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Why you don’t give

praise in Japan
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In Japanese workplaces, positive feedback is rarely

given – accolades can cause you to lose face, writes
Eric Barton.

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By Eric Barton
23 August 2016

“You shut up!” the man at the head of the table yelled.
Everyone stopped and stared at Keiko Sakurai, who
 immediately realised what she had done wrong.

This was years ago, when Sakurai was a junior

accountant at a large firm in Japan. The man was her
client, an executive from a power company who was in
his 40s. And by traditional Japanese protocols —
respecting your elders, showing deference to the more
senior worker — she knew he could justify raising his
voice at her.

The man had been criticising

" Sakurai’s accounting methods over
Even though I drinks after work, at a table of their
was right, I still colleagues. Sakurai defended herself,

did not have the explaining that her practices were

sound. The man kept complaining. So
position to
Sakurai noted that her methods
contradict him – followed the contract.
 Keiko Sakurai
“That’s when he shouted at me,”
Sakurai recalled. “I broke the rules of
hierarchy, and I contradicted my elder. Even though I
was right, I still did not have the position to contradict
him.”
 In the traditional Japanese workplace hierarchy, positive feedback
can be rare (Credit: Getty Images)

It didn’t matter that Sakurai’s methods were sound or

that the man approved of the vast majority of Sakurai’s
work. In the traditional Japanese workplace hierarchy,
positive feedback is largely unheard of.

Business in Japan plays by its own

" distinct set of rules from Western
If you don’t hear countries and even other Asian
from your nations. For managers going to work

Japanese in Japan for the first time, the correct

manner of providing feedback can
manager, you’re
cause consternation. So, forget what
doing well you’ve learned about how to review
employees.

Inventing feedback

Traditionally, the Japanese language had no word for

feedback because it just wasn’t something that
anybody did, says Sharon Schweitzer, CEO of Protocol
and Etiquette Worldwide, and an expert on how
managers can assimilate in foreign countries. So they
had to make up a word, fīdobakku.

Yet, it’s still simply not something that’s done. “If you
don’t hear from your Japanese manager, you’re doing
well,” Schweitzer says. “If your manager asks for an
update on your project, that means you’re not doing
well.”
 Managers in Japan aren’t likely to ask
for an update because employees are
" expected to constantly provide them.
It’s a process It’s a process called hou-ren-sou and
called hou-ren- it involves subordinates sending their

sou and it boss emails, all day long, about when

they’re going to lunch, the percentage
involves
of the project they’ve finished, when
subordinates they’re taking a coffee break,
sending their boss everything.
emails, all day
long For foreign managers, the temptation
may be to reply with accolades,
congratulating them on finishing 32%
of the project. But don’t, Schweitzer cautions. “If you
reply and tell them good job, you will lose face and they
will lose face. Just say thank you or don’t reply at all.”

Long-term thinking

Thinking like a foreign manager, you might be

wondering if the answer is annual reviews. But one-on-
one sit-downs with the boss to discuss performance
are just not done, says Taro Fukuyama, a native of
Japan and CEO of AnyPerk, a start-up offering services
to improve employee happiness at work.
 Often, corporate bonding occurs during late-night drinking
sessions with colleagues (Credit: Alamy)

Calling an employee into your office

for that kind of meeting is likely to
" elicit panic. Instead, Fukuyama says,
The best way to the best way to offer an employee
o�er an feedback is simple: take them out

employee drinking.

feedback is
In fact, Japan has a tradition called
simple: take them nomikai, where colleagues and their
out drinking bosses drink, often a lot, and often
until late night. Still, any feedback
over beers and sake is likely to
concentrate only on what went wrong.

The reason for this, Fukuyama says, is that employees

in Japan typically don’t move between companies.
Since they’re spending their careers in one place, the
goal is to get promoted. And the best chance at
promotion comes from keeping your head down and
avoiding errors.

“The best way to not make mistakes

" is to not take risks, and so most
Most employees employees will just do what their boss
will just do what says and that’s it,” Fukuyama says.

their boss says “You might question if this is the right

way, but having a unified rule will help
someone adjust to the culture.”
and that’s it - No singling out
Taro Fukuyama
Foreign managers who don’t adjust
simply won’t fit in. Jim Whittle found
that out the hard way.

Back when Whittle was general manager overseeing

Japan for McVities Digestive Biscuits, he had an
employee who came up with a novel idea. She
suggested handing out samples in subway stations,
exposing the product to thousands of potential
customers.

For foreign managers, responding to progress with accolades can

be tempting but can cause bosses and workers to lose face, says
Schweitzer (Credit: Getty Images)

The company saw a spike in sales afterward, so Whittle

decided to recognise his employee for her brilliant idea.
In front of her team, Whittle noted that she had
developed a successful, unique idea that went beyond
the norm, which usually involved spending advertising
money on simply more coupons and billboards.
 It didn’t go well. Even though the promotion worked,
and even though the employee deserved the positive
attention, singling her out made her seem like a
maverick who can’t be trusted by her co-workers.
Instead of elevating her, Whittle learned he had just
made her less trusted.

“There are rules you need to learn to

" be effective in Japan, and if you don’t
You can’t just learn them, you will simply not get the
come in and respect of your team,” Whittle says.

expect to be Now, Whittle works in the Tokyo office

of RSR Partners, an executive search
accepted based
firm. He often works with foreign
on your past managers, prepping them for working
successes. It’s all in Japan. “Unlike elsewhere, you can’t
about building just come in and expect to be
trust - Jim accepted based on your past
Whittle successes,” Whittle says. “It’s all
about building trust, and it’s all about
building relationships.”

‘Good enough’

Sakurai now works for Aperian Global as a senior

consultant, splitting time between San Francisco and
Tokyo. She helps executives get ready for life in Japan,
and she also teaches Japanese managers the customs
of business from other countries.
Not adjusting to Japanese culture will ensure you don’t fit in
(Credit: Getty Images)

During her training sessions in Japan, Sakurai will ask

managers to complete a homework assignment: write
down 10 comments of positive feedback about a
subordinate.

“People really struggle with that one,” Sakurai says.

“Maybe they come back with five or six. And then most
of them are something like ‘not bad’ or ‘good enough.’
They just can’t get in the mindset of positive feedback.”

That said, younger workers, especially in Japan, may

appreciate a kind word from the boss when things go
right, Sakurai says. And, very slowly, things are
beginning to change in Japan, with a few companies
adopting collaborative and communicative
management styles. Foreign managers working there
for the first time may test the waters of positive
fīdobakku.

“If you go around and keep telling your employees

‘terrific job,’ they’re going to wonder what’s wrong.
Because, they’ll think, what’s terrific about doing your
job? That’s what you’re supposed to do,” Sakurai says.
 Not adjusting to Japanese culture will ensure you don’t fit in
(Credit: Getty Images)

Instead, it’s about picking up on nonverbal clues from

employees on whether your positive feedback is well
accepted, Sakurai says.

And so, just like anywhere, an occasional “good job”

might just be the motivation your employees need.

To comment on this story or anything else you have

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