A woman in her 50s working for Yokohama-based Starkey Japan, a manufacturer of hearing aids, developed an adjustment disorder because of the long hours she worked as a teleworker, according to the Yokohama North Labor Standards Inspection Office. The lawyer representing the woman announced this at a press conference held in Tokyo on April 3. The certification was dated March 8, and is unusual in that it is the first time that a worker’s compensation for teleworking has been approved.
According to the certification by the Labor Standards Inspection Office, the woman was in charge of accounting at the company and began teleworking at home in 2020, the year of the Corona disaster. Her supervisor began to frequently contact her early in the morning and late at night for work-related communications and reminders, and she was often forced to work on her days off.
In March 2022, the woman developed an adjustment disorder. In the month immediately prior to her onset of the disorder, she had worked 112 hours of overtime, exceeding the overwork death line (100 hours per month).
At a press conference, a lawyer representing the woman said, “Appropriate management of working hours is necessary even for telework, which leads to more flexible work styles for workers.” Starkey Japan stated in an interview, “We take this matter very seriously and will respond to it in good faith.”
