Debido a la subida de precios y la incertidumbre sobre el futuro, cada vez más personas optan por trabajos a tiempo parcial en su tiempo libre. Una opción popular son las aplicaciones de emparejamiento que conectan a trabajadores con empleadores para trabajos temporales. En Japón, estas aplicaciones han aumentado en número y las tres principales tienen más de 15 millones de usuarios registrados. Un ejemplo es Satoshi, de 67 años, quien comenzó a trabajar a tiempo parcial después de la muerte de su esposa. A pesar de sus dudas iniciales, encontró satisfacción en un trabajo sencillo como lavaplatos en un restaurante.
With the rise in cost of living and uncertainty about the future, more people are considering taking up short-term jobs in their spare time. One popular option is using matching apps that connect people who want to work in their free time with employers. By registering on the app, there is no need for submitting resumes or attending interviews.
The number of companies operating these apps is increasing, and the combined registered user base of the top 3 companies exceeds 15 million.
Satoshi, a 67-year-old living in the outskirts of Tokyo, started working part-time through a gig platform six months ago. “Three years ago, my wife passed away, and my daughter (40 years old) who lives with me yelled at me, ‘You’ll get obese and develop dementia.’ After hesitating for 3 months, I decided to start working part-time,” he said.
[The story continues in the first part]
The job I chose is working as a dishwasher at minimum wage at the age of 66
Satoshi had served as a department manager in a major machinery manufacturer until he was 60, and then became the vice president of a subsidiary before retiring at age 65. Three years ago, Satoshi lost his wife to a heart attack, losing his emotional support.
A year later, his daughter, who was formerly a freelance scriptwriter (then 38 years old, now 40 years old), said, “I want to live together.” Her program ended, cutting off her income. After graduating from university, his daughter had yearned for city life, worked in television, and protected her single life.
Now, she energetically works at a nearby supermarket. When Satoshi felt the stress and ease of hourly wage work, his daughter strongly encouraged him to work in his free time through an app.
“I was scared to try something new. Additionally, I thought that starting from the bottom at 66 in a job would be tough. But gaining 10 kg since my wife’s passing three years ago, ‘I am reading books’, ‘just watching movies at home’ is not enough. I thought that just watching wasn’t doing anything so I started working part-time in my spare time,” he said.
So Satoshi chose to wash dishes. He had been doing it since his student days and continued every day for 40 years of marriage. He chose it because it didn’t require him to talk to people and didn’t require any skills.
‘Dishwashers are being hired mainly at shops within the city. The hourly wage is the minimum wage in Tokyo (1,113 yen), and since there is no transportation cost, if you were to work from home, the hourly wage would be 700 yen. And I said, ‘Sure’ to my daughter. If you are going to pay to go to the gym, they can pay you for the job!” he said with a laugh. His tone of voice was exactly like his wife’s, so I sat back thinking, “Can’t be helped.”
There is no age limit for part-time work. The first place he went to was a popular restaurant where he used to entertain. After making a reservation, Satoshi entered the restaurant addressed with the honorific “sama” and washed dishes without leaving anything behind. Satoshi is referred to as “Mr. A (app name)” instead of by name.
“I was asked to wash the dishes, so I washed a lot of dishes. The dishwasher didn’t wash on time. No matter how hard I washed, the work didn’t end. So, I doubled the speed,” he said.
The next day, I went to the store to wash dishes. It was lunchtime on a Saturday, so it was like a battlefield.
“The chef said, ‘You don’t have to wash them properly!’ Soak in detergent, rinse, and wipe. ‘Give me the dishes!’ and put in all your effort. Since I wasn’t given much instruction on what to do, I had to watch the lady next to me while doing it,” he said.
When working part-time, Satoshi would leave immediately when the time was up. However, that day was very busy. Satoshi continued washing dishes for 40 minutes until the store quieted down.
“At that point, the sous chef (second in line) noticed me. ‘Oh, sorry. Thank you so much for today,’ he said, and handed me a thousand-yen bill as I was leaving. I cried tears of joy. After a long time, I felt the joy of being useful to someone,” he said.
Confident in his dishwashing skills, Satoshi now works as a dishwasher at a famous restaurant. What I learned is that successful stores depend on excellent teamwork.
[Although I spent so much on entertainment, no one noticed…continues on the next page]