Workers in Japan are scarce, and those who are available are caught in a work pattern that has created a difficult bottleneck. In a country where there’s a term for “death by overwork” and workers resort to agencies to leave their jobs, they’re trying everything to change the situation. While the four-day workweek doesn’t appear to be the solution, McDonald’s has now taken a more unusual approach to recruiting people: It’s eliminating the requirements around hair.
Working at McDonald’s with colored hair. This may be surprising news for people outside the country, but not for the Japanese. The fast food company’s branch in Japan has announced that it’ll no longer enforce restrictions on employee hair color. With this, McDonald’s aims to improve the work environment and attract more workers amid a labor shortage.
Some context. Until recently, McDonald’s Japan required its employees to have “natural” hair. This policy might be surprising, but it reflects the strict and traditional rules regarding physical appearance in many Japanese companies.
Employees are generally expected to maintain a tidy and conservative appearance to demonstrate professionalism and respect for the organization.
Hair rules. In Japan, specific hair standards exist for men and women in different professional settings. Men are usually expected to keep their hair short and neatly combed and avoid extravagant styles. Similarly, women are encouraged to wear simple hairstyles without flashy colors or unique cuts.
The expectations are even stricter in traditional sectors like finance or large corporations. For instance, dyed hair in unnatural colors such as red or blue is considered bad, and some places, like McDonald's Japan, may enforce a policy requiring employees to maintain their natural hair color. However, these rules are often more flexible in modern environments and technology companies.
The case of McDonald’s. Naturally, economic instability can change everything. The country's labor crisis has recently prompted McDonald’s to alter its appearance policy to allow greater diversity.
The new policy has already yielded positive results as part of a trial at an Osaka location, with a threefold increase in new employees in April compared to the previous year. This change follows an earlier adjustment in August 2021, when McDonald’s began allowing employees to grow beards, taking into account various factors such as religion.
An underlying issue. The change in the hair rule is a symptom of an underlying problem. Japan is facing a serious labor shortage due to its aging population and low birth rate. The labor force is shrinking, aging, and exiting the workforce without enough young people to replace them.
Currently, more than 28% of the population is over the age of 65, which adds pressure on the country to find solutions to the declining workforce in sectors such as manufacturing, construction, and elderly care, where the demand for workers is greater than the available supply.
Image | Andrew Leu
View 0 comments