Recently, while doing some career research, I came across an article that recommended The Factory by Hiroko Oyamada. The book presents and lambastes both the ludicrous nature of the modern workplace but also the current state of the Japanese workforce - one characterised by unstable, temporary employment and a class system that most Japanese would deny even exists.
Having some familiarity with these issues (both in my own life / corporate experience and through reading about the Japanese labour force) I found The Factory to be a very compelling read in a very short book (the entire novel is only 116 pages long). I have only one gripe about this book that I will get out of the way right off the top - while the English translation is very understandable, the formatting of this book is absolutely terrible. Normal editing conventions related to paragraphs, quotations, and dialogue simply are not followed. This makes this short book an unnecessarily frustrating and difficult read. I am not sure if this was done intentionally by both author Oyamada and translator David Boyd but, if the formatting that was chosen was intentional, I wish that a different decision would have been made. The book would have been that much more enjoyable.
This issue aside, the book tells the story of three people who are hired by a prominent factory into temp worker roles that are below their credentials and capabilities. The factory is presented almost as another character in the novel - a huge, almost self-contained entity in which workers are expected to not only pursue their careers but also live in while they are away from work. Factory management seems completely aloof to the inefficiencies and craziness of the work environment, processes, and policies of the factory. Management's attitude towards temp workers is emblematic of the hierarchical, class-based structure of the workforce that is still in place today in Japan. Nowhere in the book is it ever explained what this huge factory produces, other than the fact that lots of people have used the products produced there, including the three main characters.
We follow the experiences of these three characters as they get hired into the factory as temps and then get to work on their "assignments". One character who has had trouble deciding what to do with her life, and has worked for numerous other employers for short periods of time (a definite no-no in Japan), is put into the paper shredding department where she spends her days disposing of the huge number of documents that the factory produces and no longer needs. This does not include more sensitive documentation though that must be shredded through another process. Eventually, she finds herself out for long lunches and drinking with her co-workers. No one seems to care much for their jobs or the organisation that they are working for.
Another character is a university professor who specialises in the study of moss. The factory had contacted his university looking for a moss specialist who could study the moss that grows all around the factory so that it can eventually be turned into "green" roofing. He is given no choice by the university but to leave and join the factory. This character is onboarded by factory management but no one can explain exactly what the "green" project involves nor what the expected outcomes are. The professor is left to his own devices to sort out what he should be doing (he isn't even given a team with which to take on this seemingly huge project).
The last character, a computer specialist, lost his previous permanent job due to downsizing at another company. He comes to work at the factory as a temp given that his girlfriend is a temp recruiter for the factory. He is put into a department that proof-reads mounds of documentation produced by various other departments. The work is clearly beneath his skill level but he tries to do the best job that he can to the amazement and bewilderment of his co-workers. They could care less about being accurate in their proofing duties.
Each of these characters becomes a disposable and underutilised cog in the insanity that is the factory. Metaphor is used brilliantly about mid-way through the novel when the professor encounters and old man and his grandson. The grandson has a strong interest in the wildlife that lives within the grounds of the factory. He has written a lengthy report about several species of wildlife. The grandfather asks the professor to review the report. Although reluctant to read what he believes will likely be a poorly written and childish document, the professor agrees to take a look. One day, while bored by what he is working on, the professor decides to take a read and discovers that the report is very detailed and well-written (perhaps the grandfather actually wrote it?). It outlines the classification and lives of several strange species:
- The grayback copyu
- The washer lizard
- The factory shag.
As one reads about the classification, life cycle, habitat, and other details about these creatures, it starts to become evident that they are metaphors for different types of ridiculous roles that people often find themselves in within large organisations (Japanese organisations, in particular). I thought that this was a brilliant (and quite often hilarious) way of describing the lives of various types of workers. I laughed out loud several times at these descriptions. The use of metaphor here is excellent given that it makes for a more compelling read - Oyamada could have simply played it straight and described the ridiculous lives and situations that the modern worker often finds themselves in. Using the three species as a stand-in for this is much more interesting.
The book ends on a seemingly dark note that is yet somehow hopeful in its overall tone.
I recommend The Factory to anyone who is frustrated by the current state of corporate life and would like to have a good laugh while experiencing the potential of hope. One does not need experience in corporate Japan to appreciate what this book is about. If only the formatting were more traditional, this would be a truly satisfying read.
From the publisher:
The English-language debut of one of Japan's most exciting new writers, 'The Factory' follows three workers at a sprawling industrial factory. Each worker focuses on the specific task they've been assigned: one shreds paper, one proofreads documents, and another studies the moss growing all over the expansive grounds. But their lives slowly become governed by their work - days take on a strange logic and momentum, and little by little, the margins of reality seem to be dissolving: Where does the factory end and the rest of the world begin? What's going on with the strange animals here? And after a while - it could be weeks or years - the three workers struggle to answer the most basic question: What am I doing here?
With hints of Kafka and unexpected moments of creeping humor, 'The Factory' casts a vivid - and sometimes surreal - portrait of the absurdity and meaninglessness of the modern workplace.
With hints of Kafka and unexpected moments of creeping humor, 'The Factory' casts a vivid - and sometimes surreal - portrait of the absurdity and meaninglessness of the modern workplace.
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