Japan official's pay cut for taking his lunch break three minutes early

Don’t rest on your laurels | Beating quarterly numbers or setting new records at Japanese workplaces hardly get a word of recognition from senior management, let alone a party to celebrate the achievement. This might seem counter-intuitive to those from a non-Japanese culture, but it is important to understand a their view towards work. The Japanese look at goals not as ends in themselves, but as quantifiable pegs towards an endless road to mastery. This is encapsulated in the concept of Kaizen, or an incremental process of getting better at anything. Kaizen was popularized to the world at large in “The Monk who sold his Ferrari,” by Robin Sharma. The concept is used in one’s personal life as well to do something a little better, everyday. It is one of these principles that sets them out in a wholly different league. (Image: Reuters)

An official working at the Waterworks Bureau in Kobe, Japan was in for a strange shock when he discovered that his paycheck was reduced by the company and the reason given was that he used to take his lunch break three minutes earlier than it was scheduled.

The Japanese city official was castigated and fined for repeatedly leaving his desk during work hours, but only for around three minutes to buy lunch.

According to a city spokesperson, the said worker took off early for his lunch break three minutes before the set lunch break time. And this happened 26 times in total over the space of seven months. The city spokesperson, quoted in a report by Japan Times, added, “The lunch break is from noon to 1 pm. He left his desk before the break”.

Japan takes discipline very seriously,  perhaps more than anyone. Whether it is the travelling fans in Russia for the World Cup who clean up the stadium after the game or their train management companies apologising for starting earlier than scheduled. Japan has always been a glaring example when it comes to going by the rules.

The worker, 64, had half a day’s pay deducted as punishment and his superintendent called a news conference to apologise. Bowing deeply, a bureau official told the news reporters, “It’s deeply regrettable that this misconduct took place. We’re sorry.”

According to the bureau, the worker was in violation of a public service law stating that officials have to concentrate on their jobs. The social media reacted furiously over this and many spoke in favour of the worker.

The city had previously suspended another official in February for a month after he had left his office numerous times to buy lunch during work hours. The official was absent a total of 55 hours over six months, according to the city.