University of Tokyo

Abstract
Survey Number 0875
Survey Title Questionnaire Survey for the Reduction of Working Hours, 2012
Depositor Council of Japan Construction Industry Employees' Unions
Restriction of Use For detailed information, please refer to 'For Data Users' on the SSJDA website.

- Apply to SSJDA. Depositor's approval is required.
Educational Purpose Available for both research and instructional purposes.
Period of Data Use Permission One year
Access to Datasets Download
SSJDA Data Analysis Not available
Summary This survey is conducted in November every year with approximately 10,000 union members to accurately understand the prevailing situation of the members of the Council of Japan Construction Industry Employees’ Unions (JCU) in terms of working hours, living conditions, and their general perceptions of work and life. By feeding the results back to activities toward the reduction of working hours as promoted by the JCU and its affiliated unions, it aims to contribute to improving the overall working conditions.

Since 1972, this survey has shed light on the work environment in the construction industry for over 40 years now, while adapting the content of the questions to suit changes in society. This is the most extensive and consistent survey on white-collar workers in the construction industry.

In this survey, in order to gather insight into union members’ lifestyles and household finances, we have added questions on their lifestyles and sensibilities. We have also added questions regarding their awareness of the possibilities to be transferred abroad (which are thought to increase in the coming years).
Data Type quantitative research: micro data
Universe Members of Council of Japan Construction Industry Employees' Unions
Unit of Observation Individual
Sample Size Sample size: 10,856 people
Valid responses: 8,595 people
Valid response rate: 79.2%
Date of Collection 2012-11 ~ 2012-12
November to December 2012
Time Period 2012 ~ 2012
Spatial Unit
Sampling Procedure Non-probability: Quota
Questionnaires were distributed in line with the number of members in each member union and the profile of members in terms of age, gender, occupation type, etc.
Mode of Data Collection Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)
Implemented as a data-entry questionnaire form distributed in digital format
Investigator Council of Japan Construction Industry Employees' Unions
DOI 10.34500/SSJDA.0875
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 (1) Personal attributes
Gender, age, marital status, number of family members, number of children, development phase of the eldest and youngest child, type of residence, location of workplace, occupation type (office work/work away from the office), job duties (official position), overtime pay, etc.
 
(2) Household budget
Respondent’s annual income, spouse’s employment status, spouse’s annual income, increase or decrease in annual household income compared to the previous year, expenditure per month, educational expenses of children per month, current life/total saving amount, household efforts to spend less, etc.
 
(3) Working hours
Wake-up time, time respondent leaves house, time arriving at work, time respondent leaves work, home arrival time, bedtime, number of non-scheduled working hours in November, days off on Saturdays/Sundays/holidays, number of annual paid leave days taken, reason for doing overtime, etc.  
 
(4) Work-related stress/work-life balance
Work-related stress and anxiety, regarding current occupation (evaluation/future outlook/the pay, etc.), awareness of the concept “work-life balance,” feelings toward current overall working hours, level of satisfaction with work, work-related dissatisfaction, sense of fulfillment in daily life, life-related dissatisfaction, etc. 
 
(5) Relocation for work while leaving the family behind/employment/overseas work
Whether respondent has relocated for work while leaving the family behind, worries about relocating for work while leaving the family behind, desired number of home visits per month, actual number of home visits per month, increase in monthly economic burden due to dual life, concerns about continued employment in the company, the most important aspect in continued employment, dissatisfaction with continuous employment, attitude to working abroad, duration appropriate for work abroad, motivation to work abroad, dissatisfaction/uneasiness regarding work abroad, etc.   
 
(6) Attractiveness of the construction industry
Attractive or not, how that feeling of attraction has changed, reasons for feeling or not feeling attracted, preferred duration of work at the current company, etc.

(7) Regarding worksite
Worksite format, total number of workers assigned to worksite (technical staff and office workers), contractee, worksite project category, restoration and reconstruction work following the Great East Japan earthquake, setting days off under works schedule, number of days of closure on Saturday/Sunday/holidays, number of days of closure on weekdays, presence/absence of Job transfer leave systems/number of days off taken, reasons for difficulty in taking job transfer leave, what is needed in order to take job transfer leave, etc.

*For details of survey items, please refer to the questionnaire.
Date of Release 2013/11/21
Topics in CESSDA Click here for details

Occupational health
Working conditions
Topics in SSJDA Employment/Labor
Version 1 : 2013-11-21
Notes for Users While the Council of Japan Construction Industry Employees’ Unions “Questionnaire Survey for the Reduction of Working Hours” is administered annually to union members, it is not a panel survey.

Additionally, when conducting time-series analyses, note that even though the questions themselves are the same, the number, order, and content of answer choices has changed.

*Data on the following questions are not publicly available: Question 1, Question 18, Question 23, and Question 45. Variable and value labels are written in Japanese.