Thesis advisor: John B. Williamson / Today, against the backdrop of the demographic pressures to delay the retirement of older workers, sociologists of aging have begun exploring the impact of national labor market institutions on individual workers’ experiences of aging. Using semi-structured, life story interview data drawn from a sample of 52 male workers in the Tokyo area (born between 1940 and 1953), this dissertation research has contributed to uncovering the ways in which the institution of lifetime employment – the most foundational labor market institution of contemporary Japan – uses age to control individuals’ perceptions and behaviors over the course of their working lives. This dissertation research includes data from pre-mandatory retirement older workers (n=29, aged 55-59) and post-mandatory retirement older workers (n=23, aged 60-68). Based on a social constructionist perspective, this dissertation research has explored three areas of these workers’ experiences of aging over the course of their working lives: (1) perceived instances of being subjected to age discrimination; (2) changes to their attitudes toward these age discrimination experiences; and (3) changes to their self-concepts as workers. A series of thematic data analyses of the interview data, drawn with a life course approach and a grounded theory method, has generated two sets of findings. First, the pre-mandatory retirement experiences of aging of the interview participants (n=52) have contributed to uncovering and describing a social process through which ‘older workers’ are socially constructed within the institutional framework of lifetime employment. Second, the research has found that after mandatory retirement, the post-mandatory retirement workers (n=23) rejected the label of ‘older workers’ and critically viewed lifetime employment as a 'total institution' (Goffman 1961), essentially an institution of social control, harmful to workers in their later working lives. This dissertation research has contributed to the literature by demonstrating that the lifetime employment institution in Japan serves as an intensive age-based social control mechanism that has constructed and reproduced ‘older workers’ in the country’s labor force. Based on the findings of post-mandatory retirement experience of aging, this dissertation research also suggests that the Japanese government should find ways to mitigate the social exclusion, marginalization, and stigmatization that workers experience in their post-mandatory retirement working lives. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

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Yes / In previous decades, the perception of Japan¿s employment practices has been strongly intertwined with its economic fortunes. From the 1970s, Japan¿s employment practices came to be seen as one of the cornerstones of its economic success. However, this perception changed, albeit with a substantial delay, when the economy proved incapable of returning to its former path of growth after the `bubble¿ burst at the end of the 1980s. Like so many of its economic institutions, the employment practices became the subject of substantial criticism in a debate on the revitalisation of Japan¿s economy. This study takes its position within this debate by discussing the likelihood, character, and economic consequences of change. Environmental changes, like the ageing of the population and the substantial decrease in economic growth, require Japanese firms to adapt their human resource management. However, the embeddedness of national practices limits the scope of firms to make these adjustments; and change is determined by the dialectics between their strategies and existing practices. The firm, as an institution, thus experiences the impact of both the embedded employment practices and the economic impact of environmental changes. Accordingly, it is at the centre of this study. Theories of the firm are used to discuss the contribution of employment practices on efficiency, capabilities, and competitive strength. Case-studies from four different industries ¿ automobile, electronics, construction, and retailing ¿ describe the adaptations made by individual firms. Subsequently, these findings constitute the basis for a discussion of industry-specific employment practices and provide an answer to whether developments such as the rise in performance-based pay and labour mobility have altered the logic of Japanese employment practices.

Vissa yrkesofficerare slutar alltför tidigt i Försvarsmakten. Andra börjar för sent. Yrkesofficeren är idag inte bunden av något tidskontrakt, vilket skapar oreda när den enskilda medarbetaren kan välja att sluta när som helst. Denna experimentella studie avhandlar vad som skulle förmå en yrkesofficer vid Livregementets husarer (K3) att skriva på ett kontrakt som binder individen till förbandet under sju års tid. Kontraktet som stipuleras innehåller bl a följande delar: det gäller för sju år, regementschefen har full handlingsfrihet med yrkesofficeren men man är fortfarande arbetstidsreglerad. Vissa förmåner tar man del av direkt, medan andra utfaller efter ett fullgjort kontrakt. Vår forskning utgår från ett hermeneutiskt paradigm med en experimentell ansats. Metoden som används för insamling av empiri är en fokusgrupp med respondenter ur K3. Referensramen utgörs av tre olika teorier: Etzionis styrformer för organisationer, Pinks X- och I-teori, samt Deci och Ryans självbestämmandeteori. Slutsatserna innehåller tre delar: Det behövs nya villkor samt förmåner för att yrkesofficeren ska vilja skriva på kontraktet.Yrkesofficer måste inte vara en tillsvidareanställning.Gemenskapen, kulturen och samhällsnyttan är det som attraherar till yrket, men det är de varierande arbetsuppgifterna och möjligheten att planera sitt liv som skapar fortsatt motivation. Studien avslutas med rekommendationer till både Försvarsmakten och till Livregementets husarer, eftersom det skiljer sig i hur komplexa rekommendationerna vore i införande. / Some officers quit their career within the Swedish Armed Forces too early. Others enter theirs too late. The Swedish officer is not bound by a contract, thus s/he can quit at any time they choose. This experimental study asks the question of what would induce an officer at the Life Regiment Hussars (K3) to sign a seven year long binding contract. The contract would span seven years, would grant the regimental commanding officer full freedom of action with the officer, who would still be subdued to regulations considering work hours. Some benefits would be provided throughout the contract time, while others would occur after fulfillment of the contract. Our research springs from a hermeneutic paradigm with an experimental approach. The method used to gather data is a focus group, with participants from Life Regiment Hussars (K3). Our frame of reference is based on three theories: the organizational powers by Etzioni, the X- and I-theories by Pink, and the Self-determination theory by Deci and Ryan. We have come to the following three conclusions: New terms and benefits are required to induce the officer to sign the contract.Being an officer does not require permanent employment, which it does today.The camaraderie, the culture and the higher purpose are what attracts people to become officers, but it is the variation of tasks and the possibility to organize one’s life which contribute to continued motivation. The study ends with recommendations divided between the Swedish Armed Forces and the Life Regiment Hussars, because they differ in how complex they would be to introduce.