COVID-19 and the Bipolarization of Working Hours: What We Can Do to Alleviate Overwork of Essential Workers
Author: Kuroda Sachiko, Faculty Fellow, RIETI
During the past few weeks, the Japanese media has focused its coverage on frontline healthcare workers responding to COVID-19, reporting that healthcare workers are somehow hanging in by preventing hospitals from being overwhelmed. Nevertheless, it is likely that there are still quite a few people who also believe somewhere in the back of their mind that “we will somehow manage because medical practitioners are doing their utmost.” Moreover, despite the gradual increase in awareness among the general population about the risk of a collapse in our medical infrastructure, interest in occupations other than healthcare workers, who have been forced to work overtime due to the COVID-19 peril, still remains low.
There is still much more that can be done to reassess the way in which we work, change the pattern of our daily activities, and figure out ways to keep COVID-19 infections from spreading further. If healthcare, logistics, and other essential social infrastructure break down, we will be unable to go about our lives. It is imperative for us to recognize that protecting the essential workers currently serving on the front lines will similarly protect each and every one of us.
Read the article on the RIETI website or in Japanese.
Updated: 1 March 2021/Responsible Officer: Crawford Engagement/Page Contact: CAP Web Services Team
