salaryman

Salaryman is a term used, primarily in Japan, to describe a male white-collar employee who works for a corporation on a salaried basis rather than an hourly wage. The word is a loanword from English, rendered in Japanese as sararīman (サラリーマン). Traditionally, salarymen joined a company after finishing school and remained for many years, advancing through a hierarchy based on tenure, with pay increases tied to seniority and corporate rank.

In general, the salaryman is associated with a corporate culture emphasizing loyalty to the employer, collective identity, and long working hours. Work life has historically included after-hours work, corporate social events, and weekends at the office, with overtime often becoming a central feature of the job. The system helped fuel Japan’s postwar economic growth but has drawn criticism for its impact on work-life balance, health, and gender equality. While lifetime employment and seniority-based pay have retreated in recent decades, many large firms still maintain a strong internal hierarchy and a pattern of continuing employment for long-tenured staff, though more women and non-regular workers now participate in similar roles.

Today, the term is sometimes extended beyond Japan to describe male office workers in East Asia, though the phenomenon is not uniform across countries. In culture and media, the salaryman archetype appears as a symbol of corporate conformity, perseverance, and the hidden fatigue of long hours.