Many young people these days like to laugh at themselves. For example, students who stay up late to catch up get up at 8 a.m. and jokingly refer to themselves as "college victims"; community members work overtime until early hours of morning, and when they get up early to get to work, they also refer to themselves as "community animals".

Some time ago, a hot topic of discussion was working overtime, or even working overtime until sudden death. Many employees who are new to society have to use their time and health as price of a better future in exchange for even a modest profit and allow themselves to suffer "problems". But when word became popular in all walks of life due to overtime and other issues, few traced its origins.

The term "social animal" originated in Japan. Although Japan is most developed country in Asia, it cannot achieve a quiet office environment for local "social animals".

Just at a time when China was sparking "criticism" from all walks of life for postponing retirement age to 65, Japan had already implemented such a policy in 2013. Many people tease that at this age they are already “half-buried” and have to get up early every day to get to work and be on time for work.

According to data provided by a well-known sleep monitoring organization, average sleep time of Japanese "migrant workers" is less than six and a half hours, and even some "social animals" sleep less than six hours.

Many YouTubers film their day on YouTube. This type of video is called a vlog. Although Japanese "community animals" have already spent a lot of time working and overtime, there are still people who film their "community animals" during day, and this group is not a minority.

Their hectic life can suffocate even those who watch. Working overtime until early in morning before leaving for home, and even before returning home to fill my hungry stomach, I receive late-night phone calls from my boss calling for work and even demanding responsibility.

After doing work at home as instructed by my boss, I can eat a quick meal that is neither dinner nor lunch, and after a quick wash and go to bed.

Because in two or three hours he will most likely be woken up again by alarm clock, but he needs to catch first tram in order to go to work in company before dawn.

They can only rely on fast food for breakfast and lunch, or even just a cold rice ball, and need to get back to work quickly.

It seems that working long hours until early hours of morning has become norm, and some people even go all day without sleep or rest to get through their work. The average working time in Japanese society is more than ten hours a day, and that's not even counting time spent commuting to and from work, as well as working overtime at request of boss.

In morning, tram is full of professional people in suits and ties, neatly dressed, processing information on mobile phones and listening to music through Bluetooth headsets. Like rows of neat tools on an assembly line in a factory, they are bright and beautiful, but very dull.

As a result, many Japanese dramas also deeply depict lives of "social animals" in a realistic way, and even make masses uncomfortable because plot is too realistic.

In workplace, you must not only do your job, but also help unreliable team members and endure unreasonable criticism from your boss. The term "community animal" has gradually become a hat for a group of migrant workers who are submissive and squeezed out of them every day.

Japan has not only a unique "drinking table culture" but also a suffocating corporate culture. In Japan, class division between superiors and subordinates is very strict, and subordinates are not allowed to insult superiors. The main thing is strict "respect", even if it's to say hello, you can bow ninety degrees as a sign of respect.

In a video made by a Japanese "community animal", it is mentioned that, as an employee, she must arrive at company one hour before her boss arrives.

From newly hired employees to weaker women, they are all very vulnerable to "special care" of "predecessors" in company. Workplace bullying is also very common. Japan's strictness is most evident in division of class positions.

The other layer is an unavoidable theme for all migrant workers - overtime work. Hot topics such as whether to work overtime, how long to work overtime, whether overtime work is subsidized, etc., caused a wide heated discussion.

Overtime. Initially, this behavior arose because person's work could not be completed during normal working hours, and he was forced to increase working hours.

However, if there is an accident with Party A and everyone is forced to work overtime due to busy schedules and heavy tasks, it seems perfectly reasonable for company to provide some employee subsidies to show attention.

But this activity seems painful when viewed as "social animals" in Japan. A brightly lit office in early morning. The best medicine for them is to move on their own.

Whether work is completed or there is a need to work overtime, Japanese "community animals" believe that they must work overtime when they go to work. Only by working overtime can you reflect value you have created for company, and only by working overtime can you show that you are an employee of company.

In a previous article, we mentioned unique culture of wine table in Japan, and this culture is not exempt from "social animals". They attach great importance to communication with colleagues and also have great respect for superiors and superiors.

So when your boss or colleagues invite you for a drink after work, they will go there and even "accompany drink". An already exhausting day, drinking one cup after another will only burden their body, but they can't refuse because it will make them seem antisocial or disrespectful to their superiors, and it will only make their social life more difficult.

And origin of all this can be attributed to unique employment environment that has been formed during long process of economic development. It is difficult for us to investigate reasons in detail, but what appears before our eyes is squeezing and suffocation of "communal animals" by this environment.

Strict hierarchical distribution may allow each of them to perform only their duties, and lack of communication and cooperation at all levels will further complicate work;

Painful "wanting" to work overtime and look very busy after work is done, which is a waste of effort; after work, I have to rush home to rest or do some recreational activity that interests me, but at wine table they chat about work with colleagues who may not be very familiar, alcohol harms body, and work is sad.

The environment of "social animals" will not change easily and quickly due to criticism from all walks of life and their own complaints. They are still like trapped animals, locked in a cage and running circuses day after day. Powerless and numb, I endured it all hopelessly.