1.
working hours; labor hours; hours of work
The total amount of time an employee spends working, often discussed in the context of labor law, workplace reform, or work-life balance.
Composed of 労働 (labor) + 時間 (time/hours). A key term in discussions of Japanese work culture and labor reform.
Common collocations
- 労働時間の短縮 — reduction of working hours
- 労働時間の上限 — upper limit on working hours
- 長時間労働 — long working hours
- 法定労働時間 — legally mandated working hours
- 実労働時間 — actual working hours
Cultural note
Japan's legally mandated standard working hours are 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. However, long working hours (長時間労働) have been a persistent social issue, leading to reforms such as the 働き方改革 (work style reform) legislation.