The Construction of Salaried Workers’ Meanings through Office-Worker Pages

Abstract

The research titled “The Construction of Meaning of Salarymen through Office Worker-Themed Social Media Pages” is a qualitative study aiming to examine how the meaning of salarymen is constructed through office worker-themed social media pages, using a textual analysis approach. The study analyzed text and image posts with the highest levels of interaction (including reactions, comments, and shares) on a weekly basis from three social media pages with the highest post interaction rates, ranked in the top three, over a 12‑month period (1 July 2024 - 30 June 2025). The criteria for data analysis include themes, issues narrated about salarymen, characters, conflicts and solutions, tone of voice, use of images, and perspectives on the issues concerning salarymen.

The research results revealed that office worker-themed social media pages presented stories and issues through four main themes, namely the office as a battlefield; money is work, work is money; work-life balance; and work as a duty rather than a preference. These themes portrayed a salaryman as a laborer compelled to work for survival, with professional life driven by duties, responsibilities, and income rather than personal satisfaction. The pages often communicated issues regarding income, welfare and benefits, job satisfaction, personal lifestyle, job security, work environment, workplace relationships, and achievement and recognition, reflecting the imbalance between workload, income, and daily expenses, as well as efforts to maintain a balance between work life and personal life. Regarding presentation style, the pages chose to present stories through a variety of characters, including humans, animals, and objects, combined with tones of humor, satire, complaint, or anger, to foster shared emotions and convey the collective experiences of office workers. In addition, the pages presented conflicts among office workers at multiple levels, including intrapersonal conflicts, interpersonal conflicts between characters, and conflicts with the environment. However, the pages rarely offered solutions to problems, as most of the portrayed conflicts could not be resolved at the individual level. Instead, they employed varied forms of visual communication, including drawings, caricatures, photographs, and graphics, to enhance understanding, evoke emotional engagement, and reflect each page’s distinct identity. Furthermore, the study revealed that perspectives on salaryman-related issues were often supportive and negotiative, emphasizing the importance placed on quality of work life and the adaptation of salarymen within the modern capitalist system.