along with actual 'corporate slave episodes.' Please note that this article has been slightly edited from the original submissions to maintain consistency in length and style, without altering the meaning.
・Neko Dice, Male, Systems Engineer
The deadline for the task I was assigned on my first day was two months away. I was told, 'The previous person in charge has left, and the client has been told it's already finished, so we need you to finish it quickly,' so I worked almost constantly for two months and completed it.
- A fighting programmer, male, system implementer
I worked overtime for about three months straight, and I took the last train home most of the time. However, about once a week, when I managed to catch the train just before the last one, I felt like I was lucky. Amidst days of continuous all-nighters, I realized I was a corporate slave when I felt 'happy' to be able to go home, take a bath, and sleep in my own bed.
ST, Male, Game Engineer
At a drinking party with my game engineer friends, the topic of 'How much overtime have you been working lately?' came up. When I answered '60 hours,' it turned out I had the least amount of overtime among them.
・Kuman-san, Female System Engineer
In my second year at the company, I joined a banking system project. Initially, I was told it would be a two-month assignment to Tokyo, but before I knew it, I was in Tokyo for a year. I was involved in inter-company coordination, system testing, specification changes, cleaning up after incompetent superiors, etc. I would arrive at the office at 9 a.m. and leave after 2 a.m., and of course, there were no trains, so I would take a taxi home. The project leader gave me a mountain of taxi tickets, but I thought, 'I don't need those, I just want to be able to go home on time every day.' When the project reached its climax, I couldn't go home and would pull all-night system tests, go home in the morning to take a shower, take a two-hour nap, and then go back to work for several days. I was paid for all the overtime, but I wanted time off more than money. I still have photos from that time, and I feel like I look like I'm on the verge of death. Finally, the system went live, and I thought, 'Now I can go back home!' But then I heard that my next job was also in another banking-related field and would require me to be in Tokyo for several years, so I went back home and changed jobs. This was 20 years ago, so it seems that companies are much more employee-friendly now, at least in terms of working hours.
- Mr. A, a corporate slave, male systems engineer
After my day shift, I attended a kickoff meeting during the break before my night shift, then went back to work. After my night shift, someone ordered me to participate in a Mount Fuji climb, and when I felt unwell after the climb, I was verbally abused.
- Azuma-san, Female, Advertising-related
The day after working late into the night, I had another filming job. I took a nap at a 24-hour public bathhouse, then bought a full outfit at Uniqlo early in the morning before heading to the filming location. I was barely able to maintain my composure, thinking, 'I can't go there looking shabby...'
- Kuroyanagi-san, Male, Japan Self-Defense Forces
I slept only 3-4 hours a night and spent a week digging holes in the mountains day and night. There's no such thing as overtime pay in the Self-Defense Forces. I'm not just a corporate slave, I'm a national slave. But it's for the good of society and humanity... *sniff*.
Happy, male cram school instructor
I'm a tutor specializing in preparing elementary school students for junior high school entrance exams. I think the tutoring industry has improved compared to before, but I still consider it to be a gray area leaning towards black. Just the other day, I went to work at 8am and left at 9pm for a class with sixth graders in the second semester. This is an exception for Sundays, but it happens about three times a month, and during periods like summer and winter courses, it's normal and guaranteed that I'll be on duty for 12 hours each in the morning and afternoon for two or three consecutive days, resulting in overtime. At the beginning of the semester, there are parent-teacher meetings, so instead of the usual noon shift, I have to go in early and work overtime for these meetings. Teaching is basically a specialized job with no one to replace you, and yet there's work to be done in addition to teaching, so the more capable you are, the longer your working hours become. If parents come in for consultations, it adds even more work. I find it rewarding and I'm healthy enough to continue now, but I don't think I'll be able to continue if it becomes physically demanding. I think there are many other jobs that are even worse than this, but I felt that this is a job where the reality isn't often acknowledged, so I decided to post this.
- Person from a hot country, male, apparel manufacturer
I worked for a publicly listed company as an expatriate in Southeast Asia. While the standard annual working hours for domestic employees were set at 1900 hours, overseas employees were required to work 2500 hours per year. Even when I requested the domestic labor relations department to reduce this difference, I was told that 'overseas assignments do not affect domestic labor regulations and laws, so no adjustments will be made.' We lived together in company-leased general housing, with several expatriates sharing rooms of about 10 tatami mats each. Every morning, we would wake up at 6am, eat breakfast prepared by the dormitory manager with our colleagues, head to work in the same car at 6:30am, and return to the dormitory together in the same car after work at 6pm. This routine continued for many years. I returned to Japan twice a year, and while there were times when I could fly business class, later it was usually economy class at best, and at worst I used budget airlines. Upon arriving at the Japanese airport, I would immediately go to the company, submit the daily reports I had been sending from overseas, and after a week of work in Japan, I would head overseas again. I continued this routine for nearly 10 years.
PW, Male, Sales
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I developed a fever, so I paid for all the expensive, same-day PCR tests myself. Since the test was negative, I went to work with a temperature in the 38-degree Celsius range. While apologizing to my boss for the inconvenience, I realized that 'I have to quit being a corporate slave or my spirit will die,' which led me to change jobs.
We are continuing our survey on overworked employees. We plan to continue featuring selected responses, so please submit your stories!
Please share an episode that made you feel like a 'corporate slave' | Survey Form
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