60% Increase in Work-related Accidents for Mental Disorders, Sexual Harassment Prominent - White Paper on Death from Overwork

On April 21, the Japanese government approved the 2022 edition of the "White Paper on Measures to Prevent Death by Overwork," which analyzes the current situation of death by overwork and suicide by overwork. The report introduces data showing that the number of workers' compensation certifications for depression and other mental disorders increased by more than 60% over the 10-year period from FY10 to FY19. The report also points out that the number of cases involving women has increased by nearly 80%, and that sexual harassment is the cause in many cases.

According to the white paper, the number of cases of workers' compensation for mental disorders increased from 308 in FY10 to 509 in FY19. An official from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare analyzed the reasons for the increase, saying, "Awareness of labor issues has increased due to reforms in work styles and other factors.

By industry, "manufacturing," "wholesale and retail," and "medical care and welfare" were the most common industries, in that order.

The number of women certified increased from 104 to 179, a noticeable increase. Since FY12, when the criteria were changed, "Sexual harassment" and "Experiencing or witnessing a tragic accident or disaster" have accounted for 20% each of the reasons for certification.

The most common reason given by men was "constant long working hours," followed by "events causing a change in the content or volume of work".

Examples of Nonpayment of Overtime Wages and Efforts to Eliminate it ～From "Results of Correction of Unpaid Overtime Work by Supervisory Guidance (FY2021)," Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.

◆Non-payment of wages by companies

Non-payment of wages is one of the most frequently consulted issues by the Labor Standards Inspection Office because it is a major problem that directly affects workers' lives. In many cases, the Labor Standards Inspection Office will issue supervisory guidance to companies based on information that workers are not being paid for overtime hours worked, and companies with inappropriate management practices will be forced to take action through such supervisory guidance.

◆The average amount of retroactive payments per company is 6.09 million yen

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has announced a list of cases in which, as a result of supervisory guidance by the Labor Standards Bureau, extra wages were not paid in the fiscal year 2021 (April 2021 to March 2022) and the total amount paid was 1 million yen or more for a single company. According to the report, 1,069 companies (an increase of 7 companies from the previous year) retroactively paid premium wages of 1 million yen or more. The average amount of extra wages paid per company was 6.09 million yen, and 115 companies paid extra wages of 10 million yen or more.

◆Examples of Efforts to Eliminate Unpaid Overtime

This report also introduces examples of efforts to eliminate unpaid overtime, including the following

◎Conduct training sessions on proper management of working hours for managers of each facility.

◎Personnel evaluation should newly include matters related to proper working hour management.

◎Management continuously instructs workers on the correct recording of working hours.

◎Managers check computer usage records and attendance records twice a month, and if there is a discrepancy between the two records, confirm the reason for the discrepancy with the worker.

It seems that many companies are experiencing a trend of under-reporting overtime hours. Why not take another look at the actual situation in your company?