Ikigai: A Japanese concept to improve work and life

The stress doesn't stop there. The country's notorious work culture ensures most people put in long hours at the office, governed by strict hierarchical rules. Overwork is not uncommon and the last trains home on weekdays around midnight are filled with people in suits. How do they manage?

Rather, ikigai is about feeling your work makes a difference in people's lives.

How people find meaning in their work is a topic of much interest to management experts. One research paper by Wharton management professor Adam Grant explained that what motivates employees is "doing work that affects the well-being of others" and to "see or meet the people affected by their work."