Compensation -Murakami Asahi-do -Haruki Murakami-

   I have been operating a jazz cafe for about eight years since my early twenties and have employed quite a number of part-time workers. Most of them were students, so initially, there wasn't much of an age difference between them and me, but towards the end, there was about a decade gap. Our café had a relatively high retention rate for part-time workers, so I remember each of them quite well. Well, there are various types of people. From my experience, there are a few types that you should never hire. One of them is the type that says, "I'll work for free if necessary." You might think that such people don't exist, right? But they do exist. For example, every year, there's always one person who says, "I want to run my own shop in the future, so I don't need a salary," or "I really want to work here as a part-timer." However, it's not possible to have them work for free, so we pay them a decent salary like any other person.

Now, when it comes to whether these people do a good job or not, it's usually the opposite. They slack off, complain, take days off, arrive late, and in the end, they even start saying things like "the pay is low." Well, I think to myself, "Of course, it's not right," but it's also our mistake for hiring someone who proudly declares that they don't need a salary, which is unrealistic.

It's a similar situation, but I never write manuscripts without receiving payment. It might sound arrogant, but it's only natural for a professional. No matter how cheap it is, I always make sure to receive my fee in cash. I don't do "just do this party, and we'll call it even" kind of deals. Since I always meet my deadlines, I expect others to do the same. However, when you conduct yourself in that manner, sometimes people say, "That person is obsessed with money." But I want you to think about how this kind of amateurish, nonchalant attitude has spoiled the Japanese literary world. Literature and jazz cafes share the same essence at their core.