University of Tokyo

Abstract
Survey Number 0663
Survey Title Questionnaire Survey for the Reduction of Working Hours, 2007
Depositor Council of Japan Construction Industry Employees' Unions
Restriction of Use For detailed information, please refer to 'For Data Users' at SSJDA website.

- Apply to SSJDA. Depositor's approval 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 was conducted as part of the Shorter Working Hours Promotion Month in November 2007, in order to gain a detailed understanding of the working realities and attitudes of members of unions affiliated with the Council of Japan Construction Industry Employees’ Unions (JCU), feeding the findings back into initiatives related to shorter working hours conducted by JCU and its member unions, and thereby contributing to improvements in working conditions across the board.

In November every year, JCU conducts a survey with approximately 25% of union members (approximately 10,000 people) to gather information on their working hours. For 35 years since 1972, this survey has shed light on the work environment in the construction industry while adapting the content of the questions to suit changes in society.

This survey investigates and analyzes the relationship between long working hours and mental health problems, in order to approach working hours reduction from a mental health angle, as the long working hours that have become a regular occurrence are said to affect mental health, as well as physical health. In addition, it also investigates union members’ wishes about work styles, with a view to achieving work-life balance.
Data Type quantitative research
quantitative research: micro data
Universe Members of Council of Japan Construction Industry Employees' Unions
Unit of Observation Individual
Sample Size Sample size: 10,698 people
Valid responses: 8,552 people
Valid response rate: 79.9%
Date of Collection 2007-11-01 ~ 2007-11-01
2007/11/01
Time Period 2007 ~ 2007
Spatial Unit
Sampling Procedure Non-probability: Quota
A sample of approximately 25% of all union members were surveyed.

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
Self-administered questionnaire: Paper
Distribution of printed questionnaire forms and answer sheets in combination with distribution of questionnaire forms and answer sheets in digital format (data files)

Collection method: sent by union branch to union headquarters to JCU
Investigator Council of Japan Construction Industry Employees' Unions
DOI 10.34500/SSJDA.0663
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. Gender, age, location of workplace

2. Occupation type, work duties, availability of overtime pay

3. Worksite attributes (worksite format, workers assigned to worksite, contracted value of work at worksite, construction period, contractee, worksite project category, use of building for construction worksite, class of works for civil engineering worksite, method and format of works for civil engineering worksite)

4. Worksite closures (contracted days off, conditions for days off under works schedule, complete closures of respondent’s worksite for days off in November, presence of unpaid work and sense of burden, details of experienced unpaid work, percentage of unpaid work, percentage of unpaid work, implementation of unified worksite closures on Saturdays)

5. Taking days off on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays (taking days off, number of days off taken in November, thoughts on taking Saturdays off)

6. Taking annual paid leave (number of annual paid leave days taken)

7. Regarding overtime work (number of non-scheduled working hours in November, number of non-scheduled working hours on weekdays in November, reason for doing overtime)

8. Attitudes toward working hours (feelings toward excess working hours, non-scheduled working hours and overtime pay, means of achieving shorter working hours across the entire construction industry, expectations toward union with regard to shorter working hours)

9. Job transfer leave systems (availability of the systems, whether there are transfers between worksites, worksite workers before and after transfers, whether respondent is eligible for job transfer leave systems when transferring between worksites, number of job transfer leave days taken, means of taking job transfer leave)

10. Attractiveness of the construction industry (feelings of attraction toward the construction industry, reasons for feeling attracted, reasons for not feeling attracted, work duties interested in)

11. Relating to health problems and mental health (anxiety about health, health anxiety-related items, proportion of depressive feelings (20 items), awareness of face-to-face guidance provided by a doctor as a measure that the operator should take to prevent health disorders due to overwork, intention to receive face-to-face guidance by a doctor)

12. Work and private time (time currently spent on work and private life, hopes for balance between work and private time, work finishing time on weekdays and work on Saturdays, views on overtime on weekdays and weekends, views on Saturday and long-term leave)

13. Intentions to work in the future, etc. (duration respondent desires to keep working for current employer, where to work after changing jobs, seeing special article on reduction of working hours in the November issue of the council magazine Compass)
Date of Release 2010/03/16
Topics in CESSDA Click here for details

Occupational health
Working conditions
Topics in SSJDA Employment/Labor
Version 1 : 2010-03-16
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.