In this episode, I explore a peculiar aspect of Japanese corporate culture: the belief that work should involve visible suffering. Producing results efficiently is not always enough. Employees may also be expected to look busy, tired, stressed, and deeply involved in workplace relationships. Suffering can become a kind of unofficial currency that proves someone is working hard. This mindset also creates an “inheritance of hardship,” where people expect younger colleagues to endure the same difficulties they experienced. Hardship can sometimes lead to growth, but hardship itself has no inherent value. What matters is not how much we suffer, but what we produce.

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related