Not being scolded is praise enough

I have been asked to share some of my thoughts on working in Japan, and I will gladly do so. Please be aware that these are only my personal thoughts and experiences. I still have a lot to learn and of course my background as a European woman (and a foreigner in Japan) both influences and limits my understanding. Writing down these ideas and concepts helps me to engage with my experiences intellectually. Thank you for reading!

My first conscious experience with the Japanese feedback culture happened in one of my first weeks in my new job in Tokyo. I had been instructed by my manager to record my activities as well as my learning progress and discuss them with her. Still nervous and eager to do everything right, I set to work.

After some time I was satisfied with the document that showed an overview of my work. I had listed every step, every minute detail. Carefully I had summarized every new learning experience or concept I had been introduced to in the past weeks. The tables I included were of course color-coordinated and organized by importance of the tasks. Our company logo proudly adorned one of the corners of the document, and where I could, I had added a little Japanese.

I had put a lot of effort into this document. After all, it was one of the first tasks that my manager had given me and which she would now evaluate. Once I was happy with my work, I went through the document step by step in a meeting with my manager. When I had finished my explanation, I looked up and swallowed nervously. What would she say about my first efforts? Ugh, I definitely should have chosen the other color scheme!

While we sat together in silence, my manager read the document again. Then she looked up. And said, "You can go back to work."

I was a bit stunned. While making my way back to my desk, I tried to comprehend what had just happened. I had tried so hard, and she couldn't even give me a "well done"? Or was my document so bad that she didn't want to say anything at all? Maybe she did not want to be too harsh because I was still new to the company?

While my thoughts were still spinning in my head like a merry-go-round, my Senpai (a colleague who has been with the company for a longer time and acts as a kind of buddy/mentor) turned to me and asked me how the conversation had gone.

A bit disappointed I told him about the - well - underwhelming reaction and the lack of any feedback. In reply he gave me only a laugh. "Then everything's fine," he said, and began to explain a little more about the Japanese feedback culture - the start of an on-going cultural learning process for me.

Let us take a closer look at the Japanese style of giving or rather not giving feedback. Traditionally, the Japanese language had no word for feedback because it just wasn’t something that anybody did. This is why the English term has been adapted as フィードバック (fīdobakku).

In an insightful BBC article, Sharon Schweitzer, CEO of Protocol and Etiquette Worldwide gives a succinct description of how feedback is given in Japan:

"If you don’t hear from your Japanese manager, you’re doing well. If your manager asks for an update on your project, that means you’re not doing well.”

But why is the Japanese feedback culture so different? Pernille Rudin, well-known international consultant with great experience in Japan, sees the reason for this particularity in the nature of Japanese HR appraisal systems which are much more quantitative than European systems. The manager gives numerical scores not just for performance and achievement of objectives, but also of behaviours, mindsets and competences. In Europe, usually just qualitative assessments of the latter, such as “meets expectations” or “exceeds expectations” or “below expectations” are given.

In addition, Rudin points out the impact of the Japanese education system, which focuses on acquiring factual knowledge and knowing how to do something, rather than critical thinking and questioning the reasons why to do something. The Japanese education system can be characterized by examinations, often in the form of multiple choice tests, which assume there are clear right and wrong answers.

This approach is then brought into the world of work. Of course there is no middle ground - either the document is right or wrong. Here the "Ho-Ren-Sou" process also plays a big role, as it reduces the need for feedback. In this process, discussed in my last article, information and work updates are constantly shared, edited and adapted. The manager passes on his expectations in this process and these are then promptly implemented. Therefore the manager is always up to date and knows what the final result will look like - thus, no need for feedback at the end of the project.

The Japanese way of dealing with praise and feedback reminds me a lot of the old German adage of ‘nicht geschimpft ist gelobt genug‘ (roughly translates into: ‘not being scolded is adequate praise`). Yet, this sentiment, common in both German and Japanese work environments, creates a working culture that can be incredibly frustrating. For global employees working in Japanese organizations, the lack of feedback may even be demotivating.

And indeed, recognizing employees and the great work they do has been found to be a very effective method for improving employee motivation, engagement, productivity and job satisfaction. Several studies, such as Gallup`s 2017 State of the American Workplace Study, have shown that the simple act of saying praise to your employees can improve the company’s bottom line by keeping the best employees engaged and willing to stay with the company.

It seems that these findings are slowly being taken on board in Japan as well. Some global companies and individual managers are already trying to change the way feedback is given and seek to normalize praise in the workplace. Employee recognition, be it in form of an award (Rakuten for Team of the Month) or on a digital platform or intranet, is becoming more and more relevant and visible. Some managers are also trying to encourage their employees to actively recognize individual strengths and compliment each other for a job well done.

It will be fascinating to see how the Japanese feedback culture will change with these new influxes. While we wait for these changes to materialize, I would like to highlight some advice from the JCO (Japan Consulting Office) for global employees who would like some feedback in the meantime:

"Ask directly for feedback. The best approach is to explain that such feedback is important and will help improve the quality of job performance.

Ask your Japanese boss to explain clearly what management/the Japanese HQ is expecting. This is most effective if framed by saying it will help you to have a clearer understanding of the expectations.

Another alternative is to ask for feedback on a one-to-one basis.

A final tip is to remember that requests for feedback will be much more successful if approached in a humble manner. Usually, asking for feedback makes a great impression. The Japanese will think that the asker is serious about his/her job and willing to learn."

I hope you enjoyed this article. Thank you for reading!

References:

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20160822-why-you-dont-give-praise-in-japan

https://japanintercultural.com/free-resources/articles/giving-feedback-across-cultures-is-not-just-a-language-issue-2/

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2019/05/26/how-tos/getting-negative-feedback-boss-isnt-bad/#.Xw6jbSDgry0

https://medium.com/hr-blog-resources/these-5-statistics-reveal-the-real-truth-about-employee-recognition-7cd3ae3194fd

https://www.happify.com/hd/learn-to-give-genuine-compliments/

https://www.japanconsultingoffice.com/communication/feedback-japanese-boss/

https://pizf.de/2019/02/13/nicht-geschimpft-ist-genug-gelobt-anerkennung-und-lob/