If you could change one thing in the Japanese workplace, what would it be?

from the 5/01 paper Ibaraki Report

Katuya Ebine

32 years old; Ōmiya-machi (as of time of printing)

Just one thing? Well then, why do we have to wear suits to work everyday? I'm not saying it's easier for women, but they are allowed a more diverse wardrobe selection. I understand that professional attire is imperative for important meetings and events, but if you know you're going to hang around in the office all day doing administrative stuff, wouldn't casual attire suffice? And how about implementing flextime? Say you work 80 hours one week and you can take off the following week, instead of working 80 hours every week!

Mutsuyo Midorikawa

35 years old; Hitachi-shi

I can't really comment on all workplaces per se, but I do know a thing or two about the Ibaraki Prefectural Office. I don't have any radical changes to suggest because I doubt that any real drastic suggestions are realistic. I would, however, like to mention that the use of Ibaraki-ben (茨城弁) in the office surprised me at first. There's an unmistakable charm to Ibaraki-ben, but it might be considered inappropriate, at least professionally. I speak Ibaraki-ben myself, but I try to avoid it at the office.

Sachiko Ōno

27 years old; Mito-shi

I'm sure if you really wanted to, you could find many things that would benefit from changes. My one request is for everyone to show their appreciation for others and not to just assume that the work completed is normal. In Japan, giving credit where credit is due seldom happens because people are taught to abide by the stern 3 golden rules of "report, contact and consult." Chatting may be frowned upon, but not frowned on enough to forget to complement your colleagues on a job well done. A simple "thanks" goes a long way. It would motivate me!

Mataseru Iimura

29 years old; Ushiku-shi

I'll be frank. Generally speaking, I think the Japanese are too obstinate and punctual. I think they (myself included) need to loosen up a little. Just because you're in an uptight workplace, doesn't mean that it'll be a productive workplace. I also think that we could benefit from a day off or two. We civil servants get 20 days of paid holidays in addition to the 15 national holidays and weekends, but rarely do we get the time to take any extended holidays. Other than on honeymoons, I don't think I've ever heard of a Prefectural employee taking off more than 10 consecutive days. They give you 20 paid days off, but you're not supposed to take them. Does that make sense? Not for me!

Hirobumi Yashiro

36 years old; Naka-machi (as of time of printing)

Surely there are people out there who wonder, "Why am I still working at this time of the day? I want to go home!" I believe that if we shortened the workday or limited the overtime hours, we'de be able to make more time for leisure. Don't you think it's more humane to have a good balance of both work and leisure? Sometimes, even if we don't have any work to do, we're forced to stay because our bosses are still working. I say we work more productively and spend more quality time away from work!

Tatsuhiko Watanabe

29 years old; Ami-machi (as of time of printing)

I recently spent a year in England and got to compare workplaces first hand. The first thing I noticed was how seldom the Japanese make presentations. I think if we implement professional presentations as a regular practice, as they do in Western countries, it would help us communicate better. To do this, we'd have to take seminars on giving presentations. I think it should be introduced in the Japanese education curriculum somewhere, just like some countries offer courses in giving PowerPoint presentations at the high school level.