1.
lifetime employment, employment for life
A Japanese employment practice in which companies hire employees straight out of school and retain them until retirement. One of the three pillars of traditional Japanese corporate culture, along with seniority-based pay and enterprise unions.
終身雇用制度は崩れつつある。
The lifetime employment system is crumbling.
父の時代は終身雇用が当たり前だった。
In my father's era, lifetime employment was taken for granted.
終身雇用を前提とした人事制度は見直しが進んでいる。
Personnel systems based on the assumption of lifetime employment are being reviewed.
CULTURE:
Lifetime employment (終身雇用) was a defining feature of Japan's postwar corporate culture, particularly at large companies. Together with 年功序列 (seniority-based pay) and 企業別組合 (enterprise unions), it formed the "three sacred treasures" of Japanese management. Since the 1990s recession, this practice has been gradually declining as companies shift toward more flexible employment.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 終身雇用制度: lifetime employment system
- 終身雇用が崩れる: lifetime employment collapses
- 終身雇用を前提とする: be premised on lifetime employment