Indicators for quality of life and working life in Germany and Japan : a culture-psychological perspective

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Indicators for Quality of Life and Working Life in Germany and Japan:

A Culture-psychological Perspective '

GISELA TROMMSDORFF

The 10^thmeeting of the German-Japanese Society for the Social Sciences in 05- nabrilck, August 2008, ended in four questions summarized by Gyorgy Szell.

These questions were:

1. How would you define quality of life and working life?

2. Which are according 10 your opinion the main differences between Ger- many and Japan in this respect?

3. Are there universal criteria in order to compare quality of life and working life?

4. How do you evaluate international comparative ran kings and monitoring in order to improve the quality of life and working life?

Dealing with these questions opens the perspective to several further questions.

which obviously cannot be answered without some knowledge on social, cultural, political, economic and psychological theories and empirical findings.

That is one of the main reasons, why German and Japanese social scientists from different disciplines come together. In the following, some suggestions to deal with these questions are presented from a culture-psychological perspective.

How would you define quality of life and working life?

Definitions of both concepts abound and obviously depend on the perspective of the author. Definitions based on 'objective' indicators should be differentiated from definitions based on 'subjective' indicators. However, most researchers would agree that the underlying assumption of such definitions is a general idea of having a 'good' life.

This study was supported as part of the cross-cultural and interdisciplinary research pro- ject ··Value of Children and Intergenerational Relations·· (Principal investigators: Gisela Trommsdorff, University of Konstanz, and Bernhard Nauck, Chemnitz University of Technology), funded by the Gennan Research Foundation/DFG (TR 169/9-1. -2. -3).

Thanks to Tobias Heikamp (Of his valuable comments on an earlier version.

First publ. in: Quality of life and working life in comparison / G. Széll, D. Ehrig, U.

Staroske, & U. Széll (eds.). Frankfurt a.M.: Lang, 2009, pp. 371-385

Konstanzer Online-Publikations-System (KOPS) URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:352-opus-90600

URL: http://kops.ub.uni-konstanz.de/volltexte/2009/9060/

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(a) 'Objective' indicalOrs for quality of life can be seen, for ex:ample, the job market (and the related chance to find a satisfying job with respect to income and working conditions), the availability of medical services, a healthy environment, low criminality, the political system (related to the chance of political participation) etc. Such indicators are based on the assumption that certain re- sources are necessary for having a 'good' life. The problem of such definitions, for example in the Human Development Index, is threefold: which criteria have to be taken into account (and in which combination), and to which degree and for whom do they represent indices of a 'good' life?

The same problem arises for the 'objective' indicators of working life quality.

What do working hours, income, savings, wealth, or autonomy at the work place indicate in terms of ('good') quality? Does a 35-hours or a 40-hours job differ in quality, when both conditions differ at the same time with respect to income, distance to one's home, gender equality and social climate at work?

These 'objective' indicators are based on assumptions what a good life should ideally be like, irrespective of what individual persons from different countries and cohorts may believe is a good life. These are nomlative definitions.

For a useful definition of 'objective' indicators, a theory on the condirio,ls and fimcrions of quality of life is necessary. Such cOllditions may consist in the kind of the socio-political system or the people's civic engagement. Respectivefimc- riolls of quality of life may be seen in their effecls for societal integration, or for an individualized life style. Both, the specification of conditions and of functions of the quality of life and working life need systematic research, integrating sociological, political science and psychological perspectives. At present, such a research programme is not yet well developed.

(b) In order to start an appropriate research and refrain from nomlative definitions, it seems useful to study the subjective evaluation of 'objective' indicators of quality of life and its relation 10 life satis/actioll alld sllbjectil'e well-beillg.

This approach is based on the general psychological assumption that objectively identical situations (indicators of quality of life such as income or health) can be experienced in subjectively different ways (i.e. as threatening, as satisfying).

The interesting question for psychologists is to understand the conditions for individual differences in the subjective ex:perience of indicators for quality of life.

Psychological research has shown that both, personal and situational conditions have to be taken into account. For example, persons differ with respect to their values and life goals, which may be related rather to family or to work.

People also differ with respect to the experience of success and failure in achieving their life goals, and their ability to cope with failure in an adaptive way. Also, sitllarions differ with respect to various aspects, e.g. the difficulty allowing the person 10 achieve his/her life goals. Furthermore, both, person and situational characteristics can influence each other and, for example, reduce the level of expectation to achieve a certain life goal. From a culture-psychological

perspective, these illleracriolls are embedded in and influenced by the cl/III/ral comexl which gives meaning to these interactions and its underlying conditions.

This is one reason for the well-established empirical finding that high income (or material well-being) does not necessarily mean high life satisfaction or subjective welt-being for different persons (high or low achievers) in different situations (e.g. in the life cycle), and in different cultural contexts. In the following pages, person and situation factors related to the subjective experience of quality of life are described in more detail. Accordingly, various factors have been identified to influence subjective well-being as inlervening factors and regulative mechanisms.

Life satisfaction regarding certain aspects of quality of life is not independent from the person's past experience and expectations for the future. It is also influenced by personal value orientations, by the person's health etc. For example, in our recent study on factors of life-satisfaction of older people, for whom health usually is an important indicator for subjective well-being, our recent study showed that the relationship between health satisfaction and general life satisfaction was moderated by the interdependent self-construal. The more interdependent the self-construal, the weaker was the relationship between health satisfaction and general life satisfaction. For a person with a stronger interdependent self-construal relational factors are more important than health (Albert, Labs & Trommsdorff, 2009). This study clearly demonstrates the moderating effect of self-construal (personality factor) on the relation between general life satisfaction and the domain-specific satisfaction with health.

Successful achievement of goals does not necessarily increase one's life- satisfaction, One may get used to success due 10 changes in one's comparison level. Similarly, failure does not necessarily decrease life satisfaction in case of adaptive coping strategies (which have only rarely been taken into account in life satisfaction research). Examples for influential personality variables therefore are adaptive coping strategies (accommodation and assimilation; experience of control and self-efficacy; comparison processes). The coping literature provides re- fined theories on appraisal, optimizing one's adaptation by selection and com- pensation, different control oriental ions and self-efficacy beliefs (e.g. Brand- stMter & Renner, 1990).

Several studies have shown the effects of adaptation to success or failure on life satisfaction (Lucas, Clark, Georgellis & Diener, 2003; Diener, Lucas & Sco- lion, 2006). This may partly explain the relative stability of subjective well-being over the life course. People may change their standard of judgement over the life-cycle during adaptation to a certain event over time (Lucas et al., 2003; Diener et al., 2006). Accordingly, the longitudinal measurement of general life- satisfaction shows stability (Eid & Diener, 2004).

Furthermore, the person's life satisfaction (and well-being) resulting from the experience of quality of life depends on situational faclOrs. The social con-

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text (serving as standard for comparisons) and social relationships (e.g. social SUpPO") influence subjective well-being (Chappell, 1991). Also, interactions be tween person and situation are to be taken into account. Environment and personality have different effects on the affective and cognitive components of well-being (Schimmack, Schupp & Wagner. 2(08). General life-satisfaction may be more influenced by the context and current mood than domain satisfaclion (Schwarz & Snack, 1999).

(c) The question of definition of life quality and its theoretical bases brings us 10 the problem of methodological approaches how to measlIre the slIbjecti\'t! ex- periellce (subjective well-being or life satisfaction) of quality of life (and its ob- jectil't! factors like income and health) related to specific life domains (family

and work).

'Subjective' indicators are based on self-reports regarding for example life satisfaction and happiness. Quality of life can be measured as life satisfaction and subjective well-being in geneml. and satisfaction with SIJecijic life domains (e.g. Albert et al., 2009; Argyle, Martin, Strack & Schwarz. 1991; Diener & Die- ner, 1995). Specific life domains of satisfaction can be one's family, one's working life etc. The question whether to assess general or specific indicators for life domains relates to the bouom-upltop-down controversy and the question of causal direction: General life satisfaction has been seen as an effect or as a cause of satisfaction with specific life domains (Albert et aI., 2009; Diener.

1984; Feist, BOOner, Jacobs, Miles & Tan, 1995; Headey, Veenhoven & Wearing, 1991; Scherpenzeel & Saris, 1996).

Furthermore, the indicators of satisfaction with life and work quality do not necessarily measure the same, when asking the person in different situations (for example, after a stressful day, in the presence of others, at different periods in their life etc.).

Objective and subjective indicators of quality of life and working life share the same problem of construct validity: What do these indicators really measure?

Is more than one indicator needed to gel a valid picture of the quality of life and work life satisfaction? Which indicators are most useful (valid), and is a ranking of indicators according to their respective importance for the ovemll indicator necessary? Or should some indicators be combined and if so in which way (wei- ghted measure)? How do affective measures of life-satisfaction and well-being (e.g. related to pleasant versus unpleasant events) compare to cognitive measures (satisfaction with life in general and with life domains)? Can the same indicators be used for persons from differem cohorts, gender or cultures?

These questions are related to serious methodological problems crucial for the measurement of life satisfaction (e.g. Schimmack, 2009) and also well- known in other areas of social science research (e.g. Esmer, 2004; van de Vijver

& Leung, 1997). These issues do not allow for a simple definition of quality of

life and work life satisfaction. Any serious definition should be based on a theo-

375 retical conce~t: which ~an be operutionalized for measurement. This requires both, an exp~lcil th~orellcal outline of factors influencing the slIbjeclil'e experi- ence of qllallty of life al/d work, and solid research on adequate measurement to ascertain validity, reliability, and objectivity of the data. However, most of the pre~ently ~or1d-.wide used indices have been selected based on ad hoc, political or IdeologIcal vIews of what should be a 'good' life. Any such normative ap- pr~ach cannot allow for solid answers about quality of life and work. At present. senous answers how to improve the quality of life by interventions are impossi- ble as long as the subjective experience of quality of life is not assessed.

Which are according to your opinion the main differences between Germany and Japan in this respect?

This questi~n. can onl.y be answered after having succeeded in a solid conceptual based de,fimtlon, whIch allows for measurement of differences. One may, of course, Simply compare indicators of quality of life and work without knowing

~luch about their validity and other theoretical and methodological characteris- tiCS such as the above mentioned conditions and functions of quality of life and work: For exan~p'e, the number of years in education, gender equality, the size of pnvate hOUSing, the length of time. spent away from work, the number of electrical devices for housework, car ownership etc. have often been used to measure quality of life.

However, what does it mean when the statistical data show that Japanese as c.ompared to Ger~13n workers and employees work longer hours. they need more tm~e to ~each theIr home (or wor~ place). and have less time off work (paid va-

~atlOn~). '!'her: are many more differences between Japan and Germany regard- I~g objective life quality indicalors such as gender equality in the labour force (10 Japan less), health (longevity in Japan is higher; obesity and overweight in Japan a.re lo~er), ac~ess ,to residential care home in old age (less in Japan). If less residentIal care IInplles to be more dependent on one's children for care in later life (Ho et aI., 2003), the question arises what this means to the person, the old aged parents, the adult children, the whole family, and the society?

Do these differences in living and working conditions between Japan and Germany also indicate differences in life satisfaction between both societies? An indicator of extremely low life satisfaction may be seen in depression and sui- cide. Both have increased in Japan in recent years (see the overview by Coulmas, 2(08). Howe~er, can we generalize from these statistics - referring to an extremely low life satisfaction in certain groups of the Japanese population - to an overall generally low life satisfaction and low quality of life and work in Japan?

Comparative studies on life satisfaction report a lower rate of satisfaction in Ja-

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pan, which is one of (he richest countries as compared 10 Western countries (Diener. 2000).

This resull brings up again the question about the most valid indicalOrs for the quality of life and its relation 10 life satisfaction. As discussed above, we have 10 assume that any 'objective' experience in life is subjectively represented.

The individual's subjective perception of the 'objective reality' affects the psychological experience of life quality and related well-being directly or indirectly (Diener. Suh. Lucas & Smith. 1999; Kahneman & Kruger, 2006), The way how a situation is subjeclively experienced and the way it affects the person's behaviour depends. among other factors, on the general values and beliefs. the past experiences of the person. and the context (specific situation and wider socio-cultural context), in which such eveOls are lived. These aspects are not independent from each other, and they are influenced by the broader socio-cultural context.

This is in line with recent cross-cultural studies. For example, Diener (2000), Suh, Diener, Oishi and Triandis (1998) and Suh, Diener and Updegraff (2008) have shown that cultural values such as rather individualistic or collectivistic oricntations affect life satisfaction and well-being directly and indirectly. De- pending on the respective dominant cultural model people develop different self-construals which are related to different needs and goals in their lives (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). People may ralher strive for independence and self-fulfilment as in mnny Western societies, including Germany, or they rather strive for interdependence and social hamlOny as in many Asian societies, including Japan. In case of an interdependent self-construal. the person defines herself through close relationships. and the maintenance of close relationships is a major goal in life (Cross & Morris, 2(03).

In our own studies on German elderly people we have shown that the kind of self-construal affects life-satisfaction (moderating effect of interdependence) (AI ben et al.. 2009). When broadening the perspective and taking into accoUOl the prevailing cultural values and the related self-construal, we may assume cultural differences in life satisfaction are based on different preferences of independence and interdependence. Such preferences influence the person's life goals. Japanese people have been described to strive for harmony and in-group belongingness. while Gerolan or Western people rather Slrlve to be independent and self-reliant (Kojima, 1986; Kitayama. 2001; Rothbaum & Trommsdorff, 2(07). Therefore, the quality of life for Japanese as compared to Germans should be higher for example in case of a harmonious work group.

When life goals cannot be met, the person is disappointed and dissatisfied.

However, the experience of failure and reactions to failure differ cross-culturnlly as has been shown, for example. by Kitayama (2001). While anger is the dominant emotional reaction to failure and frustration in the West, self-focused emotions such as shame and an increased eagerness to exercise for improvement are

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the dominant responses in Japan. The regulation of emotions is an imponant factor in the experience of success and failure and follows cuhure-specific values (Rothbaum & Trommsdorff. 2(07). Depending on the cultural values. different emotional and cognitive reactions occur, and different coping strategies are preferred such as a more primary control strategy directed towards changing the environment or a more secondary control strategy directed towards changing the self (self blaming). According to several studies. primary cOOlrol is nlOre preferred in Western societies and secondary control strategies are rather used in Asian countries (Boiger & Trommsdorff, 2008; Essau & Trommsdorff, 1996;

Rothbaum, Weisz & Snyder, 1982; Seginer, Trommsdorff & Essau, 1993).

Funhermore, one has to take into account thal self-reports about life-salisfaction have a different meaning depending on the cultural context and related self conslrual. A more positive self presenlation is generally more valued in case of an individualistic as compared to an interdependent self-construal (Kilayama, 2001). For example, it is still not considered acceptable in Japan that people present themselves in a positive way. which could mean to 'show off';

'The nail should not Slick out." (Kojima, 1986) Thus, Japanese respondenlS may not want to make others aware of own achievements and satisfaction in order not to provoke envy or negatively affect social hannony. Japanese rather prefer self-depreciation and present themselves as less happy and less satisfied as compared to persons from countries with a comparable 'quality of life' or economic well· being (see also Kornadt in this volume).

To summarize, depending on the prevailing cultural model. the person's life goals and experiences, which affect the person's life satisfaction differ. In case of failing to achieve the preferred goals. effective coping (primary or secondary comrol or both) may compensate for reduced well-being and can re-establish life satisfaction. The kind of coping depends on prevailing cultural values. Accord- ingly. when comparing Japanese and German life satisfaction as an indicator for life and work quality one should take a culture-psychological perspective.

Cross-cultural research has shown that the subjective experience of and self re- pons about quality of life and work are influenced by the respective cultural values and related self construals.

Are there universal criteria in order to compare quality of life and working life? A closer look at comparative social sciences

When taking these considerations about culture-specificities in the conditions for the experience and measurement of life satisfaction serious, the question to be asked is whether universal criteria for comparisons of quality of life and working life could be established. This relates also to the more specific question whether the Japanese or the Gernlan culture each are so unique that comparisons

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based on a methodologically sound measurement are possible. Indeed, theories on the uniqueness of the Japanese culture (Nihonjin-roll) have suggested that Japan cannot be compared with any other culture.

Certain cultllre-psychologists take the extreme position that each culture is so unique that comparisons are fUlile and have 10 be rejected as an inappropriate scientific method (e.g. Shweder. 1991). For a long lime, a heated debate was conducted between culture-psychology and the cross-ell/fllml psychology approach. The former defended its ideographic and hemleneutic approach (emit approach) by viewing culture as part of human behaviour and socio-political processes. The lauer referred to the nomothetic methodology of natural sciences, which requires to lest causal hypotheses by making use of the quasi--experimental method (etic approach). Here, culture is seen as external factor influencing human behaviour and socio--political processes. Both approaches represent opposite views on human behaviour guided by different theories of science, a mentalistic versus a mechanistic theory based on different paradigms which, however. do not necessarily exclude one another (Eckensberger, in press). Both approaches have proven to be one-sided and biased; therefore more moderate integrative approaches are preferred today (Jahoda, 2007; Poortinga, 2007:

Trommsdorff. 2007).

However, the question remains whether and which kind of comparisons in social sciences are useful and possible, and what the unit of analyses for respective studies should be. Here we enter the interesting area of comparative social science research. There was a general agreement in comparative social science that cross-cllllllral research has several advantages related to the advancement of theoretical and methodological knowledge such as:

theoretical improvement by overcoming ethnocentric bias.

disentangling confounding variables,

testing universalities by taking into account descriptions of culture-sped- ficilies (combining the etic. inter-cultural. and the emic, intra-cultural, approach), and

studying cuhure as part of socio-economic. political and psychological processes.

Several methodOlogical difficulties have to be met in cross-cuhural or comparative research. slarting with questions of functional equivalence of design, measurement (items, scaling etc.), and interpretation of data (Pooninga. 2007; van de Vij ver.2(07).

Furthermore, in social and psychological comparative research. the funher question is what IIl1il of allalysis is chosen. One alternative is the comparison of whole nations (holistic approach) or selected characteristics of nations. cultures or systems. Examples for influential comparative studies on political systems.

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the socio-economic structure or various institutions are studies by Marsh (1967).

and Scheuch and 0yen (1990).

After a period of rich and ambitious cOlI/paralh'e research ill social sciellces (e.g. Przeworski & Teune. 1970) several sociologists anticipated the end of comparative social science research. They postulated a 'crisis' of comparative research in social sciences as a resull of globalization. Their reasoning was:

Comparative studies need case illdependella and case comparability. However, both preconditions can no more be fulfilled in a globalized world. where all countries are somehow related to other countries and interdependence is more pronounced than independence. The traditional approaches in comparative social sciences have started from a nationalist perspective assuming that societies are self-COntained singular systems. The traditional approach has also been based on a globalist perspective, assuming that globalization is a propeny at the global level, inducing growing homogeneity and uniformity due 10 convergence of values. This perspective is in line with a world systems approach.

Theoretical alternatives 10 overcome this 'crisis' have been suggested by the Japanese sociologist Daishiro Nomiya (2007, p. 16). One is the t!1IIt!rgelll prop- erty lIlJPf'(){lch (globalization as an emerging end-propenYl. This implies Ihe convergence of systems and the preservation of local peculiarities as a duality of globality and locality. The other alternative is the I'lIriable apwooch. Here, globalization is seen as one of several variables existing at the beginning of research. In the process of globalization differential developmental paths and adaptation processes can occur. Therefore, the process of globalization would be an interesting object for comparative rese,arch.

For the present study, a closer look at coII/parat;I't! I'al,.t! sllldiel' may help to suggest future research on the relation between cultural values and life quality.

Examples for influential comparative value studies are studies by lnglehan (1990; 1997), who has postulated a 'Silent Revolution' as a result of postmodern developments. This study points out a change in needs and values towards more individualistic goals, which should affect changes and life salisfaclion in various areas (family, work). Based on data from the World Value Survey and the Euro- pean Value Survey, several studies have shown a significant change of family, marriage and gender equality based on values of individualism and independence, while some traditional values persist (lnglehart & Baker. 2000: Inglehan, 2(07). In his overview on 20 countries based on the WVSlEVS surveys. Esmer (2006) reports little value change during two decades (from 1981 to 2(01), ex- cept for family and gender relations; he also underlines that hardly any convergence of values (e.g. due to globalization) has taken place. This study certainly cautions against the assumption that global indicators for measuring life quality can be used disregarding cultural differences.

This is in line with the influential value study by Hofstede (1980: 2001).

who has suggested cultural dimensions based on specific values (e.g. value of

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individualism/collectivism). These cullUral dimensions have proven very fruitful in a number of cross-cultural studies, even though the assumption of dimension- alily has been criticized in the review by Oyserman, Coon and Kemmelmeier (2002).

Psychologists have typically chosen the individual as unit of analyses (while also laking into account the cultural level) (see the famous value studies by Schwartz, 2004), Several studies have been carried oul to describe differences in value orientations between Japanese and Gemlan people (Trommsdorff, 1983, 1992). However, more specific studies are needed to analyse the relations between value orienlalions, life satisfaction, and behaviour by taking the subjective experience of quality of life into account. According to the person's value orien- tation. the subjective experience of 'objective' aspects of life and work should differ. which may explain personal decisions and behaviour such as planning for having a Child. accepting the role of a working mother or taking care of elderly parents.

In line with the importance of interdependence, the family is highly valued in Japan; however. this does not mean that the ideal of having children affects behaviour: Japanese women are about as reluctant as in Gernlany to give birth to a child. Presumably. more has to be known, what people believe is 11 promising way to achieve life satisfaction, when various alternatives can be chosen and various restrictions regarding the experience of quality of life have to be taken into account. Here. the theoretical assumptions of the value of children studies are relevant (Trommsdorff & Nauck. 2005, 2006).

One fascinating aspect of this comparative research is that an interdisciplinary approach is needed: It is relevant for social sciences and psychology. espe- cially when multiple levels of analyses are combined (which is possible by new statistical methods allowing for multi-level analyses) (van de Vijver. Hemmet &

Poortinga, 2(08). This approach needs the fruitful exchange between sociologists. political scientists and psychologists (Trommsdorff, in press).

How do you evaluale inlernational comparalive rankings and moniloring in order 10 improve Ihe quality of life and working life?

The above mentioned questions regarding the impact of culture and personality on the subjective experience of given 'objective' factors such as income. education, working hours. leisure or equipment with technical appliances in the household are not clarified, any international comparntive ranking and monitoring remains 'artificial' in the way that they do not give sufficient infom13tion on the human and psychological quality of such indicators. If the human quality is seen in life satisfaction and subjective well-being, different measures need to be used. These have to be based on sound theoretical and methodological research.

International comparative ranking and monitoring are of special interest for economists and politicians, who lire concerned about demographics. social structure and the like. Policy interventions to change the rnnkings (e.g. increase social equality) may be useful for certain purposes, however. whether they can affect the well-being and life satisfaction of people in the intended direction, is an open question. which needs to be studied from a culture-psychological in- formed perspective and studies. which should be based on quasi-experimental methods.

For example, the approach by Markus and Kitayama (1991) assumes that cultural value orientations or models influence individual self-construllls, which in turn affect beliefs. emotions and behavior (Kitayama. 2(01). Therefore, culture-specific hypotheses regarding the experienced quality of life (including experience of success and failure in achieving life goals) can be derived. On this basis, main-stream research on well-being and happiness. which usually assumes value orientations of independence and self-realil.lltion. will have to be modified.

Therefore. it is promising that the 10¹¹¹meeting of the German Japanese So- ciety for Social Sciences has brought together experts from Japan and Germany to discuss preconditions and implications of "Quality of Life and Working Life in Comparison". This group of scientists has some experience in regularly dis- cussing issuc..<; of joint interest for sociologists and psychologists such as simi- laritites and differences of social, cultural and psychological phenomena and social and cultural change in Japan and Gemlany; or socio-economic and cultural transformations in a changing global context and its implications for Japan and Germany (e.g. Kusune, Nishijima & Adachi. 2007; Trommsdorff. Friedlmeier &

Kornadt, 1998; Trommsdorff & Kornadt, 1996; Teichler & Trommsdorff. 2(02).

One of the fruitful results of the 10¹¹¹meeting can be seen in pointing out to further integration of different disciplines. which are engaged in improving theoretical and methodological knowledge on factors influencing the quality of life and working life.

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