Burning the Midnight Oil

One of the tough parts of working in Japan is that it is so very easy to rationalize things based on the surrounding work culture. To be honest, I am not even sure it is a Japan-specific issue, it seems like it is similar elsewhere too.

One gets lulled into a sense of complacency.

'At least I only do 1.5~2 hours a day of overtime, other people are in the office until midnight'. (No matter that it adds up to an extra full day of work per week in total hours)

'If I stay a bit longer each evening maybe I can get it done' (No matter that I am in fact holding two positions which should both be full time)

'Oh cool, only 1 extra hour today!' (No matter that my manager looks confused at my departure)

Comparatively speaking, I must admit my situation is much better than many of my friends. Matcha-kun has had weeks in which he came home past 11:00pm every night. 

I hear tales on the train, regaled with a certain inexplicable measure of pride and exhaustion, of working 3 days straight with only naps under a desk to keep going. It is almost like some people are proud of the amount of overtime they do, of the time taken away from their family, outside interests and required REM hours.

My job has many incredibly interesting parts, and I realize that I have a degree of responsibility and free rein that are unusual for someone my age (especially female and especially in Japan), but the culture of overtime just seems so destructive. There are certainly times when you have to cope with emergencies and will need to put in the extra time, but expecting this to go on for months (years!) is not conductive to employee health and well-being. It is a bit of modern machismo I despise and yet have to submit to.

How does one change this? Do we just have to wait for all the 'my-job-is-my-life' dudes to retire? 

Job hunting and interviews: what the guides don't tell you

Job hunting in Japan is known for being quite difficult for expats. At least 90% of companies are domestic, and so have little interest or reason to hire people who speak other languages. The remaining lot often require 'native Japanese' along with 'native English' (which is basically a way of saying they want Japanese employees who speak excellent English... a small and highly sought out minority).

If you are fortunate enough to get interviews, the weirdness is far from over. Japan is quite 'late' in many things, and famously the treatment of women in the workforce is one of these. Most of the weird questions I have been presented would never be asked of someone Japanese or male. By the way, some of these are against the law, so if you are asked them feel free to react with well-placed shock. (Disclaimer: many of these are, naturally, not exclusive to Japan)

So, here is the top 10 of weird, rude or illegal questions I have been asked:

10- Do you have children?
I checked with several male friends, both Japanese and non, and none of them were asked this. If you are, I recommend a good, long piercing stare, because this is illegal.

9- Are you married? 

See above. I additionally recommend using gender neutral language, to check how comfortable they are with non-binary relationships.

8- So, how do your parents feel about you being so far away?
This question is basically a different version of 'so, when are you going back to your country?'. While it is a legitimate question, bringing parents into it feels a bit patronizing. I realize that this is partially a cultural thing, but it should be clear from one look at my CV and personality that parental approval is not a big concern.

7- Why Japan?

I hate this question, because my truthful answer is usually not what people want to hear (aka I love the culture, the history, the traditions, the food...). While I do love the koto and old stuff, mostly I find that (on the whole) Japan is a good fit personality-wise. Also, hey! I speak fluent Japanese... far too practical reasons, it seems.

6- Well, we were kinda hoping to hire a native Japanese person... do you know anyone?

Fine, then put that information in the job description! What was particularly annoying is that this was for a qualitative research position... a field where, famously, knowing a culture but not being of a culture is considered a major asset.

5-Are you Catholic?

No, and how does this have anything to do with my skills, potential or ability to do the job? 

Also, not all Italians are Catholic, and not all Catholics are Italian. Repeat until it sinks in.

4- Describe what you would do if money was no object.

Write. Sleep until 10am everyday. Volunteer at animal shelters and food banks. Play the koto. Go out for long leisurely lunches. Get hour long massages from Oguri Shun lookalikes (okay, that sometimes happens already). You know you will be lied to when asking this question...so why ask it?

3- Please list all of your schooling, starting at elementary school.

Do my results in Colouring and Show and Tell really matter for this job? Also, the schools I attended all across the world will mean nothing to a Japanese interviewer. This is not a case of figuring out if my elementary school self was smart enough to get into Waseda's 'elevator' middle school (a concept I already find beyond the pale). In addition, there seemed to be some kind of insinuation that I had gotten kicked out of the schools... certainly not the more logical (and previously explained) fact that my parents' occupation required constant moves.

2- Can you use a computer well?

No, somehow I managed to run an official social media page, and then work for a famous tech company without ever having to touch one of those scary devil-boxes... like, seriously?!

Also, my proficiencies (including, you know, the ability to check source code for tags and deal with major DSPs) are all listed on my CV, which the interviewer had obviously not read.

1- Where are your ancestors buried?
I usually have an answer for everything, but this question left me spluttering. There are literally no words, and when the company (a famous, supposedly hip Japanese platform) decided to call me back for a second interview I let my recruiter  know exactly why I flat out refused.　Eeeesh.

What weird questions have you been asked during interviews?