Different work culture:Is this just my mind set?? 2

[tumkursudhi]

I am a bilingual engineer working in a Japanese company
here at Osaka,I came to this country two years back.

As usual the days work starts here at 9 in the morning.
I have so far not seen a handful of people who would
start their work at 9. The time is generally spent in
morning meetings and cleaning up the paper and documnets.
Then the early lunch at 12 pops up. After lunch generally
some time is spent before starting the job. At last the
days job starts at around 2 or 3 depending on the person.
They put in intense efforts, and work. Here getting
paid for the Zangyo (Overtime) is an added advantage.
The more you drag the work, the more you get paid.

On the other hand I prefer to start the work at exact 9
and close the days work at around 6 and return back home
and spend time with my family. These people here generally
return back home at around 10 in the night. And they
expect me to stay till then irrespective of whether I
have work or not. There were times when I had got the
days work at 6 in the evening and asked to complete it
within that day. Is it not better to start the work at 9
and close the same at 6 and return back home and relax.
I feel really stressed. I am a morning person and would
like to do active work in the day time. My evaluation has
come down just because I step back to stay late night.
Where as others even though they spend time till late night
chatting or browsing net are considered to be putting
in efforts.

I also at the same time see that the relation between
the parents and the children are downfalling here.
I presume the children sees their parents face once in a
week if they are lucky! Why not schedule the time properly
and put in consolidated efforts in a decided time and spend
the rest with the family or attending to
personal life? Is life nothing but working??
Is this my mind set?

 

[manarth]

Trouble is, if you don't play ball, you may be seen as an outsider or a slacker (even though you're getting the work done).

It's a tough call - play the game and miss out on your family life, or carry on as you are but put your career at risk.

Sometimes these things happen at a company level (the fight to be last out of the door) and sometimes it's simply a country wide culture. It's normally near-impossible to change.

Is this a medium length contract, or a permanent move on your part? If it's permanent, at some point you may have to start deciding what's more important: securing your career future in Japan, or continuing to spend time with the family, and perhaps have to leave the country to get any further in your career.

I know what I'd decide, but in the end, you'll have to make your decision.

Good luck.

<marc> i wonder what will happen if i press this...[ul][li]please give feedback on what works / what doesn't[/li][li]need some help? how to get a better answer: faq581-3339[/li][/ul]

 

[CajunCenturion]

That's a good question, and I can certainly appreciate the condundrum. Sounds like you may be in a lose-lose situation, as manarthp has already identified, lose family or lose career.

To me, family takes precedence, so I think that I would try and work a transfer to another country where the social aspects of the business world are more sensitive to family life.

I don't know, but if that is the cultural norm for where you are, then changing companies may not solve the problem because the work habits at another company may be the same.

That's why you may have to change cultures to get closer to a win-win between family and career.

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[flapeyre]

I agree with the other posters. In the USA, as you know, overtime pay is generally not required for salaried (exempt) employees. I'm not sure if it's required in Japan or not. You'd think that the Japanese companies would recognize that they could save money plus increase productivity by sending everybody home for dinner, and then they wouldn't need to have those &quot;coffin hotels&quot; for exhausted salarymen to cstch a few winks before the next working day.


&quot;When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth with your eyes turned skyward, for here you have been, and there you will always long to return.&quot;

--Leonardo da Vinci

 

[pelajhia]

&quot;It's a tough call - play the game and miss out on your family life, or carry on as you are but put your career at risk.&quot;

-this is NOT a tough choice. Start looking for another job.
Better jobs do exist. Good luck!

 

[NiteLink]

I'm working in a Japanese compeny. Before the downturn, I could add in overtime because here, if you don't do OT, you are not working hard enough. If too much OT, you are not working hard enough. So the concept here is kinda contradicting.

Too little OT, you don't have a lot of work.
Too much OT, you are not working hard enough to complete your work within the normal hours.

Luckily for me, I get OT pay. I do know of other company not paying OT because they hire you to do the job within the working hours.

 

[guestgulkan]

Working patterns is certainly a cultural thing.

I have worked on projects in the past with a lot of countries worldwide.

The Japanese I always thought were hard working - and certainly a pain in the butt - but the upside was that I and and the other UK engineers liked working with them because
they tended to know what they wanted.

Germans - I thought had a bit of a superior attitude - good engineers but that superior attitude would get my back up
and their own customers back up.

Sorry Americans of the forum - but we always found USA companies slack/lazy. USA directors tend to fixate on the 'bottom line' as well.

Swedish - Good people and workers. A pleasure to work with.

About the OT issue - IMO if you need consistent OT in order to make a decent wage then you are probably underpaid.
If you need OT to get the work done, then it's a company human resoure problem - not enough workers.

 

[CajunCenturion]

guestgulkan - Other reasons for OT problems include unreasonable scheduling, scope creep, poor programming habits, incompetance within the development teampoor and working hard, but not working smart.

I've worked with people in several different countries (Bahrain, Argentina, Bahamas, Canada, Dominican Republic, Britain, South Africa) and over 40 different states in the USA (believe me when I say that there is as much difference between the cultures of Miami FL and San Franciso CA as there is between Buenes Aires AR and Manama BH), and I've found that all of the qualities mentioned by guestgulkan, both good and bad, everywhere. People are people.

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[xutopia]

I've worked with French, Indians, Dominicans, Americans and Canadians.

Here is the good and bad I got from all of them and the number from each nationality I worked with.

French (20) - they think more than most people. Usually very educated too and never workaholics scared of loosing their jobs (unlike most North Americans they don't have huge debts gettnig out of school, so finding a job is not as much a concern for them). Some of them are a bit slackers but that explains the fact that to them life is more important than work.
Indians (6) - diplomates at heart. All Indian people I worked with are friendly as can be and always weigh things out before saying something. The only problem I had with them was their thick accents but that is hardly a problem if you use ICQ intra-office!
Dominicans (1) - Silent working type that needs silence to work properly. Self-disciplined too. Not very fun.
Americans (15) and Canadians (30) - One of two types. Workaholics that too often get enthralled with work so much that their quality of life, health and family suffers. The other category is a bit more slackerish and just try to hop on a free ride, to them it is all about the looks. You have to look busy and important. Sometimes though (but more rare) you see some people that can balance things properly. They usually are a bit older and understand life a bit more.

Of course these are general impressions. I think we all have to learn from others and see what we can do better in our life. In North America we could use a little more of the Indian and French attitude. Be capable of telling co-workers when something's wrong and not hurting our health for work. I do think that the workaholics usually have a very unbalanced life and they should take on the French that work to live rather than live to work.

Gary

http://www.xutopia.com

Haran
==========================

 

[xjlkx]

Xutopia brings up a vitally important issue that has been drastically phased out of American culture. A job is just that -- a JOB. Jobs will come and go, whereas family, friends, and life in general should be a priority day in and day out.

No man on his deathbed wishes he spent more time at the office.

 

[CajunCenturion]

xjlkx - You should give credit to person who originally made that statement.

Good Luck
--------------
As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[xjlkx]

I apologize. The person who originally made that statement was massachusetts Politician Paul Tsongas.

 

[tumkursudhi]

Since the discussion has taken a general turn. Let me put forth my experience to those who would like to work here at Japan. Till now I have worked in 3 companies and with more then 100 people.
Here eventhough you complete your work well within time what matters to them is that you have to stay back till everybody leaves the Office.Even though quality is a criteria for these people but the teamwork over weighs the former. So I think that in order to survive here in
Japanese companies you need to put in more of the Busy Busy act even while you have met your schedule and have nothing to do.
Eventhough you complete the work well with in time and if you prefer to go home and relax with the family,your performance will be termed as low.
Its only my openion that these people Live to work rather than Work to Live!