For context, I am Korean and we had a lot of Japanese business traditions ingrained in our own culture in the past.
Things like chorei, strict business attire, people going to work in suits even if the job didn’t require it, being super formal on the phone and stuff.
Nowadays almost 70-80% of it is gone and wondering if these aspects are still regular in Japan where it originated from? It happened pretty rapidly in Korea over probably the last 10-15 years and wondering if a similar rapid change has been in Japan.
https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/17yskbl/has_japanese_work_culture_evolved_over_recent/
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I am sure both countries have changed quite a bit, but as a funny side note, I was in Seoul in July and our Sales Director made a point of telling me “suit and tie, everyday”. We were doing external visits.
Anyway, the biggest change in Japan has been in the presenteeism. Many companies were totally unprepared for WFH during COVID. They adapted and now are hybrid or having trouble getting people back in office in some cases. That, combined with the young generation not drinking as much, has changed the nomikai culture. And in my company, it is like nobody does karaoke anymore.
Now, it all really can depend on the company, so take this with a grain of salt. But I do think COVID made some changes to work culture.
Yea
Yeah it’s gotten mildly tolerable compared to 15 years ago.
Japan is due to face its first labour shortages since the 70s. Rights have swung right back to the worker (unless you’re doing a job like eikaiwa that has a steady stream of foreign workers ready to sell their souls because they watched an episode of Attack on Titan on Netflix once).
Suit for everything culture is rapidly dying it seems. A lot of the clients I visit – big Japanese companies, even – are working in golf shirts and normal slacks, sometimes jeans. May be a corona change
The chorei has now rebranded to daily stand up, now 110% more agile!
I talked to a Korean girl on our trip to Vietnam and asked her about tats in onsen in Korea and she said it’s ok . They don’t care. is this true?
Where Did All the Dark-Suited Japanese Businessmen Go?
[https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/24/business/japan-cool-biz.html](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/24/business/japan-cool-biz.html)
>In a nation where uniforms were once common even in desk jobs, many people are unsure what constitutes appropriate attire in the Cool Biz era, he said. It’s a problem that can have serious implications: In 2019, business-suited South Korean trade officials accused their short-sleeved Japanese counterparts of disrespect.
It seems that the Japanese are too casual and the Koreans are angry.
Just from what I’ve heard
– job for life is getting more and more rare.
– more women working but many in temp positions
– more flexible working hours
– people actually starting to use vacation time in some cases
– the drinking culture at work has taken a bit of dip, it is referred to as.alcohol harassment if you are forced to go drinking.
– you hear and read about other kinds of harassment in work situations quite a lot in the news.
– graduates won’t think twice about changing companies.
I couldn’t possibly speak to Japanese work culture overall, but over the last recent years I have seen my own employer get more reasonable about things like unpaid overtime, workplace abuse, power harassment, and respect for individuality… while also not coming remotely close to getting where they need to be on these issues. I have it on good authority that in some industries, there are employers that are doing far better than mine is. But then also whenever I go into the Japanlife subreddit, it’s pretty easy to find stories about employers who are far worse.
Japan is not a monolith.
Much more flexibility with dress code. The only people I see dressed in suits are +40. I can go to the office in jeans. Even our clients are wearing sweaters.