The Shift Towards American-style Human Resource Management Systems and the Transformation of Workers' Attitudes at Japanese Firms

Abstract

Most leading research on the relationship between human resource management systems and worker attitudes in Japan have been based on one-off surveys; research with data over the long term is sparse. Here, I analyse survey data taken at 5-year intervals from 1985, involving around 4,000 union members across Japan. I aim to clarify the effectiveness of the ‘company man’ type of worker of the early 1980s, and examine problems that have arisen through the process of transformation, especially from the mid-1990s, towards a new type of ‘autonomous’ worker. Survey analysis shows that, in Japan's post-war growth period, there were rational grounds for ‘Japanese-style management’ systems. The inevitability of the appearance of the ‘company man’ is also demonstrated from the identification of typical characteristics in employee attitudes. However, as a result of the sweeping conquest of American-style capitalist principles, from the 1990s worker attitudes have moved towards a more ‘company-independent’ model. I suggest that as a consequence a need has arisen at the micro-level for mental health care for those who have adapted poorly to the changes, and there is a need at the macro-level for policies to support workers in the shift towards a new ‘multiple commitment’ style of work.