持ち帰り仕事

• Reading: もちかえりしごと
• Romaji: mochikaeri shigoto
• Kanji breakdown: 持 (hold) + ち (connecting particle) + 帰 (return) + り (nominalizer) + 仕 (serve) + 事 (affair) → work carried back home
• Pronunciation: /mo.tɕi.ka.e.ɾi ɕi.ɡo.to/

Meaning

Work taken home from the office; invisible or unpaid overtime done outside the workplace.

A widespread phenomenon where employees bring unfinished tasks home, effectively doing overtime that doesn't appear on official records. It's a major issue in Japanese work culture because it allows companies to claim low overtime hours while employees are still overworked. Common among teachers, office workers, and anyone pressured to finish tasks without logging overtime.

Examples

1. 今日も持ち帰り仕事あるから、家帰ってからもうひと頑張りだ。 I've got work to take home again today, so it's back to the grind after I get home.
2. 持ち帰り仕事が多すぎて、家でも全然リラックスできない。 I take so much work home that I can't relax at all even at my own house.
3. 会社は残業削減って言うけど、結局持ち帰り仕事が増えただけじゃん。 The company talks about reducing overtime, but all they've done is increase the amount of work people take home.

Usage Guide

Context: workplace, friends, social media

Tone: resigned, complaining

Do Say

• 持ち帰り仕事が当たり前になってるの、おかしいよね。 (It's wrong that taking work home has become normal.)
• また持ち帰り仕事だ、今週もう3回目。 (Taking work home again, third time this week.)

Don't Say

• 上司に「持ち帰り仕事はサビ残ですよね？」と直接言うのはリスクが高い (Directly telling your boss 'taking work home is unpaid overtime, right?' is risky)

Common Mistakes

• Not realizing that 持ち帰り仕事 specifically implies unpaid/unrecorded work — paid remote work is different
• Confusing with テレワーク (telework), which is an official arrangement

Origin & History

Compound of 持ち帰り (taking home/takeaway) and 仕事 (work). The term gained attention as work-style reforms aimed to reduce overtime hours, inadvertently pushing work out of the office and into homes.

Cultural Context

Era: 2010s-2020s, spotlighted during work-style reform debates

Generation: All working-age adults

Social background: Office workers, teachers, and public servants

Regional notes: Used across all of Japan. Particularly common in education and industries with strict overtime reporting.