Table of Contents
Hitoshi Goto
Ukihiko Takagi
In the previous article, we discussed key considerations regarding local labor laws and contracts in overseas projects. This time, we will look at how to create schedules aligned with local work styles.
Brazil and Western Countries: Where Long Vacations and Shorter Working Hours Are the Norm
In Part 1 of this series, I wrote that foreigners prioritize vacations over QCD (Quality, Cost, Delivery). Of course, there are differences depending on the country or region, and some countries like Vietnam, the Philippines, and South Korea have work styles relatively similar to Japan. However, it is best to assume that not working overtime or on holidays is the global norm.
Among these, Brazil stands out as a country where the government strictly limits working hours. In Japan, ‘work style reform’ has become a hot topic recently, with the government and local authorities working hard to reduce overtime and holiday work. However, once you learn about Brazil’s current system, you might feel embarrassed to even use the word ‘reform.’
In Brazil, including managers, employees must be given 30 consecutive days of vacation leave (paid, no less) per year. Weekly working hours are strictly limited to 44 hours. Overtime is capped at 2 hours per day, and overtime pay must be 50% higher than regular wages.
Western countries are also advanced in this regard. In Germany, employees who have worked continuously for six months have the right to at least 24 days of paid leave. France has a statutory minimum of five weeks of annual leave, and Sweden has begun experimenting with six-hour workdays. In the Netherlands, four-day workweeks are becoming the norm.
Scheduling Around Staff Vacations Is Critical
Consultants, system engineers, business users, managers, and executives all follow these rules. It is impossible to cover delays through overtime or holiday work as is done in Japan.
It is virtually impossible to later adjust vacation days that have already been decided. It is necessary to create schedules that accommodate staff vacations.
Moreover, system implementation projects in Brazil tend to run behind schedule. Japan is one of the few countries in the world where trains arrive according to the timetable, so we are sensitive to deadline delays. However, there are many countries and regions besides Brazil where deadline delays are not a major concern.
Therefore, in Brazil (and elsewhere, but especially there), you need to create schedules with generous buffers built in. Let me say that the size of these buffers is beyond the imagination of those accustomed to Japanese projects. And those buffers are usually exhausted.
<< Read Part 9 of the Series | Read Part 11 of the Series >>
