University of Tokyo

Abstract
Survey Number 0553
Survey Title RENGO Questionnaire Survey on Life Styles, 2004
Depositor Japanese Trade Union Confederation
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Educational Purpose Available for both research and instructional purposes.
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 2005 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: 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: 41,315 people, valid responses: 20,928 people (17,777 from affiliates, 3,151 from local industry/small and medium enterprise unions) (valid response rate: 50.7%)
Date of Collection 2004-06 ~ 2004-09
Time Period 2004 ~ 2004
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.0553
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, increase and decrease in the numbers of regular/non-regular employees at the workplace
<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, number of children, development stages of oldest and youngest children, 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, level of satisfaction with current total annual wages, wages for June of this year not including overtime/comparison with previous year, household annual income/comparison with the previous year, comparison of household consumption expenditure with the previous year, state of household income and expenditure

(2) Life at workplace
Presence of time management, applicable working time system, hours of overtime work in June this year/ comparison with 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 or not unpaid overtime work is performed/state of unpaid overtime work compared to two to three years earlier, number of designated holidays and number of holidays worked in June this year, concerns about workplace, whether or not respondent takes work home to complete it, whether or not respondents go to a learning institution or studies at home by themselves to improve career prospects.

(3) Health
Whether or not respondent feels mental stress at work, reasons for feeling stress at work, intention to consult a mental health specialist consultation service, receiving a health checkup, whether respondent feels fatigued, experience of menopausal disorder

(4) Home life (for married respondents only)
Sense of burden from balancing work and home life, things necessary to reduce the burden

(5) Public pension and lifestyle after 60 years of age
Whether or not respondent has planned for life after 60 years of age, essential living expenses in 60s (monthly total of essential cost of living, housing-related costs and educational expenses for children), lifestyle prospects after 60 years of age (prospects of sufficient coverage with public pension alone, prospects of sufficient coverage with public pension and private pension/savings), concerns about life after 60 years of age

(6) Thoughts on how to live/work
Wages and working hours, views on occupation, cooperative relationships between men and women, preparations for the future and current lifestyle, how social security should be, level of satisfaction with current lifestyle

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

(8) Experience of leaving and changing jobs
Experience of changing jobs in past five years, reasons for leaving a job due to personal circumstances, factors for success when changing jobs

(9) Labor union activities
Level of satisfaction with labor union activities, thoughts on labor union’s current efforts
Date of Release 2007/10/22
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 : 2007-10-22
Notes for Users