Regarding the issue of a woman working at a manufacturer in Yokohama city being recognized as a worker's compensation after she was forced to work long hours through telework and developed a mental illness, her representative held a press conference and said, ``The government is working hard to prevent overcrowded work. We need supervision.''
A female employee in her 50s at Starkey Japan, a hearing aid manufacturer in Yokohama, was certified as a worker's compensation worker last month for developing an adjustment disorder as a result of being forced to work long hours through telework.
It is extremely unusual for workers' compensation to be recognized for long hours of telework.
Lawyers representing the woman held a press conference in Tokyo and explained that the woman's workload has increased since the end of 2021 due to the introduction of a new system, and she has been working over 100 hours of overtime per month.
The company
had introduced a ``deemed working hours system,'' which allows employees to consider their working hours to be fixed only if they decide how and when to work without constant instructions
.
However, the Labor Standards Inspection Office issued a recommendation to the company to take corrective action, as her boss frequently gave her instructions via email and chat.
At the press conference, a woman's comment was read out: ``If you find yourself in a situation where you are constantly being watched and forced into a cell with no windows, please run to a hospital or a labor specialist. Do whatever it takes to escape.'' .
The lawyer representing them said, ``Telework is supposed to be a system that allows people to have discretion over how they work, but if misused it can lead to overcrowded labor.I want the government to properly supervise it.''