【愕然】企業「クビにできないし働かないおじさんはド田舎の工事現場でキッツイ作業でもやらせて自分から辞めてもらおうwｗ」⇒結果！
It seems a company adopted a drastic measure: relocating "unproductive" middle-aged employees to harsh construction sites in rural areas to encourage their voluntary resignation. This strong-arm tactic has sparked widespread debate online, with opinions split between "a valid strategy" and "pitiful." The case highlights the complexities of Japanese employment practices, HR strategies, and the dilemmas faced by companies, drawing significant public attention.
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Dismissal Room (追い出し部屋 / Personal Room)
"Dismissal room" (or "Oidashi-beya") is a colloquial term for a department or system implemented by companies to encourage employees to voluntarily resign. This typically involves assigning tasks that differ from their usual duties, are low in specialization, or cause significant psychological distress, or isolating employees in a corner of the office or a separate room. Due to Japan's strict regulations on dismissal, companies facing personnel reduction or high-cost structures may resort to this indirect method instead of direct termination, forcing employees to choose voluntary resignation. Past cases have reported employees being made to sit all day without clear assignments, given extremely difficult sales targets, or continuously subjected to career training. In the 2010s, this issue became prominent among major electronics manufacturers, escalating into a social problem involving unfair dismissal recommendations and power harassment, with courts often ruling against companies for illegal acts. The idea in the article's title – "making them quit voluntarily by assigning tough work at a remote construction site" – shares the same intent as an "Oidashi-beya": to induce voluntary resignation by spiritually and physically cornering employees, thus raising questions about the legitimacy of such methods.
Regulations on Dismissal for Business Reasons (Abuse of Dismissal Rights Doctrine)
In Japanese labor law, dismissing employees is subject to very strict regulations, known as "Regulations on Dismissal for Business Reasons" or the "Abuse of Dismissal Rights Doctrine." Article 16 of the Labor Contract Act clearly states that "dismissal shall be invalid if it lacks objectively reasonable grounds and is not considered socially acceptable, as it constitutes an abuse of rights." Particularly for dismissals due to management reasons (restructuring), past precedents generally require companies to meet four conditions: ① Necessity for personnel reduction, ② Fulfillment of efforts to avoid dismissal, ③ Reasonableness in selecting employees to be dismissed, and ④ Appropriateness of dismissal procedures. Meeting all these requirements is a very high hurdle for companies, and easy dismissals carry the risk of being judged invalid as unfair dismissal in court. For example, after the collapse of the bubble economy in the 1990s, many companies attempted to reduce personnel, but the existence of these dismissal regulations has been a major factor driving companies to use indirect methods such as soliciting voluntary retirement, introducing early retirement incentive programs, relocation, secondment, and the "Oidashi-beya" (dismissal room), instead of direct dismissal. The background to the company's belief in the article's title that "they can't be fired" is deeply rooted in Japan's strict dismissal regulations, which motivate them to consider means of forcing employees into voluntary resignation.
Seniority-Based Wage System and Job-Based Employment
The "seniority-based wage system" is one of Japan's traditional employment practices, where salaries increase according to an employee's years of service or age. It functioned in conjunction with mass hiring of new graduates and the lifetime employment system, fostering loyalty to the company and enabling long-term talent development. However, it also has disadvantages: individual abilities or achievements are not easily reflected in wages, and personnel costs escalate for long-serving employees. This became particularly problematic with "unproductive middle-aged workers" who are perceived to have declining motivation or ability development, making their high salaries a burden for companies. In contrast, "job-based employment," which has gained attention recently, is a common employment model in Western countries. It clearly defines job content and roles, and remuneration is paid as a return for that specific job. While it tends to promote productivity and optimal talent placement by directly evaluating individual skills and achievements, it can also lead to resistance to tasks outside their defined role or relocation. With the promotion of digital transformation (DX) and intensified global competition, Japanese companies are accelerating their efforts to shift towards performance-based or job-based employment. However, bridging the gap with employees who have worked for many years under the seniority system remains a challenge. The case in the article symbolizes how companies, burdened by employees whose high salaries no longer match their capabilities due to the negative aspects of the seniority system, face issues of talent allocation and labor costs during this transition period to job-based employment.