Occupational Conditions and Psychological Functioning in Japan

This paper compares the occupational conditions of workers in Japan and the United States and tests whether the reciprocal effects of occupational conditions and psychological functioning in Japan are similar to those found in the United States. The comparisons of occupational conditions reveal a tendency for work in Japan to be done in a way in which consensus is promoted and individual responsibility avoided. The central result of the analysis of the reciprocal effects of occupational conditions and psychological functioning is the generalization to Japan of American findings on the effects of occupational self-direction. In Japan, as in the United States, occupational self-direction leads to ideational flexibility and self-directed orientation to self and society. Other results center on the more extensive relationship in Japan between position in the work organization and psychological functioning. The pervasiveness of this relationship provides evidence for those who emphasize the importance of the organization for the Japanese worker. The organizational effects that were found (e.g., the increase in self-esteem and authoritarian conservatism resulting from ownership, high hierarchical level, and bureaucratization) reflect patterns of Japanese culture and organizational functioning.