Hello Reddit community,
I’m currently facing several difficult situations at my workplace in Japan and I’m seeking advice on how to handle them:
1. Lack of Empathy for Personal Crises: Recently, I was involved in a road accident. Instead of support, my boss has been dismissive, labeling my medical issues as mere “excuses”, stereotyping me and pressuring me to meet work deadlines regardless.
2. Language Barrier in the Workplace: Despite being assured that my job would primarily involve English in interviews, I find myself constantly dealing with tasks in Japanese, a language I’m not fluent in.
3. No Training or Support: My requests for training to better handle my responsibilities have been consistently ignored, leaving me to struggle on my own.
4. Inadequate Equipment: I’ve been provided with what I consider the worst laptop (a Panasonic model) for my work. Despite my requests for a replacement that functions properly, my boss hasn’t addressed this issue.
5. Unwelcoming Work Environment: There’s a noticeable lack of camaraderie or interaction among colleagues. My first day and subsequent experiences have been far from welcoming.
6. Human Resources: They don’t seem to be prompt to resolve such situations.
I’m really at a loss on how to navigate these issues. Any advice, especially from those who have worked in similar situations in Japan or abroad, would be greatly appreciated!
14 comments
I’ll bite a little. Human Resources here is more like a concierge service for the employees. They don’t expect people to ask them for help outside of very regular, set-piece interactions. Anything else gets lost at best or causes chaos at worst. Likely all your communications with HR are being discussed by various managers in your team trying to work out what it is you are trying to achieve.
Re “Welcoming” it’s not about filling the air with banter here, it’s about leaving people alone to do their work, because like you they have it dumped on them and have to just work it out themselves. In other words, you are getting the same treatment as everyone else.
As for training well what can I say except that you’re a long way from Starbucks now kid. *
(* I do appreciate that there’s a Starbucks on every street corner)
Hopefully you can get some constructive advice, but the through line in a lot of those is very “me” centered. Some of what you might be encountering is the gap between you being your own main character in the workplace not thinking of you as one.
It might be useful to think about some of those situations from the perspective of the people on the other side. That’s not to say theirs is always or only the right answer, but it might help you get a broader take on what’s going on and how to navigate.
start looking for a different job
OP how long have you been working at this company?If it hasn’t been more than a couple months, I say just keep an open mind for a little longer.
If your office will do any sort of drinking parties or dinners (maybe in summer or the end of the year), those can be great ways to break the ice and get to know your coworkers / help bond a little. Or maybe they don’t talk a lot during work hours but you could strike up some brief conversations while at the coffee maker or whatever
As far as dealing with a lack of training and outdated equipment, I’m afraid that’s a common experience in Japan, across many industries. They might not be able to upgrade your laptop now but if you have had conversations with your boss, perhaps they will try to make something happen from the next fiscal year, when the budget resets. But worst case scenario is you might just be stuck with a crappy laptop
And as far as the language barrier goes, that too will get better with time. Even though it can be tiring and frustrating sometimes, I bet you’re getting wonderful exposure that will really help level up your Japanese ability
And if all else fails and you find that this place isn’t a good fit for you, you can always be looking for somewhere else. Hang in there!
Why is the Panasonic let’s note the worst laptop? Many Japanese businesses consider it a good one, especially since it can take a beating and last for awhile. It’s decent enough as a windows laptop.
Just curious
This seems like a pretty vanilla experience to me. Depends where you come from originally but you might want to adapt.
As others pointed out, it might not be the perfect place for you and thus looking for a new job might be the way to go.
If you want to continue to work there however you will need to adapt, there is a lot of uphill fight when starting in a Japanese company you can multiply it by another level with being a foreigner.
Only based on the list you provided, both sides (yours and your employer) seems valid, you are not entitled to anything in Japan, even weekends.
I would just change my workplace. You will just endup hating it more the longer your stay. Of course, secure a job first before leaving. Once you have your mind set at leaving, it becomes easier to take their BS
Time to start looking for a new job.
You are not changing the work environment that drastically
> human resources
That’s quite universal
Move
Black company.
Japan is not a nation where “fake it until you make it” works. If you are hired to do a job, you are expected to approach that work like a professional with years of experience.
It’s harsh but here are your answers:
1. Without documentation from a doctor saying you can’t work, no employer is going to care what happened to you outside work. Not in Japan. Not anywhere.
2. sounds like you oversold yourself
3. see #2
4. completely normal everywhere not just Japan
5. It’s work, nobody wants to be there. Grow up.
6. Their job isn’t to appease you.
Sounds like you are the issue….
>Lack of Empathy for Personal Crises: Recently, I was involved in a road accident. Instead of support, my boss has been dismissive, labeling my medical issues as mere “excuses”, stereotyping me and pressuring me to meet work deadlines regardless.
Support? Did you die? Did someone else die? I mean I literally got put in the ICU in an accident earlier this year and my boss brought me my computer the Monday after I got out of the hospital. And you know what? I was damned glad he did because I was bored as fuck sitting around broken at least working I had something to do other than sit there and hurt. Now learning to type with 1 hand on an arm that didn’t work was a challenge but hey – I used to walk to school barefoot in the snow uphill both ways on 2 broken legs, I’m tough like that, I’m just glad I didn’t have to learn to use a chopstick in my teeth to type.
But what the hell happened to you that traumatized you so badly you needed empathy in a personal crises from a road accident?
> Language Barrier in the Workplace: Despite being assured that my job would primarily involve English in interviews, I find myself constantly dealing with tasks in Japanese, a language I’m not fluent in.
Primarily does not mean exclusively. Learn, adapt, overcome. Or, well, there’s always Reddit.
> No Training or Support: My requests for training to better handle my responsibilities have been consistently ignored, leaving me to struggle on my own.
Is this your first job or are you supposed to be competent at what you’re doing?
> Inadequate Equipment: I’ve been provided with what I consider the worst laptop (a Panasonic model) for my work. Despite my requests for a replacement that functions properly, my boss hasn’t addressed this issue.
How would you know the equipment is inadequate for the job if you don’t know how to do the job? You’re confusing me.
> Unwelcoming Work Environment: There’s a noticeable lack of camaraderie or interaction among colleagues. My first day and subsequent experiences have been far from welcoming.
Well, I mean did your first day start with “oh my god I was in a traffic accident on the way into work and I’m traumatized, I’ll be in next week” followed by “what are these moon runes? why don’t you people speak the international language of love English?” then “hey how do I do my job” and “how am i supposed to do my job with this shitty computer that’s probably nicer than the ones everyone else have?”
Because I’d have to say if you came across like that it’s not terribly surprising you have a lack of commraderie and interaction with your collegues who basically want to get their jobs done and go home and it’s definitely not their jobs to baby sit you or make you feel better about yourself.
> Human Resources: They don’t seem to be prompt to resolve such situations.
Perhaps they’re hoping the situation will resolve itself? (with your departure)?
I’m sorry you’re feeling this way, but it sounds a lot like this is your first job, and you may need to adjust your expectations of working life in general.
1. Go to the hospital. Get a doctor’s letter. Give the letter to your boss and HR. It will specify if you need time off, have special requirements, etc. Without documentation your boss is going to regard you as trying to make excuses. This is generally true of everywhere, but especially true of Japan where documentation is required for nearly everything.
Even with documentation the company is paying you for your time and services and you’ll get pressure to hurry up and get well. Your boss has his boss or customers demanding results. This is the reality of working in the world of business. It is highly transactional and people expect to get value for money. You’re selling your services and expected to deliver. I’m sorry, it sucks, but that’s the way the world works, both here in Japan and everywhere else.
2. There are work-arounds for this one. Request instructions in written form and then run them through an online translator. They’re not perfect, but the Japanophiles tend to dramatically overstate how bad they are. Of course it really helps if you can read enough Japanese to get a general sense of the meaning and so can detect when the online translator has completely got the wrong end of the stick (as they sometimes do because they have no context).
For most situations asking for an email summarising the key points and what they want you to do is not only good in Japan, but is a good idea anywhere in the world even in countries where you speak the language. If they won’t send you the email then send them an email summarising **your understanding** of what you’re being asked to do. People can rarely resist the urge to correct someone on the internet.
3. No training or support? Google it. I’m a highly skilled professional and I know my stuff, have tons of experience, and I still do this before starting any major task because I might be forgetting some basic step or something I need before I get started. Obviously it’s easier to get the right keywords once you know what you’re doing, but you have a world of information at your fingertips. Don’t expect people to spoon-feed you stuff at work. Your colleagues have their own work to do and don’t have time. Sure, in theory your job should give you training. In practice (in Japan and internationally) you’re expected to figure stuff out on your own.
4. There’s nothing wrong with Panasonic as a brand. Seriously, this one just struck me as odd. Now if you were complaining about the CPU, memory, hard drive space, or lack of software then I might think that you had a clue, but complaining about brand just strikes me as someone who doesn’t know what they’re on about.
5. Your colleagues are not your friends. They’re not your buddies. They’re not there to play with you or be nice. Honestly be thankful if they’re not being actively obstructive. This is also an international thing and makes me think that this is your first job. Wait until you’ve worked in a truly toxic environment where your colleagues spend all day actively trying to make your life miserable. You’ll long to go back to the days when they simply ignored you. Now you might make friends at work, but that’s something you’ll need to work on. I would note that in many European countries people would actually enjoy the type of environment you’re describing. You go to work, you do your work, nobody distracts you with small talk, gossip, or other nonsense. Perfection!
6. Yeah, if I was in HR and you came to me with this sort of stuff I’d be biting my tongue hard. Your expectations are totally off base.
And this really is the bottom line here. You need to adjust your expectations. I’m sorry you feel like this, but honestly you’re coming across like someone who has no idea how the real world works and who has had stuff handed to them on a silver platter for far too long. You need to realise that everyone else in the office has their own stuff to do, and you need to take responsibility for your tasks and just get them done without trying to make them anyone else’s problem.
I know this is probably a rude wake-up call, but this isn’t a Japan thing, it isn’t that this company is toxic or “black”, it’s literally how most companies work around the world. Everyone in the office has been hired to do a specific job. They don’t have the time to do your job for you – that’s what you were hired to do. The only really legitimate issue you seem to have raised here is the issue of communication, which is a shared responsibility, and there’s plenty of ways to handle that. You need to be more proactive in taking ownership of your problems and resolving them yourselves.
Again, I’m sorry to be so direct. I’m not trying to be a jerk here, but this really is the answer. The sooner you figure this out the better you’ll do in the world of work.
And yes, there are companies out there where the boss will hold you hand, and your colleagues will help you, but you can’t assume that as a standard. Walk into every job assuming that you’re responsibile for your bit and maybe you’ll be pleasantly surprised when someone else helps you. But that’s a bonus, not an entitlement.