University of Tokyo

Abstract
Survey Number 0552
Survey Title RENGO Questionnaire Survey on Life Styles, 2002
Depositor Japanese Trade Union Confederation
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Period of Data Use Permission One year
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Summary The Japanese Trade Union Confederation (RENGO)’s “Questionnaire Survey on Life Styles” has been conducted every other year since 1988, when RENGO was known as the Japanese Private Sector Trade Union Confederation (JTUC-RENGO). The survey provides the basic information that are essential for determining the direction and developing demands for the Spring Struggle for a Better Life. Given the increased diversity among the interests and needs of union members in recent years, RENGO conducts the survey to accurately capture members’ candid opinions on the realities/feelings concerning their lives and workplaces. This survey was conducted to gain information about the realities and feelings concerning members’ lives and workplaces to move forward with RENGO’s 2003 Spring Struggle for a Better Life.

The survey items include the current state of members’ “comfort, abundance, social fairness” and the reasons that they do not feel those, if that is the case, as well as the directions their style of living is taking, while considering the continuity of the survey up to the previous survey. It strives to create material that will be useful in deepening the appreciation of people’s struggle to improve lives. As with the previous survey, this survey was distributed to enterprise-based union members through affiliates, as well as members of small and medium enterprise unions/local industry unions through RENGO locals.
Data Type quantitative research
quantitative research: micro data
Universe Members of RENGO affiliates (industrial federations) and members of small and medium enterprise unions/local industry unions that are affiliated with Rengo locals
Unit of Observation Individual
Sample Size Number of questionnaires distributed: 43,860, valid responses: 23,260 (19,426 from affiliates, 3,834 from local industry/small and medium enterprise unions) (valid response rate: 53.0%)
Date of Collection 2002-06 ~ 2002-09
Time Period 2002 ~ 2002
Spatial Unit Japan
Japan
Sampling Procedure Non-probability: Quota
Questionnaires were distributed to enterprise-based union members through affiliates and to members of small and medium enterprise unions/local industry unions through RENGO locals. The number of survey subjects is allocated to affiliates according to the number of their members. When distributing to enterprise-based unions, a request was made to take members’ gender, age, etc. into consideration.
Mode of Data Collection
Investigator Japanese Trade Union Confederation (RENGO)
DOI 10.34500/SSJDA.0552
Sponsors (Funds)
Related Publications (by the Investigator) Please refer to the abstract in Japanese.
Related Publications (based on Secondary Analysis) List of related publications (based on Secondary Analysis)
Documentation [Questionnaire]
Major Survey Items Face items:
<Overview of workplace> Industry of company/workplace where respondent works, number of employees, (for respondents working in the private sector) company performance (ordinary profits and movements therein), increase and decrease in the numbers of regular/non-regular employees at the workplace, whether or not an Article 36 agreement (agreement on overtime and holiday work) is in place, restrictions on overtime work
<Personal attributes> Gender, age, years of employment, highest level of educational attainment, mode of hiring, occupation type, mode of work, household structure, number of household members, household income sources, area of residence, type of housing, whether or not respondent has been a union officer.


Questionnaire items:
(1) Household budget
Respondent’s total annual wages/comparison with the previous year, level of satisfaction with current total annual wages, wages for June of this year not including overtime, annual household income/comparison with the previous year, comparison of household consumption expenditure with the previous year/reasons for spending less, state of household income and expenditure
  
(2) Life at workplace
Presence of time management, applicable working time system, level of awareness of contents of Article 36 agreement concluded in the workplace, average number of days with overtime work per month, hours of overtime work in June this year/comparison with the previous year, wage payments for overtime work (method of determining payable work hours, number of hours that overtime allowance was paid in June this year), whether unpaid overtime work is performed, reasons for performing unpaid overtime work, concerns about workplace

(3) Home life (for married respondents only)
State of participation in housework (including child-rearing/long-term care), sense of burden from balancing work and home life, dinners with family (spouse) (actual and desired number of dinners eaten together)

(4) Wages/evaluation and compensation systems
Company’s mechanisms for determining wages, information that respondent is provided with/wants to be provided with concerning performance reviews (individual assessment), thoughts on company’s performance reviews, level of acceptance of respondent’s own performance reviews (individual assessment)

(5) Ways of working in the future
Desire to use “reduced-hours regular employee system”/reasons for wanting to use it, concerns about the “reduced-hours regular employee” work system, thoughts on compensation--such as wages for full-time regular employees and part-time employees with the same job contents

(6) Lifestyle and work after 60 years of age
Whether or not respondent has planned for life after 60 years of age, image of life after 60 years of age, desire for work after 60 years of age, living expenses after 60 years of age, concerns about life after 60 years of age

(7) Thoughts on how to live/work
Feelings of satisfaction, wages and working hours, wages/personnel treatment, views on occupation, cooperative relationships between men and women, preparations for the future and current lifestyle, how social security should be, consideration for the environment and manner of living.

(8) Labor union activities
Level of interest in changes to medical system for the worse/awareness of Rengo’s efforts in response, matters respondent wants Rengo to work on in Spring Struggles for a Better Life, level of satisfaction with current life
Date of Release 2007/09/27
Topics in CESSDA Click here for details

Occupational health
Labour relations/conflict
Working conditions
Social conditions and indicators
Topics in SSJDA Employment/Labor
Society/Culture
Version 1 : 2007-09-27
Notes for Users