Japanese Political Bigwigs want White-Collar Workers to be able to Work Themselves to Death

A Japanese bigwig in the Komeito party wants the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to open a discussion to the proposed system that would allow white-collar workers to be exempt from work-hour limits.

His reasoning is that workers are afraid of losing overtime pay and that if those workers went home, it would result in chaos at the work place.

If I am not mistaken, most white-collar workers receive a salary and overtime is of no consequence anyway. And if the work place falls apart when the boss leaves, the boss ought to be replaced anyway.

The new proposed law will allow white-collar positions immediately below managerial and supervisory posts and which meet a certain level of annual salary to be able to use discretion over their own work hours but receive no overtime pay.

In effect…white-collar workers do not HAVE to go home if they don't want to. They can stay around and work for free.

Labor unions are opposed to the new law.

The Japanese work place is also the place where Japanese like to hang out socially. Many Japanese also spend much of the day doing nothing but talking and drinking tea.

The real work doesn't start until late afternoon.

Telling the Japanese they can't stay at work longer is like telling them they have to reorganize the way they think about getting their work done AND telling them they can't hang out with their friends.

What do you think?