Office Observations
Having spent 2 weeks in the office, I think it's time to share some observations.
The office I work in is 1 large, open space. There are 7 rows of desks. Each row consists of 12 desks face to face, so you better hope you have someone decent to stare at all day! There are no cubes or walls between desks, so with 84 desks in the room, it can get a little noisy at times, especially if someone is a loud talker. In this type of setup, everyone knows when everyone arrives, leaves, sleeps at their desk, how many trips were made to the bathroom, who got a hair cut, etc.
I happen to be sitting in the international section with Japanese coworkers all around me. To the left, right and directly in front of me are women. The men are spread out in the other desks. I'm the token foreigner in this office. My boss, who is American, is in an office about 1 1/2 hours away by bullet train. He comes up here pretty much every week for meetings. His boss sits 2 desks away. Most of my group is in their early 30's or 50's, so I'm OK being in the middle.
Most of the office is male. It seems that there are 1 or 2 females in each row of 12 desks. Most of the females are office assistants. Here in Japan they are referred to at OL's, or Office Ladies. The men are referred to as salarymen. There is a real sense of doing what everyone else does. Official business hours in Tokyo city are 9 am to 5:30 pm. Most people creep in just before 9 am. Most OL's leave shortly after 5:30. More career minded women stay longer. Most of the guys stay after 5:30 pm, especially those in management. This is for 2 reasons, 1 is to show their hard work and loyalty to the company, and the other is because some don't want to go home to the wife and kids. Many marriages in this society were arranged or entered into out of convenience, so in those cases, there's no rush to head home.
In most large Japanese companies, the OL's have a uniform they wear at work. They normally travel to/from work in their own clothes, like jeans, and then change when they arrive at work and again just before they go home. The outfit consists of a cotton skirt, matching vest, and some type of white blouse. Since everyone looks the same, it's hard to tell rank from looking at someone.
In offices located at factory sites, the men there wear a company uniform as well. It consists of matching pants/shirt. Again, in that type of setting, it is very difficult to determine someone's rank. In my office, since we're in the city far from any factories, everyone wears a shirt and tie. Many wear a suit. Again, it is difficult to determine rank by looking at someone, especially since general managers, group managers and regular salarymen all sit together in an open office.
Lunch time is from 12:15 to 1 pm. Between 12:15 and 12:17 someone stands up and heads for the door. From there, the place clears out like a fire drill. For those that don't want to go out for lunch, there is a bento service available via the company's intranet. It costs ￥400, which is about $3.70. It's a really good deal. The meal is good sized compared to other Japanese lunches, and the food is balanced and palatable. In each meal there normally is some fish, meat, veges, pickles, and a serving of rice along with some miso soup. When you sign up in the morning for the bento lunch, the cost is deducted from your monthly paycheck, so that is also very convenient. And with the type of food served, you definitely won't be eating a bunch of fat calories.
Since Japanese people eat much smaller servings than most Americans eat, they often have little snacks in the morning and in the afternoon. This provides for a quick energy boost, a quick break from work, and allows the group to share snacks with each other. It's fun to see what people bring in. The snack industry here is very huge and there seems to be an endless supply of different ideas and unlimited places to pick up these snacks. People often ask each other where they got the snack. Snacks are sold in all grocery stores, convenience stores, throughout every train station, at mom and pop stores in the neighborhoods, sometimes in large office buildings, and in almost every place that people frequent.
On most of the desks is a cordless phone. The company went wireless a few years ago. Each section has a corded phone for incoming calls so they can be transferred to someone's wireless phone. The wireless phones work anywhere in the building and a short distance outside of the building. These phones are very convenient because when you wander around the building, you put the wireless phone in your pocket and then you don't have to deal with all of the voice mails, searching for people, etc. A lot less time is spent locating people.
So far it has been an interesting experience. Since my group is at one end of the room and my desk faces the room, I am enjoying observing everyone in the room.
The office I work in is 1 large, open space. There are 7 rows of desks. Each row consists of 12 desks face to face, so you better hope you have someone decent to stare at all day! There are no cubes or walls between desks, so with 84 desks in the room, it can get a little noisy at times, especially if someone is a loud talker. In this type of setup, everyone knows when everyone arrives, leaves, sleeps at their desk, how many trips were made to the bathroom, who got a hair cut, etc.
I happen to be sitting in the international section with Japanese coworkers all around me. To the left, right and directly in front of me are women. The men are spread out in the other desks. I'm the token foreigner in this office. My boss, who is American, is in an office about 1 1/2 hours away by bullet train. He comes up here pretty much every week for meetings. His boss sits 2 desks away. Most of my group is in their early 30's or 50's, so I'm OK being in the middle.
Most of the office is male. It seems that there are 1 or 2 females in each row of 12 desks. Most of the females are office assistants. Here in Japan they are referred to at OL's, or Office Ladies. The men are referred to as salarymen. There is a real sense of doing what everyone else does. Official business hours in Tokyo city are 9 am to 5:30 pm. Most people creep in just before 9 am. Most OL's leave shortly after 5:30. More career minded women stay longer. Most of the guys stay after 5:30 pm, especially those in management. This is for 2 reasons, 1 is to show their hard work and loyalty to the company, and the other is because some don't want to go home to the wife and kids. Many marriages in this society were arranged or entered into out of convenience, so in those cases, there's no rush to head home.
In most large Japanese companies, the OL's have a uniform they wear at work. They normally travel to/from work in their own clothes, like jeans, and then change when they arrive at work and again just before they go home. The outfit consists of a cotton skirt, matching vest, and some type of white blouse. Since everyone looks the same, it's hard to tell rank from looking at someone.
In offices located at factory sites, the men there wear a company uniform as well. It consists of matching pants/shirt. Again, in that type of setting, it is very difficult to determine someone's rank. In my office, since we're in the city far from any factories, everyone wears a shirt and tie. Many wear a suit. Again, it is difficult to determine rank by looking at someone, especially since general managers, group managers and regular salarymen all sit together in an open office.
Lunch time is from 12:15 to 1 pm. Between 12:15 and 12:17 someone stands up and heads for the door. From there, the place clears out like a fire drill. For those that don't want to go out for lunch, there is a bento service available via the company's intranet. It costs ￥400, which is about $3.70. It's a really good deal. The meal is good sized compared to other Japanese lunches, and the food is balanced and palatable. In each meal there normally is some fish, meat, veges, pickles, and a serving of rice along with some miso soup. When you sign up in the morning for the bento lunch, the cost is deducted from your monthly paycheck, so that is also very convenient. And with the type of food served, you definitely won't be eating a bunch of fat calories.
Since Japanese people eat much smaller servings than most Americans eat, they often have little snacks in the morning and in the afternoon. This provides for a quick energy boost, a quick break from work, and allows the group to share snacks with each other. It's fun to see what people bring in. The snack industry here is very huge and there seems to be an endless supply of different ideas and unlimited places to pick up these snacks. People often ask each other where they got the snack. Snacks are sold in all grocery stores, convenience stores, throughout every train station, at mom and pop stores in the neighborhoods, sometimes in large office buildings, and in almost every place that people frequent.
On most of the desks is a cordless phone. The company went wireless a few years ago. Each section has a corded phone for incoming calls so they can be transferred to someone's wireless phone. The wireless phones work anywhere in the building and a short distance outside of the building. These phones are very convenient because when you wander around the building, you put the wireless phone in your pocket and then you don't have to deal with all of the voice mails, searching for people, etc. A lot less time is spent locating people.
So far it has been an interesting experience. Since my group is at one end of the room and my desk faces the room, I am enjoying observing everyone in the room.
posted by Terry & Mio @ 12:38 PM
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