When Engineer Barrack Balinda quit his well-paying job at an oil exploration company on the Eastern shore of Lake Albert, Uganda, he planned to get back at it in just under two years.
Barrack had won a scholarship for a postgraduate degree at the prestigious Nagoya University, a Japanese national research university located in Chikusa-ku, Nagoya.
Little did he know that upon completing his studies, he would end up working in Japan for eight years.
Stressful work environment
So good was his decade in Japan that when he came back to Africa, a Japanese wife and a young son in tow, Eng. Balinda had only great things to say about the East Asian Island.
Being black in Japan, Barrack had developed mechanisms of coping with racism, but the one thing he was happy to leave behind was the stressful work culture.
“Japanese work so hard, that one would argue that they do not live at all. Some literally work themselves to death while life passes them by”
Engineer Barrack Balinda
He observed that most employees stayed late at work just because it looked bad to leave at the appointed time.
It appeared that great employee performance was measured more by hours worked rather than output.
While lauding the fact that the Japanese are big on quality and attention to detail, he observed that sometimes inefficiency creeps in when a lot of time is spent on inconsequential parts of the task at hand.
Barrack also pointed out that the company he worked at was big on teamwork, a great attribute but one which at times stifled individuals’ creativity.
The other thing he didn’t approve of was the hierarchical nature of things that made life at work appear like that in the disciplinary forces.
Moving from a junior (“kohai”) position to a senior (“sempai”) position takes more than just skills and one can be bypassed on promotions simply because they are younger.
Positive impact
Away from the stuff he disliked, Engineer Balimba’s 10 years in Japan had a lasting positive impact on his work culture as well.
Japanese work culture emphasizes teamwork and collaboration.
Employees are encouraged to work together and support each other in achieving common goals.
A common Japanese saying is that “None of us is as smart as all of us”.
Having that sense of shared purpose not only increases productivity but also nurtures a sense of belonging.
Japanese love to be punctual.
In Africa, people have a relaxed attitude towards time and one can be minutes to an hour late to a meeting and still wonder why the rest came too early.
This attitude still irks Barrack to date.
Then there is the general need to continuously improve and learn.
Japanese workgroups constantly strive for better results and to learn new skills for executing tasks.
Japanese productivity techniques
One thing that Japanese culture stands out for is their productivity.
For centuries, Japanese societies have promoted productivity techniques that when well applied, can get anyone ahead in life.
Some of these techniques include:
- Ikigai
Discover your purpose in life.
Find something that makes you wake up excited every day.
Aligning your talents and passions with your profession will fuel you to make a better contribution to the world.
- Kaizen
Focus on small improvements each day.
Make progress little by little instead of trying to complete huge tasks in one go.
- Promodoro technique
Work for 25 minutes without distraction, take a 5-minute break, and then repeat.
This helps you get more done in less time.
- Hara Hachi Bu
Eat slowly and not to stuff yourself.
Doing this will make you feel satisfied when you are 80% full.
- Shoshin
Approach every task like a beginner, with the same curiosity as if you are doing it for the first time.
This way, you learn something new every time.
- Wabi-sabi
Embrace imperfections
Instead of stressing over every detail, focus on the bigger future.
Taking action now is better than waiting for the perfect time and circumstance.
- Kakeibo
Make a budget and track your expenses.
Cultivate mindful spending habits.
