ブラック企業

• 読み: ブラックきぎょう
• ローマ字: burakku kigyou
• 漢字の分解: ブラック (from English 'black,' implying dark/evil) + 企 (plan/enterprise) + 業 (business/industry) → exploitative company
• 発音: /bu.ɾa.kku ki.ɡjoː/

意味

An exploitative company that overworks employees, pays poorly, or has abusive management — a 'black company' or sweatshop employer.

ブラック企業 is a widely recognized term in Japan for companies with toxic work environments: excessive unpaid overtime (サービス残業), power harassment (パワハラ), poor pay, high turnover, and disregard for labour laws. The term gained mainstream recognition in the 2010s and there is even an annual ブラック企業大賞 (Black Company Award) that names and shames the worst offenders. Awareness of ブラック企業 has become an important part of Japanese job-hunting culture, with websites like OpenWork and 転職会議 providing insider reviews.

例文

1. 残業月100時間って完全にブラック企業じゃん。
2. ブラック企業の口コミ見てから応募するようにしてる。
3. 前の会社ブラック企業すぎて体壊したわ。

使い方ガイド

場面: work discussion, job hunting, social media, news

トーン: critical, cautionary

正しい言い方

• あの会社ブラック企業って有名だよ。 (That company is famous for being a black company.)
• ブラック企業には絶対入りたくない。 (I absolutely don't want to work at a black company.)

避ける言い方

• 自分の会社を社外で「ブラック企業」と公言する (Be careful publicly calling your own company a ブラック企業 — it could have professional consequences)

よくある間違い

• Thinking ブラック企業 is just slang — it is a recognized social concept discussed seriously in media and policy
• Not knowing the antonym ホワイト企業 (white company, a good employer)

起源と歴史

Coined in the 2000s using 'black' (ブラック) as a metaphor for darkness/evil + 企業 (company). The term gained widespread recognition in the 2010s as exploitative labour practices became a major social issue in Japan.

文化的背景

時代: 2000s coinage, mainstream recognition from 2010s

世代: All working adults

社会的背景: Universal

地域メモ: Used across Japan. The annual ブラック企業大賞 (Black Company Award) has brought attention to the worst offenders since 2012.