Japan is Fighting Back Against its Overwork Culture via Vertical ‘Nap Boxes’

Ryan Epps, Tech Times 15 July 2022, 11:07 am

In an attempt to promote healthier workplace conditions throughout Japan, the country's Koyoju Gohan KK and Itoki Corp are joining forces to develop and distribute so-called "nap boxes," or vertical cupboards that act as comfy resting pods in the office. Both firms have already signed a license agreement, penned on Thursday, July 14, with Koyoju Gohan now in the process of designing the nap box for sale.

"I think a lot of Japanese people tend to work continuously with no breaks," explains Itoki communications director Saeko Kawashima. "We are hoping that companies can use this as a more flexible approach to resting."

The culture of overwork in Japan has pervaded the workforce in that region since the 1970s and has only intensified since. Japan's overwork problem has led to a multitude of deaths, the first of which was reported in 1969 when a 29-year-old male working in the shipping department of Japan's largest newspaper succumbed to a stroke. Since then, the Japanese have termed the phenomenon of overworking oneself to death as "karoshi."

A probe led by Japanese authorities into 24,000 companies last year proved to highlight 37%, or around 9,000, had violated the country's overtime laws. According to Statista, an average of about 2,000 or so workplace-related suicides occur in Japan each year since 2012. And, while that number might seem quite large, Wired's Elle Hunt ascribes the annual death toll via karoshi to about 10,000, according to so-called "campaigners."

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A probe led by Japanese authorities into 24,000 companies last year proved that 37%, or around 9,000, had violated the country's overtime laws. According to Statista, an average of about 2,000 or so workplace-related suicides have occurred in Japan each year since 2012. And while that number might seem quite large, Wired's Elle Hunt ascribes the annual death toll via karoshi to about 10,000, according to so-called "campaigners."

Related Article: Japan is World's Number One Robot Maker

Japan's overwork culture has proven to be a rather tricky catch-22. Various initiatives have sprung up throughout the years in an attempt to curb the metastasizing issue to little or no avail. HBO's VICE News published a video in 2017 on Japan's 'Premium Friday,' a campaign launched by the Japanese government that encouraged workplaces to give staff a half day on the last Friday of each month. Unfortunately, the concept never truly caught on.

But both Koyoju Gohan and Itoki Corp vie to amend the situation or at least challenge it via the promotion of power naps. The country already has a set term for such a thing: inemuri, which essentially describes a short sleep period in the day to facilitate long working hours or extended commutes. Inemuri can literally be translated to "sleeping while present," which, to no one's surprise, has become a major phenomenon in the region likened to FOMO, or the Fear of Missing Out.

"In Japan, there are a lot of people who will lock themselves up in the bathroom for a while, which I don't think is healthy," says Kawashima. "It's better to sleep in a comfortable location."

The partnered firms' forthcoming nap box, which has no available price or availability just yet, stems from this very concept of inemuri. Users would step into the nap box and sleep standing straight up, akin to a flamingo. All of the necessary bodily parts are comfortably supported, including the rear, knees, and head, in order to guarantee that a user won't fall over while asleep.

While napping in the daytime to bolster cognitive performance at work still remains uncertain as to its overall viability, a plethora of research exists positing that it does aid in alertness, but results vary depending on the age of the individual. As to both Itoki and Koyoju Gohan's nap box, the imperative behind the design is certainly virtuous, but the campaign itself will come down to Japanese employers also catching on to the nap box movement.