Twenty-eight percent of male employees in the Tokyo and Osaka areas spend an average of more than 12 hours a day on work, according to a survey by a labor union think tank.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The figure reached 33 percent for men in their 30s.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The poll also found that only about half of such workers, both men and women, are paid fully for overtime work, the Research Institute for Advancement of Living Standards said Sunday.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The institute, under the Japanese Trade Union Federation –

, conducted the poll in September and October on 772 men and women in their 20s through 50s working for private companies. The respondents live in the Kanto and Kansai metropolitan areas centering on Tokyo and Osaka.

Among female employees, 5 percent said they work more than 12 hours a day on average. The figure for employees fully paid for overtime stood at only 52 percent. Many respondents said they are discouraged from claiming overtime pay due to the atmosphere of their workplace and the attitude of management.