Benefits include “egg cryopreservation”… “You can make more money working at Starbucks than at a hospital! Wages in Los Angeles
Can’t find workers even at 2,640 yen per hour…
The U.S. economy continues to experience record levels of inflation, with no sign of it ever coming to an end. The U.S. economy continues to experience a severe labor shortage, and even now, during the holiday season, restaurant windows are filled with “Staff Wanted” signs. Major companies are repeatedly raising wages in order to secure staff, and there has been a reversal of the situation, with people moving from hospital professions to fast-food restaurants and chain restaurants.
As a writer living in Los Angeles, I have heard of two cases in the past few months alone where hospital administrators have switched jobs to work for the popular hamburger chain IN-N-OUT. I also heard of an x-ray technician who switched jobs to Starbucks.
When I checked hourly wages as of December 2022, the average hourly wage for a barista at Starbucks in Los Angeles is $16.54 (¥2183), while a cashier at the IN-N-OUT hamburger chain earns about $14 (¥1848). I myself have seen restaurant staff positions in town ranging from $14 to $18, with a high of $20 (2,640 yen).
Prices continue to rise in Los Angeles….Job at “Starbucks” to protect your livelihood
Due to inflation and the effect of large corporations raising wages, Starbucks and burger stores may make more money than medical jobs when tips are included. Wages in the U.S. are rising, but at the same time, the cost of living is also rising, making the cost of living higher, and workers are changing jobs to protect themselves and their families. In Los Angeles, where the cost of living is high and many millionaires live, an annual income of 10 million yen does not put one in the rich category, but is a very common living level.
In addition to wages, there are several other reasons to leave one’s professional career to work for a chain restaurant. With the COVID-19 crisis, more and more people are rethinking “the way they work,” and are choosing jobs that require less work and offer reliable earnings over stressful professional workplaces such as hospitals. Working in a chain store is less stressful due to the simplicity of the content, plus the benefits are more generous. Starbucks, for example, has so much more than just what is written on their website.
Difference in the mindset of “being hired” in Japan and the U.S.
When I was a company employee in Japan, I had a sense of “I am hired” or “I am allowed to work. This was born out of a feeling of “thankfulness” for being hired, but I also had a vague idea that “the company > the employee.
In contrast, I feel that in the U.S., there is not as much difference in the balance of power between companies and employees as there is in Japan. When I look at people working in the U.S., I see a flat relationship between the employer and the employee, where the employer provides the labor and the employee receives the wages. It is also common to look for a better job while working, and if you find a job with better benefits, you can negotiate with the company you are working for based on the details of that job.
It is not at all rude to negotiate a wage increase with the company as if you are winning your own career, and it is also possible to negotiate the way you work. For example, you can discuss your own wishes, such as working longer hours per day and reducing the number of days you work.
Concerns about the Japanese way of working as seen from overseas
Due to the cultural background in which “working hard regardless of money” is deeply rooted as a virtue, it is very difficult to negotiate salary increases, and people tend to be reserved to companies. In addition, although it is supposed to be beneficial to the company to achieve results in a short period of time, there are still cases where inefficient ways of working are wrongly evaluated as “working long hours = working hard”.
In addition, the media tends to glorify “working hard without raising prices,” as in the case of a “set meal restaurant with unchanged prices for 50 years” run by an elderly couple, etc. The difficulty in raising prices of services and products is probably making it difficult to raise wages as well.
Some companies include the cost of egg cryopreservation in their benefits package.
Here is how a friend of mine, a woman in her mid-30s who works for an advertising firm, is treated. In addition to her salary, she has the following benefits: From Thanksgiving at the end of November, to Christmas and the holiday season at the end of the year, she gets half of the month off for the holidays. In recent years, an increasing number of companies have introduced unlimited paid days off and include benefits such as the cost of egg cryopreservation as a way to support women’s careers.
Incidentally, her boss, who is one position above her, makes about 30 to 50 million yen a year. I have an American friend who wanted to work in Japan but quit because the salary was so low. However, American companies are quick to change direction due to market changes, and suddenly close entire departments or cut staff by half. If your skills are not up to par, you run the risk of being fired immediately.
The U.S. has a good work-life balance.
When my husband was a company employee, he came home on time every day, and even when he had to work overtime, I remember being very surprised when he would come home at exactly 8:00 a.m. when he had to work “overtime until 8:00. Having clear working hours is a big advantage because it makes it easier to manage one’s private schedule and physical condition. Incidentally, in Los Angeles, on weekdays, the roads become congested with rush hour traffic going home after 4:00 p.m., and on Fridays, the traffic begins to jam around 3:00 p.m.
Comparing the working styles of Japan and the U.S. in terms of “working hours and salary,” I feel that the U.S. has a better work-life balance. On average, you can earn a certain amount of salary if you work 8 hours a day, and you have time to spend on your personal life because the working hours are reasonable. In addition to weekends and holidays off, it is normal to be able to take a 2-week vacation once a year. If you want to earn more money, you can choose to work more. Although “how to work” and “why to work” vary from person to person, I feel that it is an advantage to be able to make a choice that suits you. Compared to the U.S., Japan has the advantage of stable work, but I think it would be better if the range of work styles were expanded and the number of hours worked was reduced to less than necessary.
The above calculations are based on 132 yen to the dollar.
Interview and text by： Yoko Hirota
Yoko Hirota is a health-related editorial writer and health coach, born in 1980 in Niigata Prefecture. After working in the editorial department of a health magazine, she moved to the U.S. in 2015 and became a freelancer. She currently lives in Los Angeles and writes for Japanese media on topics such as health, beauty, and diet. She also provides individual diet coaching online as a health coach.
