Howdy. I am looking to move to Japan at some point in the near future, however I currently work as a diesel technician for a major by land goods transportation company in the USA. TO BE CLEAR: THIS IS NOT MY PLAN FOR WORK THERE. I am working through an IT degree and plan to further my education as time goes on. However, I feel the need to quantify that since the general consensus seems to be that OP is an idiot for even suggesting working blue collar work in Japan. Anyway…
I notice that compared to all the other jobs I’ve had, the usage of slang, swear words, and overall casual speech and casual topics are much more common here than any other industry I’ve worked in. Our drivers for this fleet are our customers, as our job is about making the drivers happy so that they will continue their employment with us (drivers are in high demand, and no drivers = no money), so having a good service attitude towards them is important, since they can easily find another driving job that pays the same or better. But, I couldn’t name you a single tech in this company that would treat them any different from any other coworker. We swear together, talk about taboo subjects like sex and such, etc etc. I imagine a more corporatized work environment would be not as much like this, but generally it is okay. So much so that you can tell off drivers who are being particularly rude or super racist or something.
I’m curious if blue collar work in Japan is similar. Not necessarily to the same degree (obviously not like the US), but is the usage of keigo towards customers, and polite speech between coworkers the same as it would be in other work environments, say food service? Is there particular slang for these sorts of jobs that you wouldn’t find elsewhere? I’d one day like to open my own shop, handling stuff like this, or something similar. Even if never as a real business, just fixing the vehicles of friends and family would still be interesting, and making friends who work in said industries is also an interest. Any info to satisfy this curiosity would be greatly appreciated.
5 comments
Keigo always gets used with customers at my husband’s company, even if they’re repeat buyers. (Motorcycle industry.) All written materials use keigo as well.
Talk between coworkers is “Japan casual,” but it might vary between companies.
I work in the Japanese automotive industry, but manufacturing, not servicing. The manufacturing guys are very…. loose tongued around each other. They use pretty rough/casual language amongst each other. But to customers keigo is expected.
Chugoku and Kyushu Yankis got you.
>Not necessarily to the same degree (obviously not like the US),
Maybe more so than in the US depending where you work because some things that are considered taboo there aren’t here.
>but is the usage of keigo towards customers, and polite speech between coworkers the same
Yes you’d still use keigo to those above you because that’s what a normal person with a job does. You can use normal, age appropriate language and talk casually about subjects that may only belong to the locker room.
Totally same.
Blue-collar workers in Japan usually don’t speak polite Japanese properly. They use many slangs and dialects and sound somehow rough.