Common workplace greetings in Japan include a western handshake, especially when dealing with foreign entities, or a bow. There are two type of bows in Japan, the standing bow (seiritsu) and the sitting bow (seiza) for more formal or traditional settings. From the Cultural Atlas “The depth and length of the bow often indicates the level of respect. For instance, in semi-formal situations, people tend to bow at about a 30-degree angle for one to two seconds. In more formal situations, people often bow at an approximately 45-degree angle for three to four seconds. Finally, in the most formal situations, people will bow at a 70-degree angle for about two seconds and hold the bow for longer.” Not only that, btu the type of bow you give can vary depending on the age, social status, and relationship you have with a person. According to the site, however, most are happy to stick with the western handshake if you are nervous about doing it properly and initiate that instead. The site also mentions to only produce a business card of good condition, in both hands, and a slight bow. If you receive a business card, lay in on the table in front of you. From there, the host should take the rest of the meeting, and all should be well as long as your practice humility. It is also good to know basic phrases like “Basic greetings include saying, “ohayo gozaimasu” (good morning) when you arrive at work and “osaki ni shitsurei shimasu” (excuse me, I’m leaving now) when you leave,” and ““osewa ni natte orimasu” (thank you for your continued support) when addressing clients and “otsukaresama desu” (thank you for your hard work) when addressing colleagues. “
Conversations can be hard to navigate in Japan, and it depends on the circumstance. For example, I’ve found that “Inquiring about a person’s family, praising the hospitality you’re receiving, and Japanese history are good conversation topics.” Outside of this, it is good to keep work talk and talk of time outside of work separately, as the two are hardly mixed. It would probably be best to let the host or higher-up run the conversation and to just follow along. Always refer to honorifics, never use first names, and remember your P’s and Q’s as often as necessary, which in Japan means all the time!
It is important in Japanese culture that you look the part of your job and that you look good. Your credibility and ability to preform is often tied to your look, so showing up crisp and professional is important. In the words of tsunagulocal: “people will make judgments about your credibility based on how you look. Most Japanese companies expect their workers to look smart and tidy rather than fashionable.” The fashion for work is very similar to that of what we see in our own business attire here in America. Suites for men, dress pants, skirts, and blouses for woman, etc.
Gift giving is also extremely important in Japan. In a business setting, it is considered rude to present a gift at the beginning, as it seems to rush proceedings. It is better to wait until the end. It is also a little funny, but important not to give gifts is a set of four or nine, as “The Japanese word for four, shi, also shares meaning with the Japanese word for ‘death,’ while ku, or nine, also means ‘suffering.’” These gifts are considered unlucky. I’ve also found that it’s actually polite to modestly refuse a gift twice before accepting it. It is a general rule of thumb there that “The emphasis is on the ritual itself rather than on the content of the gift.”
Communication challenges will always present themselves when working in foreign places. If you are working in Japan, the first barrier you might face is the language barrier. This can be even more difficult when knowing that there is a separate work language you use when interacting that is highly specific and you probably won’t know when first going in. Second barrier could be attributed to cultural differences, and many were touched on above. Bright side is that there seems to be an unwritten rule there, where, and especially in the case of Europeans, you get sort of a free pass for minor incursions, as long as you’re new and remain polite. Japanintercultural says that, “two of the largest differences are social situations within the company and communication between employee and supervisor.” And this can include things like when to speak up, if to speak up (which is not often done,) and what to speak up about. In Japan it’s expected for supervisors to monitor your work, so bringing things to their attention can run you into the awkward position of either offending their ability to take care of their business or undermining their authority. You can bring things up over a beer, and that might go either way, as the Japanese also see work conversations typically done at work, and recreational conversations done outside of it. Speaking of, it’s very common to go to parties outside of work to build relations, and if you are invited to karaoke, you are expected to sing no matter what! Third barrier comes in the form of ethnocentrism, which is viewing things in the lens of your own culture. We could combine this with cultural differences, but this bit has more to do with personal attitudes and ignorances as opposed to simple misunderstandings. It is important to go through every interaction with an open mind and know that you probably will not know everything about them, same as they won’t know everything about you.
If I were faced with new worker form a foreign country, I would try my best to make them comfortable. I think, above all, helping a new face navigate a work environment in your country starts with putting a little effort into understanding the one they came from, and manage expectations from there. There are some work environment procedures and tiny nuances that we can’t even begin to guess from a foreign country, as it has never been a problem here. There are also things that may come up, that we never realized were rules of our society, until someone does something to break them and we begin to feel uncomfortable by it. None-the-less, I think that a lot of this can be fixed with some pretty basic empathy and patience. We can learn things about their workplace environments either by researching it ahead of time, but it may be more accurate, and make it easier to get to know a person/make them more comfortable just ask them what their preferences were and work from there. I also think this would help work go a bit more smoothly if we both know what to expect, and make every indication that we are there to cooperate, not to watch them sink in an environment that no doubt is going to be new to them.
