I have been doing some research about Japanese companies because I’ve applied to one, but the pandemic has stalled the interview process. I found that many large companies offer paid leave, vacation, 5 day work weeks, and well defined working hours. However, while studying more about Japan, I’ve found that in most companies that offer paid leave, it is just not expected that anyone take the leave. The work hours are not respected apparently, and you can’t leave your work station before your boss and all that. Also, that if the bosses are going out after work, then you’re going out as well. I’ve found that people work even on weekends, even when they’re not required to, but somehow they’re expected to… I find this difficult to grasp with, as I tend to think that this actually has an adverse effect on productivity.
I would like to know from any of you who actually have personal experiences on what is real, and what isn’t.
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I’d be interested to hear from folks who were exposed to this and just didn’t play along. What happens if you’re an exemplary worker, nice person, etc, and just…don’t do that shit? Take the leave, go home after work, and so on.
In my company everyone takes leave, including the bosses. If my bosses go out for a drink, they may invite me, but it’s up to me if I want to take time to strengthen my relationship with them. There have been times I actually didn’t have time and they were quite understanding. My company is also at present taking an initiative to reduce overtime, focusing on lower-ranking employees first and moving up. Which is to say, they’re building a culture actively within the company of leaving before your boss. And my company is Japanese, not Gaishi Kei.
It will depend on your company of course. Black companies are a real thing and I know people who work astounding amounts of overtime, but in my 3 years here so far I haven’t observed that to be the norm. People typically work some overtime, yes, but I assume that’s true everywhere. That being said, I’ve never worked anywhere else. If anything is really wrong with Japanese work culture, I think problems of power harassment and office bullying and much bigger issues.
>I’ve found that in most companies that offer paid leave, it is just not expected that anyone take the leave.
I have Japanese friends that have confirmed this to be true.
>I find this difficult to grasp with, as I tend to think that this actually has an adverse effect on productivity.
You will find yourself saying this a lot about Japan, not just in the work culture. Sometimes you just can’t avoid it (like in any other country), but I think there are ways to give yourself the best chance of minimizing exposure to it when searching for a job. When interviewing, you can ask what the average amount of overtime is per month. I think 20 hours is pretty standard and acceptable, but again, I have friends who work up to 100 hours overtime a month. Obviously avoid those places. Also, make sure you get compensated 100% for your overtime. Places I’ve interviewed for have given me this information without me asking, so I guess it’s their way of proving they aren’t black. Whether it’s true and accurate though, well… you’ll just have to trust them I guess.
Another thing to ask is what the percentage of people taking vacation is. Again, the places I interviewed at reported “87% vacation day usage” etc. Whether it’s true or not…
I haven’t actually started working in Japan yet, so I can’t speak from experience, but I’m not keen on going out after work, and also I don’t drink alcohol at all. I also don’t plan to get bullied into doing so. I’m fine with going out once in a while and participating in social events, but if I’m forced to do anything, I’ll be promptly looking for another place to work. I can be reasonable and flexible, but I’m not going to sacrifice my dignity and self-respect to please anyone.
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It is a fact that about 50% percent of all paid leave does not get used in Japan. There are efforts to fix this, but you can’t easily change the mindset of people.
Source: [https://welove.expedia.co.jp/infographics/holiday-deprivation2018/](https://welove.expedia.co.jp/infographics/holiday-deprivation2018/)
(I’m sure you can find different sources as well if you’re interested, just google around)
Just depends on the company. I work for a great company that gives lots of flexibility (though it’s a British HQd company so that helps) and lets me come in & leave at will as long as the work is done, but some of our clients – including well-known car brands – I know stay at the office until 9 or 10 pm many days of the week.
[Here is an interesting article](https://www.fujitsu.com/global/about/resources/news/press-releases/2020/0706-01.html) about some things a major Japanese tech company, Fujitsu, is doing to change their culture
i know japanese people that work 6 days a week 12 hours a day so meh pay so yes it is.
Your work environment varies wildly depending on the company and the people around you. While I think it would be fair to say that on average, working conditions skew towards ‘less than good’, there’s a whole lot of variety out there.
The CEO of my company is Japanese, but he grew up in the US and is not beholden to Japanese work ethic. We have a pretty free and open environment, with flex-time work rules, measures to reduce overtime, and no stigma against taking leave. They were starting to introduce remote working before COVID-19, and when it did hit we all switched to WFH at once. There’s also a good male-female balance.
The worst part of work culture for me, however, is the hierarchical relationships ingrained into corporate and social structures. Even if it’s not written on paper that the boss is superior and his opinions must be respected, it’s just naturally understood by all my Japanese colleagues and we fall into this working pattern where ideas come down from on high, and it’s hard for anything to flow back the other way.
I’m one of the youngest people in the company, and having only been here a year, I’m right down the bottom of the hierarchy. A little while ago, I realised I was having trouble expressing myself and my opinions, not just at work but also in my private life. I’d got too used to this environment in which all creative decisions were deferred to the next person up, and I just had to carry out what they say. It had made me boring and passive. Thankfully, this time away from the office while WFH allowed for a lot of introspection and something of a reset.
That’s something I don’t see mentioned often. Don’t lose sight of yourself!
I (game engineer) have worked in 5 different companies from AAA studios to international startup
I was hired by an outsourcing company first and they send me to different projects for a short time, then moved to the startup.
The only one with an actual shitty boss and extreme unpaid extra hours(6 months of 9:30 am-10/11 pm) was the AAA game studio, I actually was removed from the project for taking some extra days off on the golden week.
The project was super interesting but the pressure was insane, I ended up sick and with chest pains so it was a relief to be “fired”
On the other companies which were equally big but with no big names on them, we left work at the established time, hell the last one they even cut off the power supply at 7 pm so that no one could stay late.
That work was boring as hell but the conditions where amazing 10 am to 6 pm and every month 1 or 2 days off
In the international startup, we start working at 11 and you can leave whenever you feel that you have finished, you can take days off and it’s super relaxed the environment in general, there have been times of crunch when everyone stays until midnight but it’s like 1 week every 6 months
I also have seen a lot of people scared of the “mandatory drinking parties” in my experience they are cool and you can see the true face of your coworkers but if you are not into it they won’t say anything if you don’t go or if you go and don’t drink it’s also ok.
TLDR
some companies are awful but most of them are ok, just as anywhere in the world
It depends on the company. My company is big but they try go become more “modern”.
However, I am from Germany it is still too much bullshit rules and not enough flexibility. If you like peer pressure, Japan is your country!!!
Depend on the company and the area. I just to work in a Architecture firm
I can relate everything you post say.
Long works hours, leave after my senpai, the nomikai (this one was not that bad because were 3 per year) etc.
The client is always right is a pain …. and the deadlines are very short also the client expect.more than perfection.
But i think IT is different.
I always clocked out on time, took my breaks, ect. I made it quite clear that I was never pulling unpaid overtime despite the Stockholm syndrome of staying in. I made it clear to establish my boundaries as a worker. That didn’t stop from the passive aggressive stares as I left, or the talks in the office that I was “emotionally disconnected” (not true) but the point is… establish those boundaries early on. Otherwise they’ll expect more and more from you. Hearing お疲れ様です daily won’t really effect you, whether or not you comply.
Sure go out for the occasional nomikai if you can afford it, but unless you’re banking big time, don’t sweat it.
Legally speaking, you can leave as soon as your contract says your hours are up and everything is fine.
Culturally speaking, doing that isn’t likely to win you many friends unless the whole company is on board with the idea.
It really does mostly depend on your personal work environment.
I’m working for a Japanese company with a large (about half) percentage of foreigners. The higher ups are Japanese though.
We all take our leave (pathetic 8 days annually).
The workload is horrid, everyone stays till ~10pm everyday, so it’s about a 12 hour workday. We do go for lunch though, though when the workload gets overwhelming some stay in for lunch and work at the same time.
And most people do some work on the weekends so we don’t get even more overwhelmed than we already are on the weekdays.
No nomikais probably because of the workload too lol.
There’s no rule about leaving before the bosses I think because we have a large percentage of foreigners and aren’t expected to conform to Japanese social rules. But again, due to the workload, we stay late anyway.
I have had experiences working for a black company and working for an amazing company, both in the IT/consultant sector. The black company was so abusive I almost had a mental break down and quit the job, moving back home to America two weeks later. The amazing company I stayed with for over a year and couldn’t have been treated any better. I wish I could have stayed with them longer but life got in the way and I couldn’t commit to relocation.
All in all it depends on who’s at the top. The black company had a president who felt as if he was doing us a favor by hiring us and demanded we show our appreciation every month on payday when we picked up our pay (always in cash). The amazing company had a president who sat with us in the office and bought everyone coffee and lunch and didn’t put himself above the others in the room.
Black company would shame people for taking off. Amazing company would coordinate with a calendar vacation between the departments, encouraging that we take off and rest from time to time.
I find that it is harder to get out of bad situations in Japan, especially when you’re at a black company and immigration is involved (immigration can’t do anything to you but a black company will harass you into thinking they can). But, it you know your rights and have the Japanese skills to survive, you can make it.
Most of what you described is real.
>Paid leave
You get 0 paid leaves for the first 6 months, then 10 leaves for the next year, 11 leaves for the year after that and so on. On top of that, there are absolutely zero sick leaves, which I find appalling.
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>I find this difficult to grasp with, as I tend to think that this actually has an adverse effect on productivity.
Yes, most non-Japanese I have talked to agree with this. Japanese companies and bosses focus on effort (measured by number of hours worked) over productivity.