June 2012
NIRA Report

The Autonomy of the Working Individual-Can We Break the Mold of the Japanese “Company Man”?-

Executive Summary

Against the background of an intensifying sense of deadlock generated by factors
including an ongoing economic downturn, how should we change the way we work?
This paper attempts to rethink work practices from the perspective of an autonomy
which implies the ability of the individual to make choices based on his or her own
judgment, and argues that it has become necessary, in view of social changes, toestablish modes of working which eschew an older concept of autonomy and manifest
this new autonomy. It also delineates policy agendas towards enabling these modesof working, based in part on the results of an independently conducted survey.
Opinions are diverse concerning autonomy in relation to the working individual. In thisreport, specialists in fields including economics, management, and law offer a varietyof perspectives on this subject.
Preface

Why Focus on Autonomy Now?
Motohiro Morishima, Professor of Human Resource Management,
Graduate School of Commerce and Management,
Hitotsubashi University

Japan’s previously functional employment system is approaching its limits against thebackground of new changes in the competitive environment. These changes may beindicated as follows:
1) Extreme fluctuations in circumstances cannot be dealt with on the basis of thecommitment and flexibility of individual workers2) Discontinuous innovation rather than incremental innovation is now required ofcompanies
3) Organizations now require a small number of leaders and a large number ofautonomous specialists in order to function4) Changes are occurring in the attitudes of workers
These four changes necessitate new types of autonomy which differ from those of the1past. These may be termed autonomy from the organization and autonomy inrelationship with the organization.
• Autonomy from the organization refers to the advancement by the working personof his or her own career development on the basis of individual judgment andresponsibility, against the background of a decline in the incentive represented bylong-term investment in the development of human resources by a company.
•Autonomy in relationship with the organization refers to the individual’s becominga resource able to contribute to the organization as a professional on the basis of thebroad concept and vision of the organization as presented by the people at the top. A
specialty which is able to be used in the external labor market and a strong
commitment to the job are the conditions for being such a professional.
Of these two forms of autonomy, autonomy from the organization represents amovement away from the organization. However, this does not indicate anything
concerning the mode of work towards which this movement tends. What lies beyond
autonomy from the organization is autonomy in relationship with the organization.
When the working person possesses both of these forms of autonomy, he or she is able
for the first time to stand in a position of equality with the organization.
Section IConsidering the Autonomy of the Working Individual

Chapter 1

The Autonomy of the Working Individual

The form of autonomy displayed by workers is influenced by the social environment
and the employment system. Here, changes in the autonomy of the working individual
will be considered using Albert O. Hirschman’s concepts of “voice” and “exit.”“Voice” refers to the working person’s expression, within the organization, of his or herdesire for an improvement in the working environment. “Exit” refers to changing
jobs to find a better working environment.
• In the case of autonomy in the period of high economic growth, under Japan’s
postwar employment system, there was no need for working people to use “voice” and“exit.”•With regard to autonomy in the low-growth period, it became important forworking people to utilize both “voice” and “exit” as methods of attaining the new
attributes, skills and expertise which were required.
•New elements have been added to today’s forms of autonomy, these being the normof seeking personal enjoyment in working and of working with a diverse range ofpeople who share the company’s concepts and principles.
2Chapter 2

Methods of Increasing the Autonomy of the Working Individual

What type of support from the government and from companies is necessary toincrease the autonomy of working people? A desire on the part of the working person
to make him or herself autonomous is the prerequisite for autonomy. For people who
possess this desire, it will be necessary to create mechanisms which link that desire toaction. In the case of people in whom it is necessary to foster the desire for autonomy,
what will be required is the creation of opportunities for changing their awareness.
• For people who possess the desire to become autonomous, it will be necessary tocreate opportunities to express their desire towards realizing their own careers in theworkplace (“voice”) and mechanisms which ensure that an “exit” (quitting) when that“voice” is not heard is not disadvantageous. In specific terms, such measures asrevising the severance pay and pension systems to prevent any disadvantage resulting
from changing employment may be considered.
• There are two types of people in whom it is necessary to foster the desire forautonomy. For people who have been unable to let go of the form of autonomy
which characterized the period of high economic growth and embrace the norms which
promote a new autonomy, we should revise and make active use of public vocational
training, and offer formal education in career planning. For students and others withno experience of employment, we should provide pre-employment education (careereducation) in order to encourage a focus on autonomy in working life from the stage ofjob-seeking.
Chapter 3

Consciousness of Self-determination in Working Life
- Considerations based on the Results of a Questionnaire Survey ofFull-time White Collar Workers-

A survey of full-time white collar workers was conducted in order to gain anunderstanding of the actual status of autonomy among working people. For thepurposes of the survey, autonomy was defined as a sense of self-determination, in thatthe individual was able to make decisions concerning his or her working life for him orherself. First, it was determined that there was no antagonism between the strength of
an individual’s feeling of self-determination and the degree of that individual’s sense ofcommunality (feeling of affinity with the organization and desire to contribute to theorganization). Individuals were then divided into four groups based on the strength or
weakness of their sense of self-determination and communality, and the results wereanalyzed in terms of their relationship to “voice” and “exit.”• Individuals who possess both a strong sense of self-determination and a strong3

sense of communality exercise their “voice” to make changes in the organization, andbelieve in their ability to “exit,” seeing their abilities as usable in another company.
However, they do not necessarily have a strong desire to change employment.
• Individuals possessing a weak sense of self-determination but a strong sense ofcommunality wish to contribute to the organization, but rarely actually exercise their“voice,” even when they believe that it would be to the organization’s benefit, and rate
their ability to “exit” as low. This can be considered the classic type of the Japanese“company man.”
Section II Opinions regarding Autonomy
Professor Motoshige Itoh, President of NIRA
Professor Itoh considers the question of how individual workers can display theirautonomy in the workplace with reference to Albert O. Hirschman’s concepts of“voice” and “exit.”• Workers are able to display their autonomy in the workplace by means of “voice,”demanding that the organization make improvements in relation to problems that exist
in the organization, and “exit,” changing employment to seek a better working
environment.
• The problem in Japan at present is that workers are not able to fully utilize the “exit”
option. A poor external job market is one factor in the inability of the Japanese
economy to respond rapidly to changes.
Professor Hajime Ota, Faculty of Policy Studies, Doshisha University
Professor Ota looks at the characteristics of Japanese companies and forms ofautonomy from the perspective of human resources management.
• In Japanese companies, the degree of autonomy at the level of groups is high, asdemonstrated by QC groups. However, this results in a trade-off, in that the highlevel of group autonomy restricts individual autonomy.
• One reason that performance-based systems do not produce the expected outcomes isthe lack of clarity regarding individual duties in Japanese companies (vaguenessregarding allocation of jobs and scope of responsibility).
Professor Toshihiro Kanai, Graduate School of Business Administration, Kobe
University
Professor Kanai discusses the relationship between working in an organization and theautonomy of the working individual.
• Whether autonomous actions on the part of employees are of benefit to theorganization or are simply self-indulgent is dependent upon whether the employeesshare the organization’s principles and values and have solid bonds with the4organization.
• In order to realize a meaningful way of working, the individual must possess both thedesire to maximize his or her own specialization and a desire to contribute to thegroup.
Professor Yasuo Suwa, Graduate School of Regional Policy Design, Hosei University
Professor Suwa discusses the image of the autonomously functioning worker from thelegal studies perspective.
• The market economy is predicated on the concept of autonomous individuals
considered as decision-making entities. The parties engaged in establishing a contract
must possess the autonomy to enable them to judge their own interests and makedecisions on that basis.
• On the other hand, labor law positions the worker as an entity that should beprotected, having less bargaining power than the employer. However, in an era inwhich the worker’s intellectual enterprise forms the foundation of the economy, thisimage of the worker requires a certain amount of correction.
Professor Michio Nitta, Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo (At time ofwriting), Faculty of Business, Kokushikan University (At present)
Professor Nitta examines the concept of the autonomy of the worker from theperspective of the relationship between the individual worker and labor unions.
• The union movement has always emphasized the collectivity of workers, and isincompatible with the concept of the autonomy of the individual. The union system
which developed in postwar Japan, however, was directed towards productivity;
workers shared the management standard of increasing productivity, and the unions
themselves would accept a certain level of difference between workers’ wages.
• Human resources management (HRM), a method developed for the management ofwhite collar personnel assumed to be non-unionized, seeks to actively make use ofindividual autonomy.
Professor Motohiro Morishima, Graduate School of Commerce and Management,
Hitotsubashi University
Professor Morishima considers what will be necessary for workers in the future against
the background of social and economic change, with “autonomy” as the keyword.
• It is very possible that in the future Japanese companies will clearly reflect in their
human resources management systems their desire to smoothly adjust the size of theirworkforces, even under current strict employment regulations which make it difficult
to terminate employment.
• Autonomous career formation, the independent development of their own
specialization, and the creation of skills and expertise in a form that is matched to the5

market, is a measure by means of which workers are able to respond to the risk of lossof employment.
Professor Mitsuo Ishida, Faculty of Social Studies, Doshisha University
Professor Ishida indicates the necessity of reconsidering labor-management
consultation as a site in which to utilize worker autonomy.
• Because Japanese workers do not possess bargaining power based on the ability tochange jobs, it is difficult for them to raise objections to the targets for achievement set
by management or their own employment environment.
• More active discussion of employment rules between workers and employers isdesirable in order to enable Japanese employees to engage in work autonomously evenunder the present conditions. It will be necessary to reconsider the significance of thesystem of labor-management consultation which Japan has fostered over an extendedperiod.

*Section II is made up of NIRA Policy Review No. 49 and transcripts of interviews conducted in thecourse of this research project.

NIRA Report

The Autonomy of the Working Individual-Can We Break the Mold of the Japanese “Company Man”?The Japanese version of the full report: http://www.nira.or.jp/pdf/1201report.pdfⓒ 2012 by National Institute for Research Advancement (NIRA)

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